kat, unedited

I met some new people over the weekend who asked me how long I have left. The answer is about 6 weeks. SIX!

In the next 6 weeks I have a couple more loads of laundry to do (at least of the clothes I’ve bought), cloth diapers to prep, a couple more baby showers to attend (for myself), and a little corner in our bedroom to prepare for the baby. I do feel fairly prepared and it feels good. I plan on starting to hospital bag by this weekend and getting the car seat in the car after the weekend. We are in the home stretch!

This past weekend Joe and I went on a mini babymoon in San Francisco. We went to dinner, walked around, shopped, and just hung out. It was a great time. I told him that it may be our last trip to the city without a baby in our hands, and that’s just surreal! We also went to see a movie with friends (Hangover 2 = 2 thumbs up!). All these activities are numbered. I keep reminding myself that many of these things could be the last time we’re doing them sans baby in the outside world. It really is a great way to get ourselves used to the idea.

Here were my stats in the past week:

Symptoms: getting tired more easily, getting fuller sooner, peeing more frequently, finger joint pain, crotch pressure when standing up after sitting for a while, hip pain—I think my hip ligaments are starting to loosen. Also, I think I started getting Braxton Hicks over the weekend thanks to walking up the hills in San Francisco.

Stretch marks? YES, left boob and now a little bit on my right boob. It’s not super noticeable, but they’re there. There may be a little bit starting on my left hip but I’m not sure yet. Oh, and above my belly button in between the 2 holes where my piercing used to be. Weird.

Bellybutton? still in but not by much!

Maternity clothing? Yup

Milestones: 34 weeks :)

Wisdom: Take it easy. Rest when you can.

How I feel: Pretty good. Since I’m trying not to over-exert myself, I’m getting more rest which I think I need more nowadays. Still having mild discomfort, and I don’t expect it to go away. I’m reading a lot more about labor and delivery and what to expect and I’m feeling fairly confident.

What I’m looking forward to: I’m looking forward to my supposedly surprise work shower this Sat :) It’ll be small with my work group, but it should be fun! I’m also looking forward to getting all the baby’s laundry done this week so I could cross that off my list.

The baby was the size of a cantaloupe in the past week, about 4.75 lbs and 18 inches form head to heel:

I have decided that I want to paint our bedroom walls. It baffles me, what with a possible move coming up. No, we still haven’t heard about the damn house. Yes, I’m still frustrated and a little panicky, but I’m trying not to think about. But now I want to paint our bedroom walls. They’re currently a poppy red color. I want to make it a little lighter in there, but not sure what color. I just know Joe is going to LOVE this idea. (<—- yup, that would be sarcasm right there)

In other news, baby dreams are here full force. Last night I dreamt that I was dressing baby girl—a hat, a onesie, pants, I think there may have been shoes too. She had dark wispy hair and content (or maybe sleepy?) smile. I think I can blame this outfit dream to the 2nd load of baby laundry I did last night.

And, yesterday I went to see my midwife! I think she said I’m measuring 35 weeks, which is about a week and a half bigger since I’m only 33 weeks! Not really sure what that means, so I’m just going to ignore it. She said that things are going well and suggested that I start swimming since it really promotes the anterior position. Right now, my midwife thinks that although the baby is head down, her back is a little to the right of my belly, and we want it centered and facing out (and not facing my back, which is called the posterior position, which causes back labor because the baby’s spine would be against my spine). The problem with this recommendation though is that although our condo complex has a pool, it’s not heated. It’s also been unseasonably colder here in Northern California and the water is FRIGID! My gym has no pool, and the YMCA is too expensive. So I asked her if I could just float face down in my tub, which she thought was silly. I guess I have to look for a pool somewhere! Or, get on all fours for some amount of time everyday. I think Joe will like that idea. (<—- no sarcasm here) My midwife didn’t seem too concerned though as she said there is still some time for the baby to move more anterior, and it’s not like she’s posterior now, so that’s a good thing.

I spent the evening folding the baby’s clothes that I washed over the weekend. Oh my goodness—the littleness of it all is just too much! I found myself experimenting with different ways to fold the onesies and the little bloomers that I purchased for her. There was lint everywhere too, thanks to the flat Gerber diapers that we got from my shower that we’re going to use as burp cloths. It makes it all seem so real! I also hung some of her dresses up in the little bitty pink hangers I got from Target but I have nowhere to put them right now.

I have another load to do and then I get to wash her cloth diapers. Still no word about the house so I’m trying to figure out a good alternative in the meantime for storing her clothing. I have a bin but I kinda want them in a dresser. Ahh! I guess I need to start perusing Craigslist to see what they have!

The number of work days I have left.

Joe and I were talking about I-don’t-remember-what last night before we fell asleep and I counted how many days there were left. Not. long. at. all.

Is it just me, or can you hear the clock ticking, too?

This past week I spent a lot of time removing tags from my little girl’s things—clothes, blankets, stuffed animals, bibs, bedding, etc. I filled up 2 full laundry baskets and it took me 2 evenings. I took inventory of what I had in terms of ages: did I have enough newborn clothing? Will I even need newborn clothing? Or will I need more 0-3mo clothing? I found that I had plenty of most clothes except beginning 9 months and up, so it’s time for me to start shopping for those!

I also started panicking this past week. Because we are still waiting for the damn short sale, we don’t have a room set up for the baby. I was ok with this until now. We don’t have much time left and a lot of women at this point are in the finishing touches phase of their nurseries! The thought now seriously drives me insane. I know a baby doesn’t need much in the beginning, but with this nesting energy I have to do SOMETHING. So the goal this week is to clear our bedroom of this desk that we don’t use and at least set up a bassinet and the dresser in there. That way, I’ll feel much better and more prepared.

I’ve also been peeing so much. Like, at least every hour or so. I’ve been trying to drink a lot more water to avoid swelling (and it’s working so far!) but my bathroom trips have gone up exponentially.

Here were my stats in the past week:

Symptoms: getting tired more easily, getting fuller sooner, peeing more frequently, finger joint pain, crotch pressure when standing up after sitting for a while

Stretch marks? YES, left boob and now a little bit on my right boob. It’s not super noticeable, but they’re there. There may be a little bit starting on my left hip but I’m not sure yet.

Bellybutton? still in

Maternity clothing? Yup

Milestones: Ummm, 33 weeks! :)

Wisdom: There comes a time when you’ve kind of read too much about pregnancy, labor, and birth. I’m there. I can’t read any more of it! I have a couple more books that I want to skim before returning to the library but I’m at the point where now I feel that I need to read more novels before the baby comes!

How I feel: I still feel great, but I’m starting to feel mild discomfort. My extremities start to fall asleep when I’m sleeping so I need to remind myself to switch sides when this happens. I mentioned the crotch pressure when I get up—I have to take a few moments to recover from this when it happens. I’m super hot (but then again it’s been warm over here in the last week) and I’m just more tired. I still feel good overall though.

What I’m looking forward to: A 3-day weekend! An extra day to sleep in? Yes please! I actually am looking forward to getting all of the baby’s clothes washed and put away this week, then I have to prep her cloth diapers. After that, I’m looking forward to getting a little nursery set up in our bedroom to keep myself from going insane.

The baby was the size of a pineapple in the past week, weighing in at about 4 lbs and measuring 17 inches from head to heel:

I just returned from lunch with one of my girlfriends who is 15 weeks pregnant (the same friend who thought she was miscarrying here)*. This is her second baby, and she was only 16 when she had her first one. She had asked me if I were breastfeeding, and I told her yes, and that I want to do everything as natural as possible.

“Even during delivery?”, she asked.

“Yup, no drugs.”

“But why would you do that?”

I’ll admit, I was getting a little defensive when I started telling her my own personal reasons. She countered that she had an epidural that didn’t work the first time so she had to have something stronger, and once she got this stronger med, she was able to be more present during the birth of her daughter. She also went on to say that there are many people smarter than her (umm, what are you trying to say here?) who have researched and researched and found ways to make birth painless—why not trust them? Then our conversation became more of the “Oh, you’ll change your mind when you feel that pain. You can only imagine that pain—it’s nothing like you’ve ever felt before” etc etc etc etc..

But why do I have to defend myself for choosing this way? I mean, I’m going in with this plan, and I’m fully aware that a planned birth pretty much is an oxymoron. Anything can happen, and I’m open to that. But Joe and I have an idea of how we’d like it to go, and we’ll do our best to get to that goal, but at the same time we will do everything we can to ensure that our daughter comes out the safest way possible. If that means that the plan needs to be thrown out the window from the get go, then so be it.

I’m not gonna go into what exactly is in our plan, but the main thing is the least intervention possible. I don’t usually get reactions like hers when I tell people (after they ask) that I’d like to go without medication, but when I do get all these comments, I really wish I could just tune them out. Today, I just had to tell her I’m not changing my mind. At least not right now. Joe and I may make different choices while in labor, but right now, we’re sticking to the plan that we’ve discussed and researched for months. I didn’t try to convince my friend to not get medication, I just wish she would’ve done the same for me.

*I’m really happy for her and so excited for her and her husband. We’ve been friends for over 2 years now and I know that she and I are just different people. I usually let things that irritate me roll off my back but when it comes to my own personal choices, I don’t mind it if people share their opinions thinking otherwise, it just rubs me the wrong way when people feel that their way is the only right way.

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

—Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

With less than 8 weeks left until due date, even Joe is starting to freak out about the house situation. I won’t say I’m freaking out, but I’m doing everything I can to prepare for the baby without having a nursery to set up. I’m a planner by heart and hate to not have everything lined up. To me, things could still go wrong, but I feel better know that I was as prepared as I could be.

We are still waiting on the house. I don’t think I’ve updated, but we found yet ANOTHER one. We love this one more, and it’s got a lot more room to grow. The other one only had 3 bedrooms with a 4th one we could convert, but this one has 5. No conversion needed. It’s got hardwood floors throughout and is away from road noise—something that we were going to try to live with when considering the other house. We are hoping to hear about the house by next week and move in no later than mid-June!

I’ve spent the last couple of nights organizing the clothing that we have for the baby. I need to start washing them so at least that’s done. I still need to wash the cloth diapers I’ve purchased. Thing is, where the heck am I gonna put them?? We don’t have closet space and the dresser that we’re going to use for her is still filled with my clothing. Oy vey. I think a Target run is in order this week so I can store her washed clothes in bins. That way, once moving day comes, all we need to do is put them away where they belong.

Come on bank, approve it already!!! This mama is ready to move!

8 short weeks until my due date. I just looked at my calendar to see what I was doing about 8 weeks ago, and had to do a double-take because something I did that I thought was like a month ago was actually 2 months ago.

The last week was spent trying to recuperate from the week before. I feel a lot more well-rested today than I did last week and I’m thankful for more energy. I’m still working on putting the presents away from the shower but I think I’ll get it done this week.

Physically, I still feel pretty good. I’ve been doing some rounds walking the hallways at work because after sitting for a couple of hours at my desk and I get up to use the restroom, my legs feel heavy and I feel pressure down there. A lap or 2 later it feels better so I’m gonna try to do this about every hour just to stretch my legs and get things circulating.

This past weekend one of my closest girlfriends from college came and visited. We had such a great time and it made me realize just how much I miss having her around. I wish we lived closer to each other. We saw an independent film, went to the snow, and saw a play! And ate yummy food. She’s my friend who is always down to do anything, and I miss having a friend like that. Oh, and she loves to shop!

Here were my stats in the past week:

Symptoms: getting tired more easily, getting fuller sooner, peeing more frequently

Stretch marks? YES, left boob and now a little bit on my right boob. It’s not super noticeable, but they’re there.

Bellybutton? still in

Maternity clothing? Yup

Milestones: Still lots of movement. Every week that we get is a milestone :)

Wisdom: Learn to say no (if you like to be busy, especially). Get rest, get enough sleep.

How I feel: I feel awesome now. Still feeling nest-y…I’m looking forward to going home from work today and crossing a couple of things from my to-do list.

What I’m looking forward to: I’m looking forward to an easier week at work. And Joe’s birthday next weekend!!! I didn’t plan anything, and I haven’t gotten anything, but I’m excited. Last year I got all his closest friends together for a little surprise and that was awesome. I don’t think I can top this year :)

Baby was the size of a jicama in the past week, weighing in at 3.75 lbs:

I wanted to mention a few things that have been pretty ick while being pregnant. These have just surfaced in the last couple weeks/month and these are things I never really knew could happen before I got pregnant.

1) Acne

You guys. I have acne in unmentionable places. I’m not talking about a bunch, but like, one big huge one every once in a while or so. I guess it’s better that it’s not on my face and it’s hidden, but I seriously had one last week that was so painful I pretended I gave birth, tore, and those were my stitches. And kept telling myself that if I could live through it, then I can totally handle stitches in my privates.

2) Discharge

Holy holy. You know, good thing I’ve read (and been told) that this is normal, otherwise I would be freaked out. There’s just sooooooo much of it. I’ve mentioned before that pantiliners and I are BFFs, and I’ve really gotten very dependent on them that I clip every coupon I could find for pantiliners.

3) The melanin

I guess my linea nigra showing up early should’ve been an indication, or the fact that I’m Filipino and naturally tan, but wow. I have gotten pretty dark in some places! So far, my armpits are still normal color, and my neck, but my unmentionables are a different story. Kristin the other day said not to use a mirror down there, and I completely agree. I had to though because I was all worried (see #1 above). But no more. It’s supposed to fade though so I’m keeping my fingers crossed! Otherwise, well, I don’t really know what I would do.

4) The leakage

And by that, I mean pee. Wonderful, huh? I don’t even have to laugh really hard or sneeze or cough!!! It’s just there! It’s not a lot and doesn’t happen all the time, but this has added a few extra packs of Carefree in my weekly Rite-Aid shopping list.

And, wanna hear a gross/funny story? Vinny, my beloved dog, must’ve smelled this coming from our bathroom trash a couple of weeks ago that he fished out a used pantiliner (all wrapped up, mind you), spit it out on the floor, and proceeded to pee on it. I guess he doesn’t discriminate between dog pee and human pee. Note to self: Keep baby’s dirty cloth diapers away from Vinny—not because he’ll eat it, but because he’ll add his own stuff to it!

5) The bloody boogers

I’ve had bad allergies for a little over a month now and I feel bad for the cleaning lady who collects my trash at work because I’m sure she’s pretty disgusted at the amount of Kleenex I can go through in a day. Add to that the red/pink tinge and I’m sure I’m her favorite cubicle. Oh well, just a few more weeks of that..

6) Feeling like I have a bladder infection all the time

I know I don’t have a bladder infection, but man, my poor bladder! It must be so squished right now. I find myself having to pee urgently sometimes only to have a couple of drops. I even have to concentrate to make sure something comes out. And I have 2 more months.

7) Orgasm—what’s that?

Shout out to Kristen, whose quick mention of it this morning had me nodding vigorously in agreement! I will say, I made up for lost time (lost sex?) in the second trimester after the nausea went away. But now, although I’m still down to get down (wink wink), it’s a little more difficult. It’s not because it’s tricky positioning with a belly (hey, tricks are fun), what with making sure I don’t get asphyxiated because dammit, I sometimes forget I’m not supposed to lay on my back until I feel pressure on my lungs and can’t breathe, but it’s just different. I’m looking forward to more normal romps in t minus approximately 16 weeks (8+ weeks before due date, 6 weeks for recovery, 2 weeks cushion in case she’s 2 weeks late). Holy shit that’s a long time. But it will be wonderful, and there will be fireworks, and an earthquake, and confetti. All at the same time.

8) Arthritis

Ok, I’m sure it’s not arthritis, but sometimes my finger joints just hurt. What’s up with that? Is it because my fingers are a little swollen?

And there you have it. I just laugh about it—I mean, there’s really nothing I can do! My body will do what it’s gonna do, after all. It still has been a pretty smooth sailing pregnancy thus far and I’m still so thankful for that.

Oh, and it’s Friday (the 13th, no less!). Somebody have a glass of chardonnay for me :) It’s been a rough week and it’s 80 degrees today. Perfect for white wine.

Better late than never. I kept thinking this week that I MUST put up an update because I have been for the last 26 weeks! I can’t miss one! So here I am.

The last week or so was hectic. I had to prep our house for my friends who were throwing me a shower last weekend and that took all week. I think I will go ahead and say I was nesting a little bit because I had Joe cleaning “his” room, aka the guest room where all his clothes go, a little bit everyday so we didn’t have to dump everything in our bedroom when our friends came to stay (which is usually what happens). I folded everything, had him hang everything, and put everything away neatly. I felt accomplished.

Friday night, our friends came and we then decided, just 14 hours before my shower, to move it to my house. See, it was going to be held at another girlfriend’s house because she has a big yard and she had graciously offered it to me. But there was a lot of prepping to be done and since this friend has baby twins, we couldn’t really spend that much time prepping for the shower at her house as it would just be too disruptive. So alas, at 9pm, we decided to move it to my house. Since I had everybody’s phone numbers, I spent the evening contacting everybody (at least 20 people!) to make sure they showed up at the correct venue. This really made me realize the importance of RSVPing. Since some people didn’t RSVP, I wanted to make sure I still got a hold of them just in case they showed up!! I also ended up helping them set up, which they didn’t want me to but since I was there, I wanted to make myself useful. We didn’t go to bed until 2am.

Woke up bright and early on Sat am and kept going. And man, showers are exhausting!!!! Opening all the presents had me breaking a sweat!! Crazy. But I had a wonderful time and I so appreciate these girls for doing something so special for me. I didn’t get to take too many pictures since I was so busy talking to people, but I’m hoping to get some from one of the guests who had her camera.

Then on Sunday, Joe and I went to watch the SF Giants play. Joe was excited that it was his little girl’s first game (at least in utero!). They won (woot!) and it was a gorgeous day in San Francisco. Thing was though, I was DRAINED at this point. I started to feel kind of nauseated right around 8pm so I decided to call it a night and went to bed.

Fast forward to 11pm when I woke up with the urge to go potty (not pee). OH MY GOD. It was awful. Went back to bed only to awaken an hour later to go potty again and while I was doing that, realized I had to throw up. Ummm, can we say dilemma? I was able to make it to the sink. Then I started to worry about the baby. What the heck was wrong with me? The last time that happened was when I ate something bad from the the JFK airport in 2008. I called the advice nurse and she told me what to watch out for, and to get some rest. So I did.

Monday morning I was beyond exhausted. I was up every 2 hours or so the night before. I did make it into work but left after 45 mins after taking care of a few things. I slept all day long and watched the baby shows on TLC. Woke up for a few hours after Joe came home then went to sleep again. I needed each and every minute of shuteye that I got that day.

All that left me having to re-evaluate my to-do list. Before I got pregnant, a weekend like that was no big deal. But man, I can’t do that anymore. I really need to slow down and start limiting what I do because it’s what’s best for me and baby. At work this week, I’ve had to really slow down and not overdo it  because the last thing I need is to get sick or just be worn down with just a couple months of pregnancy left!

Here were my stats this past week:

Symptoms: Exhaustion, more winded (could be because of anemia too), nesting!, some acne (but I think this is because of lack of sleep)

Stretch marks? YES, left boob. It’s not super noticeable, but they’re there.

Bellybutton? still in

Maternity clothing? Yup

Milestones: Lots and lots of movement in the past week.

Wisdom: Take it easy.

How I feel: The first week I felt super tired, but that’s my fault. I’m back to 100% now and I’d like to keep it that way :)

What I’m looking forward to: My friend visiting this weekend. I haven’t seen her since Dec 2007! 

The baby was the size of 4 navel oranges in the past week!