Right now we’re four months, one week, and four days into the pregnancy. Last Monday we went to our second appointment with the midwives. Right now our appointments are scheduled about once a month, but as time goes on they’ll get closer together and more frequent. These appointments include minimal examination (just a urine test, blood pressure, weighing in, and a little external tummy prodding), and are mostly a chance to sit and ask questions. This time we saw Elizabeth who is Barbie’s widwife partner. It was the first one-on-one time we had spent with her – and both Jason and I agreed we like her just as much as Barbie/Barbara. Which is good – because in the end we could get either one of them depending on who’s on call the day we go into labor. During the appointment we got to hear the heart beat again which was much stronger, louder, and easier for her to find compared to last time. My blood pressure was normal, protein and glucose test was negative (normal), and I’ve gained 4 pounds since the last visit. Admittedly, not all of that has gone right to my stomach…some has landed in other areas – but overall she said the weight gain is right on target and the fact that it’s going other places (in the world of old wives tales) means it’s more likely to be a girl.
She gave us a referral for the 20 week anatomy scan so that we can go ahead and schedule that before our next appointment with the midwives. The anatomy scan is the next (and last – as long as there are no complications) sonogram we’ll have so that’s when we’ll find out the gender. The only other things on our ‘to do’ list are a class at the hospital we have to take to qualify for the birthing center and child birth classes!
Baby Moving
Right now I am sitting in front of CNN, letting my breakfast digest before I get in the shower and get ready for work – and I am pretty certain that I just felt the baby move. I’ve been feeling something moving around in there for a little while now… but this morning was the first time I felt something that definitely could NOT be classified as ‘just gas’. It felt a little like the baby did a little summersault and bumped into the front of my belly on the way over. I sat really still waiting for it to happen again, but nothing else. He or she must have been jarred awake for a moment by the mass amount of cereal and milk coming down the pipeline suddenly…but then just rolled over and went right back to sleep. Lucky.
Feeling Better
Although I’d like to roll over and take a post-breakfast nap myself this morning, generally these days I feel great. For the most part the days of gagging and puking and feeling lousy are over. About three weeks ago it suddenly all disappeared. One Friday I woke up and realized I hadn’t thrown up since Monday. There have a been a few dark moments since then – but I expect that my stomach will still turn on me from time to time because it’s sensitive and there is still a lot going on. The one thing that hasn’t gone away yet is the exhaustion in the evenings. By the time I get home from work and Jason and I have had dinner – I can’t and don’t do much else. I lay around on the couch and doze in and out of sleep until the clock says 9:30 and I feel like I can go to bed. This often means I wake up the next morning at the first sign of sunlight outside and I have to will myself to go back to sleep for another couple hours. Most of the time that’s not a problem and drift back into a deep sleep full of crazy dreams. I have wild and detailed dreams almost every night. Usually full of adventure and people from my past that I haven’t thought about or talked to in years. And the details are memorable because now I’m getting up at least once per night to use the bathroom and then again in the early morning when the sun comes out. So, waking up mid-dream a couple times helps me to remember it the next morning. I then promptly relay all the details to Jason – I think he’s starting to worry about how nutty I truly am. Maybe I’ll start keeping the inner workings of my psyche to myself from now on.
Emotions
Other signs of pregnancy nuttiness include spontaneous tears. Usually – even if I’d like to burst into tears over something ridiculous I can somewhat control it – but there have been a few times where it’s caught me off guard so much that I have no control whatsoever. The first time was probably about a month ago or so when we were in Baltimore and having Sunday brunch with Jason’s mom and grandmother. The four of us were sitting in a restaurant over eggs and toast when we started exchanging animal stories. I think it started with Carol saying she had found a snake living in the bushes outside of her front door. But the conversation took a cruel turn when Jason told a story from when he was a teenager and mowing lawns for money. He said that once he had mowed right over a rabbits nest. When he realized it he went back to check on them – and although all the babies seemed ok, the lawn mower had killed their mother. The babies were young and couldn’t survive without a mother, so he called animal control to come pick them up. I immediately burst into tears just thinking about the poor motherless rabbits who had been now forced into orphan-hood. Definitely an uncalled for response to a story from over 10 years ago… told in the middle of a crowded restaurant.
A few weeks later on the evening before my birthday, I was happily teasing Jason about what he was going to make me for breakfast the next morning. He looked at me like I was crazy and quickly answered ‘cereal’. Our mornings usually don’t consist of much extra time for cooking for eating big birthday breakfasts. Cereal is usually all we have time for. Plus, he told me he actually had to leave even earlier than normal the next day. I less jokingly reminded him that that I always made breakfast for him on HIS birthday. So, he looked at me and said,
“If you could have anything tomorrow for breakfast, what would it be?”
“Cereal is fine.”
“No really, what would you want”.
I thought for a little bit and answered, “Probably waffles.”
Then Jason got up and went to the front door where he had left a big plastic bag. He came over and started unloading all its contents out in front of me. And as I saw all the ingredients for waffles piled before me, I burst into tears. Waffles don’t make most people cry – but when you’re pregnant – and your husband has just guessed exactly what you wanted before you even knew you wanted it – that’s cause for some water works.
1 comment:
Damn, that waffle move was really smooth. I almost got choked up, myself.
Jason, you're a badass, mate.
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