Week 14, Day 0

We just got back from our anniversary vacation, and I'm so not ready to go back to work tomorrow. Tristan and I had a lot of fun celebrating ten years together, but I was off work for two days before the weekend, and this was a tiny test run of how things might go during maternity leave.

Granted, I only took a day or so before hand to make sure everything was in order, and when the Big Time comes hopefully I'll have been winding down and preparing my temp for a couple of weeks, but I know from the flurry of emails I responded to on Off Day 1 that I didn't get the safety net spread over everything, and there will be some catching up to do tomorrow to get everything back on an even keel. I'm going to have to make some modifications if I'm going to make my maternity leave go as smoothly as possible at the office, but not so smoothly they won't want me back! That's all I need, to get a temp who does my job better than I do.

Still, it was nice to get away for a few days. Only had a minor emotional meltdown all weekend, nothing at all like the sudden volcanic fit I had over the Oklahoma public school system and how certain I was that our poor Baby is going to grow up ignorant and stupid. Ah, hormones. I probably shouldn't have voted this year; I was too emotionally invested in the outcome, and boy, did it show when the results came in. But I made it up to Tristan this weekend with pleasant company, good food, and lots of sightseeing. And one eensy-weensy upset spell over my obviously awful and unhelpful navigational skills, but he brought me out of that funk just in time to enjoy our movie, so it all worked out in the end.

One downside of being pregnant during vacation, aside from no grown-up drinks at the fancy restaurants, is how early and often I got tired. I had to sit down and rest at every venue, and by the time it got to be about 9:30, I was ready to head back to the hotel (which as it happens, isn't such a horrible thing when you've already eaten and you're not able to go out to a club or anything anyway).

Thank you for 10 wonderful years, Tristan. There were ups and downs, but it was more grassy hills than roller coaster ride, and I'd happily do it all again.

Week 13, Day 3

I may have over estimated the elimination of morning sickness, but it's certainly almost gone. My appetite has also definitely returned, and I feel hungry several times a day now, although my capacity has diminished greatly and I am rarely able to finish anything I get. Which is probably a good thing; combined with the reduced fat and sugar diet I started about two months before the pregnancy, I've lost over thirty pounds with this morning sickness thing. And I was a hefty gal, so it's not like I'm starving Baby or anything. I eat all the time, just not a lot.

Also wanted to post Halloween pics. Tristan and I dressed as a couple, which in 10 years has never happened before, and although the plan to dress up was incredibly last minute, we had to go all out. Tristan dressed as a crossroads demon; for the low, one time only price of your soul, he could make you famous. Had the blues thing going strong, and it looked totally awesome when he rocked out on the guitar by the bonfire at the Halloween party we went to at my cousins'. I, on the other hand, was a sweet an innocent li'l angel, complete with feather wings and a halo, and an enormously pregnant belly. (It wasn't nearly as funny a combo without the belly, even though I'm really pregnant.) The belly threw off lots of people who thought I really was that big, and were surprised or wanted to rub my tummy until they realized it hasn't been long enough for me to be so big without a few extra stowaways—Baby is my only carry-on, and I have pictures to prove it!

But it was strange for me too! Suddenly I had a built in tray to rest my plate or drink on, I couldn't bend over and getting out of a chair was nearly impossible, and Tristan caught me waddling more than once! I caught myself rubbing the belly as though Baby could feel it, and being comforted by this pillow I had basically safety pinned within an inch of its life to my clothes. For the first time since we found out about Baby, I felt really really pregnant. It's only been three months, but up until then I had been throwing up or nauseous all the time, and losing so much weight I had to belt up or dig old clothes out of the closet. I felt more like I'd had the stomach flu for two months than like I was actually going to have a baby. Wearing the belly made it real. And also a little scary.

We've been working up to the name discussion lately--Tristan is aware that I have a list ready, and that he is expected to have a list of similar length ready in the next week or so--and probably in the next two weeks we'll have checked out the local hospitals and see what our birthing options are, and decide how satisfied we are with our current doctor. Things are starting to pick up on the baby frontier, and even without an expanding waistline, it's all starting to get a lot more real.

Week 13, Day 1

It was a big day today! A milestone, if you will.

On the first day of my second trimester, I came home starving. It was cold outside today, one of the few days it's really been getting cold, and I suggested we have potato bacon soup (one of the best cold day dinners out there!). I think Tristan was caught off guard by me actually suggesting something for dinner, since I usually have no appetite at all and basically just nibble at whatever he's hungry for and feels like making, because he actually made no counter offers or suggestions but got right up and started making it.

It smelled sooooo good while it was cooking, too, because he fries the bacon and drains it while the potatoes boil, and maybe he does something to the chopped onions, and then there's all the creamy soupy goodness that surrounds all these wonderful things...oh, the smell was heaven!

But I've been burned before. Potato Bacon Soup is one of my favorite dinners (incredibly deserving of its all caps status), and I haven't had it since we got pregnant. Many of my other favorite dinners have been made on nights I felt hungry: meatloaf, pork tenderloin, barbecue bacon chicken, and others. All have been nibbled and discarded, left to linger in tupperware until my lack of appetite finally gets them eaten by Tristan or tossed. So I was understandably cautious about the Potato Bacon Soup.

I served dinner, which is my usual task (Tristan cooks, I serve, he washes, I dry—the system works for us—but since I've been so nauseated that just being in the kitchen can set me off, I've been slacking on my share of the chores), and gave Tristan a normal sized bowl while I gave myself a much smaller bowl, and we sat down to eat.

Potato Bacon Soup was amazing! Delicious ambrosia! and as soon as I finished my bowl, not even five minutes into the show we were watching, I was up and getting seconds. I ate all of the soup that was left, and since Tristan made approximately the same amount as he would have pre-Baby, I ate a "normal" portion of food!

I think this morning sickness thing might finally be over!!

Week 11, Day 3 -- 200 Days to Go!

Or so the baby ticker tells me. That is a really really long time! Although I was told by my boss today that it is not a long time, and we need to start making plans and preparations for the maternity leave so that I don't get phone calls every day. Which I do not want to happen. So I will start making plans and procedures and preparations shortly, because I really don't want to have to worry about it when it's time for me to pop.

Whoa, that was a creepy mental picture. Like a horror movie or something.

Also, Baby and I agree that Nerds are the greatest thing ever created by that genius Wonka.

Week 11, Day 2

We went to the doctor yesterday, and have new baby photos to show for it!

 

I keep thinking I'm so far along, that there's not much time left to get things ready for Baby, and then I go and look at some fetal progress website like this one and I realize no, May is pretty far away, I'm only a quarter of the way through this process, and Baby still looks like a little alien parasite. Which it is. :)

I talked to the doctor about how little I'm eating, and once I got on the scales it turns out I've lost about 15lbs since Week 1, but the doctor said that's fairly normal at this stage and nothing to worry about until we get farther along. So I'm eating as much as Baby will let me, as often as s/he will let me, and not worrying about the rest for now.

Have I mentioned how ready I am for the morning sickness to be over? I've gotten to where I can pinpoint my danger zone every morning (8:15 to 9:00am) and I've changed my morning routine to be within two steps of the toilet throughout that time zone. Poor Tristan; I've jerked him out of a deep sleep more than once, but except for one really embarrassing post-dinner episode with the office trash can, I haven't been too much of a burden in that department.

Still no names yet, but we may not have any picked out for quite a while. Like I said, May is pretty far away. :)

Week 10, Day 2

Morning sickness has taken an unexpected turn this last week. Where before I was almost always nauseated but never got sick, it seems like now the reverse is true. I really hope this phase is over soon.

I'm still not showing, but I didn't really expect to be. My stomach is a little too fluffy for a baby bump to look any different, although I have noticed my fluffy belly isn't quite as soft as it used to be. Not that some folks aren't seeing changes where there aren't any yet; I take it in stride though. If Mom and Sis are anything to go by, I will have quite the baby bump in a couple of months.

We have our second doctor's appointment next week. We'll hopefully get to see the baby again and hear the heartbeat, but we'll see once we get there. I just hope it's not another two hour wait in the doctor's office. I think we're going to start looking into our birthing options and at other doctors in the next couple weeks, about the time I finish up my first trimester.

Here S/He Is!

Our little pinto bean!

Right now s/he looks more like a gray blob than either one of us, but if you look really close you can see two little arm buds! (or maybe leg buds--it's hard to tell right now.)