Nesting/procrastination

Suddenly, it has occurred to me how much I need to get done in the coming weeks (including minor tasks like, oh, picking a name for our tot). Is this nesting? I think nesting may just be the same thing as getting down to the wire once you've procrastinated for as long as possible. I'm realizing that I really should have everything ready to go by 38 weeks, since our baby will probably show up early, given his parentage. That's five weeks. Shit!

We had a successful visit last weekend to see our friends and stimulate the economy at Tra.der Joe's and IKE.A. We got some good hand-me-downs from the friends (including newborn diapers, a My Bres.t Friend pillow, and two types of baby bottles and accessories: Av.ent and Dr. Br0wn's), and we were also deeply impressed by the fact that they stayed out until 3am on Saturday night. Meanwhile, we were in bed by 10pm, as was their six-month-old. At IK.EA, we got some dressers, storage-related items, and a window shade for the nursery. They were out of a couple of things we needed, but the dressers were the main thing. Our nursery will be mod but frugal - ie, the very definition of IK.EA. (Pictured at right is my 32+ week belly at brunch on Sunday in Chicago.)

Oh! The best thing was that we went to the landfill before our trip to drop off three detergent bottles full of IVF medical waste, as well as many old gallons of paint. It felt good to unload all of that crap onto someone else. Why is that sort of errand so deeply satisfying?

I've been in a logistical, money-hemorrhaging frenzy. I arranged for window washers to come tomorrow. I'm investigating IRAs so that our offspring do not have to care for us in retirement. I'm getting estimates for a new roof. I went to Tar.get yesterday to return a couple of things and ended up also stocking up on necessities like toilet paper, paper towels, saline solution, etc. so that I won't have to drag my ratty-haired, engorged-boobed self to the grocery store in those early post-partum days - or for six months afterwards. I am taking some clothes to the consignment shop this afternoon. I have completed all the tax stuff I needed to do and dropped it off with the accountant. I need to get estimates from gardeners, since I am physically incapable of bending over to weed at this point. On Saturday, we go to our all-day childbirth-education seminar. We will definitely be covertly mocking the other participants in the class. This will help pass the time, and also we are bad people.

The baby is wiggling and head-butting regularly. His hard little skull is usually right around my sternum or pressed up into my right ribs. I expect this will become even more profoundly uncomfortable as time passes. At this point, I am indifferent between a regular birth and a c-section because both seem profoundly unpleasant to me. I should probably just stop thinking about birth altogether - denial has its advantages.

(Pictured at right is the nursery that desperately needs to be organized....)

Boring, laundry-list update #2 (Or: That's Our Boy!)

The ultrasound went well. I feel confident that there was no mix-up in the embryology lab, for our little boy appears to be exhibiting characteristics consistent with each of us. To wit:

1. He already has a full head of hair. (I was born with TONS of hair). The ultrasound tech marveled at it.
2. His head is big. (I have a large hat size myself.)
3. He is still breech. (My husband is stubborn.)
4. He had his hand on his testicles. (Also characteristic of my husband.)

He also has huuuuuuuuuuuge, cute cheeks. He may also have a slight clubfoot after all, but whatever - it's correctable, and I can no longer be bothered by such trifles.

If I had a scanner, I'd scan in the ultrasound shot of his fat little face. He's over 4 lbs. now, allegedly, and is in the 57th percentile for size.

Boring, laundry-list update #1

I saw the OB this morning; the ultrasound will be in the afternoon. (Fortunately, I work very close to my hospital.) The results: blood pressure 114 over 62; urine fine; fundal height measuring at 30 weeks; weight up 1 or 1.5 lbs; heartbeat 140ish.

My OB has decided no longer to care about my weight gain - whereas she used to be very by-the-book and harp on me if I hadn't gained precisely 2 lbs. since the last appointment, she now thinks that because I am consistent in my weight gain and because I am exercising and not on a donut-only diet (though that sounds appealing), everything is all right. I think I'll be up 30 lbs. by the end, which sounds just right to me. She is not concerned that my fundal height is two weeks behind my dates since it also has grown consistently.

I left with a prescription for Pep.cid because I've had a few episodes of waking up to find that (TMI alert) my most recent meal has traveled back up my esophagus and into my throat and nasal passage. It's Reflux Deluxe! I had tried to avoid this by changing my eating patterns such that I have my biggest and most complex meal at lunchtime - e.g., yesterday I had an XL salmon nicoise salad at lunch, then just had cereal and a banana for dinner at the judiciously early hour of 6:30pm, but I still got to meet that light meal again at about 11pm. I am forced to pull out a word from my youth (approximately middle-school-era) to describe this experience: GRODY.

Finally, I got a list of pediatrician recommendations from her. Most of them are men. My instinct had been that I'd want a woman pediatrician, maybe someone who'd had kids and breast-fed, etc. What are your thoughts on this? I've always strongly preferred having a woman OB/GYN, although it didn't bother me at all that several of my REs were men.

Insufficient update

I have been waiting to post because I wanted to upload some photos, but I haven't done that yet. Maybe I'll come back and add some to this post, since it's not much of an update otherwise.

Tomorrow, I have both an OB appt. and an ultrasound, though, so I can tell you more then. My trips to see my parents and to see friends in SF were both great, and the showers were successful and resulted in many gift cards, which are useful and easy to store. I nearly choked to death at the first shower - really, this was the scariest time I have ever choked on something (in this case, baked brie), but fortunately I could get in tiny gasps of air and ultimately managed to expel the offending morsel. This experience prompted me to consult Dr. Google later to find out how to adjust the Heimlich during pregnancy. The search results made me glad I didn't need to be Heimliched - sounds a bit dicey.

My little guy has been moving up a STORM. I hope this doesn't mean he's a total psycho. Also, after telling someone I was sure I hadn't felt hiccups yet, I realized later that I have in fact been feeling what are probably hiccups for some time now. I think he's still breech, but we'll find out for sure tomorrow. He put on quite a hyperactive display of wiggling, kicking, swatting, etc. last night for my husband.

This weekend, we head to IKEA (3+ hours away) to get some cheap dressers, bookshelves, and storage items. We're also going to visit some friends to borrow some baby items. And then I think we'll just be here for the next eight weeks. I can't believe it's that close - it's a bit frightening all of a sudden.

Your advice needed.

Next week, my mom's friends are throwing me a shower, as are some of my friends in SF. In each case, there are seven hostesses. The first group is all women around 60 years old, and the second group is all professional women (some moms, some not) in their mid-30s. Any ideas for nice/clever/cute thank-you gifts I could give them that won't (in aggregate) break the bank?

I forgot to mention the most exciting thing of all!

I am off the Z0fran! Which means I am off the C0lace! Which means my digestive system is back in working order - and how! Apparently, some people see a resurgence of nausea around 36 weeks, so I will keep the drugs on hand and enjoy the next six weeks.

I just had my OB appointment. Somehow, I was only up 1.5 lbs., so I am supposed to gain more weight - this is surprising to me, given how much I've been eating. My uterus measured at 28 weeks (not 30, which I am today or tomorrow, depending upon how you count), but the OB said that this didn't concern her. I suppose my next ultrasound will check that growth is okay.

The baby is still breech - apparently, he finds the pike position quite comfortable. Heartbeat was 154. Results from last time: I passed my one-hour glucola test with a score of 79, and my hematocrit level was 40%, which apparently is fine (to my dismay, given my diet and my lack of iron supplementation). My blood pressure today was 104 over 74. So everything looks good - I felt blissfully normal.

I saw someone from my prenatal aquatics class in the reception area. She'd failed her one-hour glucola test by a mere one point and was sitting there enduring her three-hour test. That would stink.

Next OB appt. and next ultrasound are both in two weeks.

Embryo Motel: Swimsuit Edition

Warning: shot of bare, heat-rashed belly appears later in this post.

So, unsurprisingly, Hawaii was great! We went to the Big Island, which is lovely. Our typical schedule: (1) wake up weirdly early, (2) work out in amazing open-air gym, (3) eat many, many things at the breakfast buffet, generally including fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, dried mangoes, waffles, and more, (4) establish position in desirable cabana next to desirable pool, (5) read books in cabana, (6) eat lunch in cabana, (7) work out again, perhaps at a class at the fitness center pool, (8) take a walk along ocean, (9) nap, (10) take outdoor shower (a feature of our room), (11) eat dinner with in-laws, (12) read more, (13) go to sleep weirdly early.

I did get a heat rash all over my body on about day 2. You can kind of see it in this 29-week belly shot. Now that we're back in the winter climes of our home state, it seems to be subsiding. I think my belly has really popped out in the past week - it's either from a growing baby or the breakfast buffet. Or maybe from the rootbeer float I had for lunch one day - it included two generous scoops of Haa*gen-Dazs, which means like 93 grams of fat.

While there, we met this Brazilian model who was 3.5 months pregnant with twins. She was still incredibly thin (as well as 6' tall). AND she'd just found out that she was pregnant. For those out there who find themselves wanting to ask someone if their twins are "natural," I think the way you can actually more subtly find out (if you must, you nosy boob) is to listen to when the woman found out she was having twins - if she found out at 11+ weeks, then she probably wasn't doing IUI or IVF. I hope that this tip spares many twin moms the exasperation of having to answer whether twins run in the family or whether they "meant" to have twins. Gah! Anyway, this Brazilian chick made me feel very portly.

Thanks to local friends TLB and Brando for clearing our walks and watching our house during a hideous week of weather here. They are saints!

This week: another OB appointment, another therapist appointment, then off to visit the parents and some friends for a week. After that, my air travel is done!