I started reading You: Having a Baby by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz (Dr. Oz). This book is great! Just as great as the other "You" books. (I have You: The Owners Manual and You: Staying Young.)
If you haven't read any of the "You" books you are missing out. They explain things in a way that is easy to understand but don't make you feel dumb and is entertaining. They have lots of cartoons that explain what they are talking about.
All I can say is they are totally worth it. I would suggest picking one up...any of them. You will learn a lot and have fun doing it.
I wonder if we can suggest these as required reading in Med School?
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
3rd trimester = the 1st trimester without being able to bend over
I am feeling quite huge lately. My ankles swell and my morning sickness seems to be coming back. I am tired and feel like I can't breath.
I thought that by the 3rd trimester the tired and sickness would go away. No, it doesn't. And now I can't bend over.
If we want more children, we are adopting. I am too old for this.
I thought that by the 3rd trimester the tired and sickness would go away. No, it doesn't. And now I can't bend over.
If we want more children, we are adopting. I am too old for this.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Perspective
Last week I was sitting in the living room watching TV when I realized that in a few months there will be a baby in the room. A BABY. And then I started thinking; where is it going to go? There is no room in here for a baby. As a matter of fact, there is no room in our house for a baby. The only room that has extra space is our bedroom; we are all going to be living in the bedroom. What were we thinking?
Then I started to think about all the baby stuff we already have, in a pile in the extra room, and all the stuff we will have and then I started to hyperventilate. Really, where are we going to put all the stuff? We don’t have any extra space in the kitchen for bottles, where are those going to go? I sold my desk, gave away my cute little hutch thing and three bookshelves. I am throwing out or giving away a lot of stuff, and now I have to find things in the kitchen to get rid of?
After panicking about where we are going to put things we don’t own yet (yes, I know that is crazy, I can see that) it occurred to me….what are we going to do with a baby? I don’t know how to take care of a baby. And on a totally selfish level, I need my sleep. I don’t do well when I haven’t had enough and now I am voluntarily doing something that will seriously cut into my sleeping!!?
Which then made me feel weird because I have wanted a family for years…like for the last 8, a lot more so in the last 3 years. So, here I am finally having a baby and I think I should be totally happy and all I am thinking about is, how am I going to do this and where will all the stuff go?
Then I was talking to a friend, who laughed a lot as I told her this story, and she told me just to wait until the baby is crawling around eating dirt and I will wonder why I was so worried about this.
Perspective is a great thing. :o)
Then I started to think about all the baby stuff we already have, in a pile in the extra room, and all the stuff we will have and then I started to hyperventilate. Really, where are we going to put all the stuff? We don’t have any extra space in the kitchen for bottles, where are those going to go? I sold my desk, gave away my cute little hutch thing and three bookshelves. I am throwing out or giving away a lot of stuff, and now I have to find things in the kitchen to get rid of?
After panicking about where we are going to put things we don’t own yet (yes, I know that is crazy, I can see that) it occurred to me….what are we going to do with a baby? I don’t know how to take care of a baby. And on a totally selfish level, I need my sleep. I don’t do well when I haven’t had enough and now I am voluntarily doing something that will seriously cut into my sleeping!!?
Which then made me feel weird because I have wanted a family for years…like for the last 8, a lot more so in the last 3 years. So, here I am finally having a baby and I think I should be totally happy and all I am thinking about is, how am I going to do this and where will all the stuff go?
Then I was talking to a friend, who laughed a lot as I told her this story, and she told me just to wait until the baby is crawling around eating dirt and I will wonder why I was so worried about this.
Perspective is a great thing. :o)
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Registering
Last weekend I went with my wonderful friend Nicki to Babies-R-Us to register. Who knew that three hours could go by so fast? We wandered through the store; looked at cute baby stuff and she told me about what types of things I would and wouldn’t need. It was fun.
But now, after the fun of all that has worn off, I am starting to panic a little. I started to feel greedy, like if I have too many things on the list people will think badly of me. The lady at the store said to have 5 things on the list for each person you plan on inviting to the shower, so they had lots to choose from. That sounded okay in the store (it still felt like a lot) but I could see the logic. I also know that she is salesperson for the store; her job is to sell after all, so I took her advice with a grain of salt.
But now, I am imaging people going to the store and printing out a huge list and feeling overwhelmed with the amount of things on the list. And then thinking to themselves, wow, she wants a lot of stuff (and if they think I want a lot of stuff that means I am greedy).
And I am also imagining all the stuff in my house. Ummm, where will it all go? Nicki gave me some good suggestions, you know, like under the crib storage for sheets and blankets, which I can see helping a lot. But I am also trying to get stuff out of my house, de-cluttering. And this feels like re-cluttering.
Logically I know that I am way off base here but emotionally it feels…well, still greedy. That people will give what they want to give and that in the grand view of it all there is not that much “stuff”. It’s just that Brian and talked about this before and we both would really like to keep the “items” to the things we need and not just all the stuff that looks cool or we think might be nice. And I also know that I have no idea what we will really need until we need it…so how do your register for that?!!
On a side note, Brian and I went together to register at Target. I would like to point out that taking someone with you who is more clueless then you and really has no interest in trying to pick stuff out is a bad idea. It was okay with the wedding registry stuff, not super great, but okay and at times fun. But this is a whole other ballpark! (Ladies, if you are in this situation and thinking to yourself, really how bad can it be? Don’t do it. Again, don’t do it. Find a girlfriend or go by yourself, it is better than arguing with your honey in the middle of the baby section.)
I know that it is not because Brian doesn’t love me or the baby because he does. I think he feels like I would feel if he took me to the hardware store, stood in front of a row a screws, pointed to one and said, “What do you think of this one?” They all seem pretty much the same to me, so I am sure that Brian was like, how do I know if we want the one with the light up ladybug? It’s a toy for a baby.
The other issue that I am coming up against is that it feels very wasteful to have people buy new items when there are so many gently used things out there that are far from being used up. I put a note on the registries that handmade and gently used items are welcome. (I did this online once I left the store, I didn’t want to be that rude.) Other than that I don’t know what to do. Should I write…Save your money shop Craig’s list, on the shower invitations? (haha, kidding, sort of).
And this brings up another point…who am I to decide how others spend their money or how they feel about spending their money? That has nothing to do with me.
I know…I have to let it go. It is just easier said than done.
But now, after the fun of all that has worn off, I am starting to panic a little. I started to feel greedy, like if I have too many things on the list people will think badly of me. The lady at the store said to have 5 things on the list for each person you plan on inviting to the shower, so they had lots to choose from. That sounded okay in the store (it still felt like a lot) but I could see the logic. I also know that she is salesperson for the store; her job is to sell after all, so I took her advice with a grain of salt.
But now, I am imaging people going to the store and printing out a huge list and feeling overwhelmed with the amount of things on the list. And then thinking to themselves, wow, she wants a lot of stuff (and if they think I want a lot of stuff that means I am greedy).
And I am also imagining all the stuff in my house. Ummm, where will it all go? Nicki gave me some good suggestions, you know, like under the crib storage for sheets and blankets, which I can see helping a lot. But I am also trying to get stuff out of my house, de-cluttering. And this feels like re-cluttering.
Logically I know that I am way off base here but emotionally it feels…well, still greedy. That people will give what they want to give and that in the grand view of it all there is not that much “stuff”. It’s just that Brian and talked about this before and we both would really like to keep the “items” to the things we need and not just all the stuff that looks cool or we think might be nice. And I also know that I have no idea what we will really need until we need it…so how do your register for that?!!
On a side note, Brian and I went together to register at Target. I would like to point out that taking someone with you who is more clueless then you and really has no interest in trying to pick stuff out is a bad idea. It was okay with the wedding registry stuff, not super great, but okay and at times fun. But this is a whole other ballpark! (Ladies, if you are in this situation and thinking to yourself, really how bad can it be? Don’t do it. Again, don’t do it. Find a girlfriend or go by yourself, it is better than arguing with your honey in the middle of the baby section.)
I know that it is not because Brian doesn’t love me or the baby because he does. I think he feels like I would feel if he took me to the hardware store, stood in front of a row a screws, pointed to one and said, “What do you think of this one?” They all seem pretty much the same to me, so I am sure that Brian was like, how do I know if we want the one with the light up ladybug? It’s a toy for a baby.
The other issue that I am coming up against is that it feels very wasteful to have people buy new items when there are so many gently used things out there that are far from being used up. I put a note on the registries that handmade and gently used items are welcome. (I did this online once I left the store, I didn’t want to be that rude.) Other than that I don’t know what to do. Should I write…Save your money shop Craig’s list, on the shower invitations? (haha, kidding, sort of).
And this brings up another point…who am I to decide how others spend their money or how they feel about spending their money? That has nothing to do with me.
I know…I have to let it go. It is just easier said than done.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
To circumcise or not to circumcise
At the last doctor’s appointment our midwife asked if, we have a boy, we wanted to circumcise.
I thought I knew what the answer would be but now I am not sure. When I really started thinking about it I realized that I had a lot of questions.
Who are we to decide what his penis should look like? Is there a big difference between circumcised and not? (Health wise our midwife (and the research I have done) says there is no difference.) What if we do it and there are complications? What if we don’t do it and there are complications?
If we do it, it will hurt him. Won’t having a diaper on hurt? But, then again, it will hurt less now, when he won’t remember than if it was done later. It is possible that if we don’t do it, will it be hard to keep clean when he is older than toddler age, when we are not in charge of keeping that area clean?
The procedure is not an exact science. There could be infection because there is a cut. There could be a less then optimum cosmetic outcome. They could take too much or too little skin. Or both.
Statically, circumcision is preformed in about half the baby boys born in this area. So, I don’t think that “looks“will be a factor as he grows up. Either way he will probably look like other boys. I just don’t know what to do.
What I have been doing so far is hoping that the baby is a girl…so I don’t have to make the decision. :o)
I thought I knew what the answer would be but now I am not sure. When I really started thinking about it I realized that I had a lot of questions.
Who are we to decide what his penis should look like? Is there a big difference between circumcised and not? (Health wise our midwife (and the research I have done) says there is no difference.) What if we do it and there are complications? What if we don’t do it and there are complications?
If we do it, it will hurt him. Won’t having a diaper on hurt? But, then again, it will hurt less now, when he won’t remember than if it was done later. It is possible that if we don’t do it, will it be hard to keep clean when he is older than toddler age, when we are not in charge of keeping that area clean?
The procedure is not an exact science. There could be infection because there is a cut. There could be a less then optimum cosmetic outcome. They could take too much or too little skin. Or both.
Statically, circumcision is preformed in about half the baby boys born in this area. So, I don’t think that “looks“will be a factor as he grows up. Either way he will probably look like other boys. I just don’t know what to do.
What I have been doing so far is hoping that the baby is a girl…so I don’t have to make the decision. :o)
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