Yesterday's Excitement

There are lots of things you hear while pregnant. There is advice about your health; don’t drink or smoke, don’t eat sushi, eat your fruits and veggies, drink lots of water. There is advice about how to raise the baby; don’t hold it too much or you will spoil it, breastfeeding is best, use glass bottles. There is advice about advice; remember, free advice is worth what you pay for it.



Your girlfriends who have been there before you will also offer up advice; get an epidural, the last three weeks are the worst, you need a (insert whatever is the newest and greatest thing here), you don’t need a (insert whatever is the newest and greatest thing here). They will tell you about weight gain, butt spread, gas and vaginal discharge.


And then there are mountains of books, about pregnancy, birth, nutrition, funny ones, serious ones, ones for new mothers and ones for new fathers. With all this information floating around I didn’t really think anything about pregnancy would surprise me…until yesterday.


Yesterday morning I woke up, went to the bathroom and saw blood. Bright-ish red blood. Covering the toilet paper! I wiped again, and more blood. At this point I was trying not to freak out. I went back into the bedroom, woke up Brian and told him we needed to go the hospital. So, at this point, we are both now wide awake at 6 am.


I called the doctor’s office and talked to the doctor on call who asked some questions and then assured me that nothing was wrong and to just come in for my appointment today as scheduled. She said that I passed the mucus plug and it probably just broke a capillary when it came off. I was still worried.


When I went to the bathroom later, there was still blood and some was dripping in to the toilet. That was not making me feel better and my appointment was not until 10:30!! I didn’t know if I should be excited because this baby might actually come out or if I should be worried that something is wrong.


I called a friend to get her advice and she also said that it was normal.


We decided to go ahead and pack the last minute things into the suitcase and put it in the car, just in case. We did that. We took the trash out and took the cans to the curb (Friday is trash day) and put the car seat in the car. We cuddled/ watched TV for about an hour, then took showers and got ready for the appointment.


As it turns out, nothing was “wrong”. I guess it is what is called the Bloody Show. It is mostly defined as: a stringy mucous discharge tinged with pink or brown blood. Tinged…HA. It would have been nice to know it could be that bloody and still be “normal”.


It was a freaky morning but a few good things came from it; we got a practice run at getting ready, we had the chores for the day done by 8 am and we know that the process has started (I was one centimeter dilated)…there will be labor starting at some point. :o)

Shiva Rea’s Prenatal Yoga aka ex-sail

I borrowed Shiva Rea’s Prenatal Yoga DVD by Gaiam from friend. And basically I think it sucked.

There are a few reasons I didn’t like this DVD, one being that I expect the people walk you through the poses. For example, they say, out loud, something like, now exhale as you start to bend forward, reaching your arms toward the floor. I don’t like to have to watch the screen every second to be able to keep up. How do they expect you to follow along when some of the poses require you to be in a head down or sideways position that doesn’t lend so well to looking at the TV screen? (Duh.)

But the main reason I didn’t like this DVD is because the lady says exhale as if the hale part was spelled sail. Ex-sail. OMG, it was soooo annoying that it was all I could hear. Blah, blah, blah ex-sail, blah, blah, blah EX-SAIL. Could. Not. Take. It.

It did have three different levels to account for different trimesters and as far as I could tell the poses were fine, nothing hurt when I did it. But I will point out that I was so sick of listing to the lady talk that I fast forwarded a lot of the DVD.

I don’t know if they have a prenatal DVD but I would recommend the Yoga Zone DVD’s over any other. They are great. They talk you through every pose telling you where you should feel what and giving you lots of variations, easier and more advanced. And they don’t make you feel bad about where you are, quite the opposite in fact. Even some of the instructors can’t go as deep into some poses as others who are doing the poses with them. The music isn’t funky and they don’t have that ‘I’m so cool (and better than you) because I am a yoga master and I can make my studio look and sound new-age-y. ‘ (I hate that. I will stop watching something if I get even a little of that vibe.)

I own the Yoga Zone Ultimate Collection and I think it is the one the best things I have ever purchased.

In Two Weeks

Last night Brian looked at me and said, “You know what? In about 2 weeks we could have a baby.”

I said, “Yes…”

“In two weeks, we could be parents.”

And I thought…I am failing to see the revelation here. :o)


It must be weird to have all of this hit at once. I mean, I have had a reminder that this event is coming for the last 9 months. I know that men don’t have the same luxury.
I have read that, for men, it becomes “real” once they see the baby. That must be hard. Really. Your whole life is different in like 3 seconds. That seems like a reason to faint to me; not the goo or blood or any of that…mostly just the thought that this is real and now everything is different. That might take my breath away or make me lose blood flow to my extremities.
I have to admit that it is a weird thought that the hospital will let us just take a baby home. And then it is going to be there…forever.

Some questions for today

I have a few random questions that just need to be "let out", so here goes...


It is possible to not pee my pants EVERY time I sneeze? 
Why did that start now?  Three days ago I was fine.
Why do so many people assume that I am going to cut my hair once the baby arrives?
Is there some sort of Mommy memo that I didn't get?  Is short hair the standard Mommy do?
When will this cold go away?  And will my nose fall off?
Is it possible to get any work done with all the dirt in my house staring at me?  (I have already cleaned out two drawers in the kitchen, only two more and a bunch of cabinets to go.)
Did anyone else know that we had so much junk in those drawers?  And if so, why didn't anyone tell me?
How many cheap wine openers does one family need?
Are my wine glasses getting lonely?  (Dear wine glasses: it isn't you, it's the baby.)

Steps for putting on a crib mattress cover

1. Take everything out of the crib
2. Place cover on mattress
3. Stand on tip-toes to get stomach over edge of crib
4. Lean over and tuck back left corner on mattress
5. Tuck front left corner on mattress
6. Move to right side
7. Stand on tip-toes to get stomach over edge of crib
8. Gently pull on cover and wonder, how is this thing going to fit
9. Tuck back right corner of cover on mattress
10. Step back and see that left back cover has come off
11. Move back over to left side
12. Stand on tip-toes to get stomach over edge of crib
13. Notice that you have the cover inside out
14. Turn cover right side out
15. Again, stand on tip-toes to get stomach over edge of crib
16. Tuck back left corner of cover on mattress
17. Break out in a sweat
18. With right hand, hold the back left corner of cover/mattress
19. With left hand pull and tuck left front corner on mattress
20. Place left hand on back left corner and try to move over and reach right back corner
21. Hold back left cover/mattress while pulling with right hand trying to tuck in back right corner
22. Success! Stand back
23. Watch mattress cover spring off mattress
24. Curse at cover
25. Try to pick up mattress to see if you can put the cover on it with it out of the crib
26. Decide the cover would probably fall off while putting the mattress back in the crib
27. Consider calling husband to help
28. Decide to try again
29. Stand on tip-toes to get stomach over edge of crib
30. Tuck back right corner of cover on mattress
31. Hold corner with right hand
32. Slowly move hand toward left side while holding on mattress cover
33. With left hand tuck back left corner of cover on mattress
34. Hold back left corner with right hand
35. Tuck front left corner of cover on mattress
36. Wonder how in the world this is going to stay on
37. Consider getting some tape
38. Hold cover in place with left hand and move toward right side
39. Realize that there is no way this cover is going to fit
40. Curse at cover again
41. Throw cover at mattress and storm out of room


F*ck it…it doesn’t need a damn mattress anyway!

Possible Careers

Based on your movements I have compiled a list of careers I think you might be suited for:

Rock band drummer
Bread maker
Soccer player
Football field goal kicker
Go-go dancer
Rockette
Olympic gymnast

Boy or Girl

Since we decided not to find out the sex of the baby via ultrasound, we thought it would be fun to test out some old wives tales and see if we could get any “insight” into the baby’s gender.

Carrying High vs. Carrying Low –Girl I am carrying “high” so this would indicate that we are having a girl.
Cravings—Girl Since I am craving sweets.
Breast evenness – Girl Because my left is bigger than the right.
Pendant/wedding ring on string –Girl
Acne – Boy Under the theory that if you have acne it’s a girl…mine hasn’t changed either way so I am counting that as none.
Chinese Gender Calendar – Girl
The “What do you think you are having” feeling – Girl
Dreams – Girl but with a surprise Boy I have had two dreams that we had a girl, early in the pregnancy, and one last night that we had a boy and I was really surprised.
Even and Odd – Girl Both the year of conception and my age at conception are even. Or if you add the numbers up the resulting number is even, so again, girl.

And according to Childbirth.org (http://www.childbirth.org/articles/boyorgirl.html)
You have a 47% chance of having a boy.  And you have a 52% chance of having a girl.


And Here's Why...
You are carrying the extra weight out front, so it's a boy.
The hair on your legs is not growing any faster during your pregnancy, so it's a girl. (The hair on my legs is actually growing slower than it did before.)
Girls are carried high. You are going to have a girl.
Sleeping in a bed with your pillow to the south indicates that you will be having a girl.
Your feet are not colder than they were before pregnancy. You are having a girl. (My feet are warmer than before.)
You prefer the heel of a loaf of bread. You are having a boy.
Dad-to-be hasn't been gaining weight along with Mom-to-be, so it will be a girl.
The maternal grandmother has gray hair, so a boy will be born.
You had morning sickness early in pregnancy, so you are expecting a girl.
You are looking particularly good during pregnancy. Therefore, it must be a boy, because girls steal their mother's looks.
Your chest development has not been very dramatic during pregnancy. You should expect a boy.
Since the sum of the mother's age at conception and the number of the month of conception is even, it will be a boy.  (Other sites stated that even numbers meant you are having a girl.)
A needle on a thread held over your belly moves in circles, so you will have a boy.  (Other sites stated the opposite.)
You are craving sweets, which means that it is a girl.
Your nose hasn't changed during pregnancy, which indicates a girl.
You have been craving fruits, so it is a girl.


So, according my research, we are having a girl. Guess we will know for sure in about 6 weeks.

A few months ago my Bosnian neighbors told me that I was having a boy because when you are having a girl you get prettier. (Yes, what they were saying is that I was ugly or uglier.) I saw them last night and they now say it is a girl, I guess I must be looking better. ;o)