Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Notes

Just some notes so I can remember this period in my life:

Trying to be productive but not psycho so that the baby can have a PhD-wielding mommy but limited intrauterine adrenaline. It's looking like my thesis defense will be a videoconference!

Headed to the Pacific Northwest for 2 weeks (work and vacation). Nervous about comfort while traveling, but hoping it's a good time.

We got life insurance, which makes me insanely happy, but I'm still worried about the guardianship decision.

Had dinner with the couple we'll be sharing a nanny with. Nervous, but kind of psyched too.

Totally overwhelmed by the registry process, but feeling like I have a better handle on it. Just keep reminding myself that we can buy anything we need later. There's nothing that we will ever need that we can't afford to buy the kid ourselves.

Trying to figure out whether I can handle paying $1000 for a glider. Our mattress is the only piece of furniture we've ever spent that much on (or even close to that much) and I was pretty sure I was going to use the mattress forever. On the one hand it's pretty, comfy, and everyone says it's something worth spending money on. On the other hand, I can't figure out if it's in line with my values to spend $1000 on a chair when I could use that money to pay for college or travel. Or retirement.

Still can't handle vegetables at all. This is by far the most painful GI situation I've ever had.

Have been having trouble sleeping well for the first time since my husband started using breathe right strips. I may need to add a third pillow to my system.

The kid has been kicking a lot in the last few days. He never kicks hard when my husband is trying to feel him, but it's really fun being reminded that I have a companion in everything I do. Especially when I'm up at 4am.

I'm worried about being out of shape, since I've been feeling mediocre, the weather has been very cold, I've had terrible round ligament pain, and I feel like I'm supposed to be working all the time. Sometimes when I lie on my side my heart feels funny - like it's beating too hard. I worry about blood pressure, but it's usually in a fine range when I go to the doctor. Trying to figure out whether it's worth the money to join the gym for the pool just until our apartment's pool opens in May. I'm leaning towards yes. Walking sucks right now because of the round ligament pain, and I can't stand feeling so fragile.

Overall I'm pretty happy. We are so, so blessed.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

It's (going to be) a boy!

Isn't he cute?






Also, he's awesome because he refused (like the contrary kid I know he is) to get in the right position for them to do one of the heart flow measurements. No need to be worried about it, but for completeness they want to do that when we go back next. So we get another ultrasound! Yay! Go kid!

Naming ideas have begun in earnest now, and we have a short list, but I wonder how we'll choose among the top 3-4.

I can't wait to meet him. But I really need him to stay inside for another 18 weeks so that he can be healthy and strong, and so I can get all my work done before he arrives!

My kid can kick

Several things:

He's getting stronger and stronger, which is really fun. Although it makes his kicking more distracting (like when I'm sleeping). I can't wait until my husband can feel it too.

We got life insurance! Yay! Now we can be confident that the guardians we chose will be able to take our kid in the unlikely event that something happens to us. This makes me much less anxious that our kid will somehow (through an absurd worst-case scenario) end up going to my sister-in-law and the evil guy she married.

I am extremely relieved that my husband and I are on the same page about keeping said evil relative away from our kid. The plan so far is that the kid spends no time with them away from us, and that although we won't avoid group family events, if the evil guy tries to spend time with our son one of us will always chaperone at all times. And we'll see if that can be avoided completely, because even if I'm there, there are certain things you can't will your child to unhear.

Work is going well, but I'm super time crunched. Trying to remain stress-free and focus on the fact that the baby needs me to be sane and won't care if my PhD got finished 6 months before his birth or 6 weeks before his birth. Trying to split the difference now.

I've been feeling mostly good, but round ligament pain seems to be really bad in the last few weeks. If I walk too fast or too much it becomes almost unbearable.

We need to register, which I hate. It was my least favorite thing about planning my wedding. But we've gotten some great advice from friends, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to just get it done and not worry too much. Hopefully lots of gift cards so we can buy the rest of what we need once we figure out what he likes and what would be handy.

Wow. I sound really happy. Which is awesome because I've been so overwhelmed with work this week as to be incapacitated. I can't imagine how it's all going to get done, so I just don't. But if I spend the next hour working, I'll feel a thousand times better, so here goes : )