Category Archives: Baby

Baby

This is getting really old …

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Thanks for the update, BabyCenter, but my 2-week-old baby HASN’T COME OUT YET!

Since Thursday evening, I have been experiencing prodromal labor, which is mostly contractions that don’t get longer or closer together but can go on for days. They sure feel like the real thing, but they just aren’t. We were up late timing them on Thursday night, until they just stopped. And then last night from 3 to 5 a.m. I was tiptoeing around the house wondering what time I should wake Patrick and tell him (I’m glad I didn’t; they stopped as soon as birds started chirping outside).

The good news is that all these false alarms are supposed to be accomplishing something, in terms of dilation and all that — so there may be less work to do when I’m really in pain.

I’ve been a bit of a recluse all weekend (more than usual, I mean!) while waiting for the real deal to get going. That’s partly because it’s about 100 degrees outside, and partly because when we went to dinner Friday night, a man in the parking lot OPENLY POINTED AND LAUGHED at me. I know I’m big and round, but dang. Wait until you get in the car before you start making fun!

Tomorrow, Joe and I have a 2:00 appointment for the same ultrasound/non-stress test routine as the past two weeks. I am really hoping to miss that appointment because of real labor, but it doesn’t look hopeful right now.

Sorry to keep everyone in suspense … he’ll be worth the wait!

Baby

Today at the Doctor's Office

Same routine as last week, with the ultrasound and the non-stress test. Joe passed everything with flying colors, although he was a bit stubborn about moving on the ultrasound at first. After a quick pep talk, he did finally give us a reassuring wave.

The tech zoomed in on his face and we could see two little nostrils at the top of the screen, with his little mouth opening and closing below. He even stuck his tiny tongue out. You can already tell he’s a good-looking kid!

Then we met with the doctor, who said that I’m one centimeter dilated (that’s the size of a Cheerio, but hey, it’s something). She asked what we’d like to do about induction. I have been doing some research and decided that the risk (to him and me) of inducing labor is greater than the risk of letting him determine his own birthday.

Don’t get me wrong — the idea of induction is tempting, especially given that:

  • It’s in the 90s and getting hotter every day
  • We are really eager to meet this kid
  • I’m running out of clothes that fit

Still, there’s no sense in rushing things if he’s not ready yet. We’ve got the rest of our lives to push him around; no reason to start now!

The doctor was surprisingly cool about the “wait and see” approach, but she does want me to come twice a week for the ultrasound routine until he’s born.

So, I’m guessing that (in keeping with the family tradition of late, huge babies) Joe will turn up on his own within the next week, tipping the scales at 9 pounds plus. Yikes!

Baby, Home

Monday

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Still no Joe. He seems quite content in there, wiggling around a lot and poking me in the ribs. What are you waiting for, child?!

We’ve resorted to reverse psychology, loudly yelling towards my belly things like, “IT’S A GOOD THING HE’S NOT HERE YET SO WE CAN TRY THAT NEW RESTAURANT!” and “I HOPE HE DOESN’T COME TODAY BECAUSE THERE’S A LOT WE NEED TO GET DONE!”

He’s not falling for it.

Every week, babycenter.com has been sending me an email to explain what’s happening in that week of pregnancy — the baby’s size, what organs are developing, what symptoms I might have, etc. Here is this week’s e-mail. So helpful!

Amy and the kids woke up with nasty colds today and so won’t be visiting after all. They may be here on Wednesday — if Joe doesn’t get here first!

Baby, Family, Home

Weekend!

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After sleeping in this morning, we went to the Petersburg Farmers Market to browse the veggies and herbs. We came home with a parsley plant and a basil plant. We also zoomed up and down the cobblestone streets in the hopes of shaking Joe loose. It didn’t work, but I like to think he was in there going, “Wheee!”

A quick stop at the stationery store (to look at baby announcements, which are absurdly expensive) and then the Wawa (to pick up lunch, which is delightfully cheap) were about all the public appearance I could handle — everywhere I go now, people stare and say “OH MY GOD, WHEN ARE YOU DUE?!” So then I have to say “Last week,” and they start in with the well-meaning advice. What cracks me up is that at least three total strangers have said, “Oh, you have definitely dropped.” Uh, do I know you?

Anyway. Tonight for dinner we finally went to The Phoenician, this new Lebanese place I have been dying to try. Oh, it was so good! Our friend Lisa and her friend Dan joined us, and the four of us tore into a whole spread of baba ghanouj, tabouleh, hummus and about a dozen other yummy things. Dessert was namoura cake, which was like a honey-soaked, coconutty piece of cornbread. So good!

Tomorrow we’ll probably just kick around the house — I really need to clean again before the kid gets here, and Patrick is probably going to mow the lawn. Plus we have new herbs to plant!

On Monday, my sister and her kids are coming to visit, which will be a nice distraction for me. We can walk down to the playground and listen for the ice cream truck, or sit on the patio while Lola licks the children to death. Good times!

Baby

Today at the Doctor's Office

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We had a looong visit today.

First up was an other ultrasound of Joe. They checked to make sure he was “breathing” ( his little lungs take in fluid and let it back out, which is practice for breathing air on the outside) and that he had enough fluid to move around in. They also checked for gross movement (like waving an arm or bending a knee), along with finer muscle tone (opening and closing his hand). He took a while to do that last bit — his little fists were clenched the whole time — but he must have done it eventually because they let me go and said he had done well. Yay!

You know what else they said they could see on the ultrasound? He has hair!

We didn’t get photos to take home this time, but it’s just as well — the bigger he gets, the harder it is for me to tell what I’m looking at. You can only see an elbow or foot at a time instead of the whole baby.

Next up was a fetal non-stress test, where they hooked me up to two around-the-belly monitors: one to record his heartbeat and one to record my contractions. He kept moving away from where they put the sensor, so it would drop out from time to time — but then he’d turn back and it came in loud and strong. I didn’t have any contractions, so no news there.

Finally there was the pelvic exam, which showed NO CHANGE from last week; nothing has moved down or opened up like it’s supposed to. So we have one more appointment (Thursday of next week) and then the doctor wants to induce labor. I don’t think I’m OK with that option, so hopefully Joe will make an appearance before then. I wish I knew what he was waiting for — we’re so ready to meet him!

That last bit was very discouraging, so Patrick cheered me up by reading two books to my belly when he got home — The Poky Little Puppy and The Taxi That Hurried. (We were going for a punctuality theme; here’s hoping Joe got the picture.)

After story time, I decided that a chocolate malt from Hardee’s would hit the spot. Patrick jumped up and was out the door to get it in seconds. What a guy!

Baby, Family, Home

Weekend at Home

We are now one week away from Joe’s due date, but he’s showing no signs of coming any time soon. He’s very wiggly, despite running out of wiggle room, but seems quite content where he is.

I, on the other hand, have developed severe belly itch and a mysterious rash on my fingers. Also, my snoring has reached the point where Patrick now quietly excuses himself to sleep in the guest room. (I mean Joe’s room!)

Saturday morning we went to Ft. Lee for Armed Forces Day, where Patrick had signed up to run a 5K. (It turned out to be more like a 6.5K, which they realized when everyone was disappointed in their time. Whoops!)

That’s him in the red shorts.

After a few errands, Patrick went out car shopping so that he can finally get rid of the truck. (No luck yet, but he seems to be enjoying the research!) I puttered around in the garden, snipping some roses to bring in and re-potting a few houseplants.

I have done nothing but ignore all my roses for the past year, but they haven’t held a grudge — these are just four out of about a dozen blooms on one bush!

Then I made deviled eggs!

Patrick went on a picture-hanging spree, getting the last few things put up on Joe’s wall, as well as this shadowbox his dad gave us a while back:

Those little figurines are Wades, which for years were distributed in boxes of Red Rose tea. Patrick’s dad gave us a whole collection of them. There’s everything from a horse to a lemur in there. (And a camel, of course!)

Today I accomplished very little, while Patrick:

  • fixed a leaky sink
  • installed the baby seat in my car
  • looked at some more used cars
  • mowed the lawn

I better hurry up and have this kid so I can feel like a contributing member of the household again!

Baby, Home

Joe's Room

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I got a burst of energy this morning and cleaned up Joe’s crib. I even washed his little sheets and got the whole thing all ready for him. Looky:

His changing table is all set for use (instead of piled up with stuff I wasn’t sure what to do with), and his light-up globe and moon have fresh new batteries. All we need now is to put down a rug, hang some stuff on the walls and wait.

Oh, and I should pack my bag for the hospital too.

Baby, Home, Work

Man, I'm on a Roll!

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What is this, like four posts in a day?

I’ve been neglecting the blog because of a pile of freelance work I had to get through. I have a new client called Lifewire, which is a subsidiary of the New York Times Company. They provide consumer health care content to a variety of sites, and I’ve been writing some of that content. It’s fairly easy, but time-consuming — I have to track down journal articles for clinical evidence on everything from green tea to triglycerides, and translate it from doctor-speak to plain English. So far, so good. I got paid for my first four articles this week (and the deposit showed up as being from the New York Times, thank you very much).

Earlier this week, my office threw a lovely shower for me and Joe. We got a play tray for his little Bumbo seat, a set of sweet little onesies and the highchair of our dreams (which Patrick put together immediately after getting it in the house). They are a great group of people and I’ll miss them when I leave next week.

On an unrelated note, I don’t think I’ll be wearing that top again — I look like a tick about to pop!

I went to see Baby Mama last night with a group of women from the Richmond Mommies club. Tina Fey is one of my personal heroes, and Amy Poehler is one of the funniest women alive. Throw in some Steve Martin and you have yourself a hit. I laughed until my big belly hurt!

This weekend there’s still more writing to do, plus some more tidying of Joe’s room. (I had it all cleaned up a few weeks ago, but the gifts keep coming and I have just tossed them all in his crib. I’m waiting for the nesting instinct to kick in a little more energy so I can clean up again!)

Don’t forget to check in with Joe’s blog — his dad has done a couple of updates leading up to the big reveal (whenever that happens).

Baby, Family

Family Resemblance?

I’ve been hoping Joe would look just like his dad, but Patrick says he sees me in Joe’s profile. I happen to look a lot like my dad, so Patrick put this little image together for comparison. What do you think?