20Mar
This past weekend, my friend Sarah threw me a lovely baby brunch in honor of Miss Gracie. It was absolutely lovely and I felt so special – just like any good shower should make an enormous pregnant woman feel.
It came at just the perfect time, too. I’ve been at the end of my pregnancy rope, dangling like a massive round watermelon. I tell you, weeks 35-37 in your pregnancy have to be the lowest. You are so far along and yet so far from the end that you feel like you’ve been pregnant for your entire life and that you’ll never have this baby. But then I hit week 37 and it finally feels like I might make it through this thing after all. So just as I was coming out of my “I CAN’T DO THIS ANYMORE” phase, Sarah invited some of our co-workers and my family over for a pink party celebration. It couldn’t have been a better time.
There was a ton of food and all the kinds I love – chicken salad and cucumber sandwiches (can we just pause to appreciate the cucumber sandwich? How I love its simplicity…), pasta salad, fruit salad, a big field greens salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing, veggies and dip, this yummy salsa with a flavor that I couldn’t place but was really different and delicious, and – of course – cupcakes! Sarah made my favorite cupcake of all time. Funfetti boxed cupcakes with strawberry icing. It really doesn’t get any better than that.
Oh, and she made this amazing punch that will now become a staple in my house. Lemonade mixed with Sprite. It was so delicious and summery!
My mom was there, of course, and she helped with the decorations.
When I was pregnant with Bean, she made this gorgeous diaper cake for my baby shower. This time, she made a giant pink one for Gracie. It was the centerpiece on the gift table and it was adorable! The box that everything was sitting on had a bunch of baby goodies in it like shower cream, lotion, and baby nail clippers. And the, of course, every tier had diapers. So, it was beautiful and practical, too.
Sarah had the party set up out on her back porch by the pool and she did the cutest thing out there. She strung up a clothes line and then hung pink and white baby onesies and socks. It was so simple and so sweet and was such a practical decoration because after the shower, I got to take all the clothes home with me. What a neat idea! I’m definitely stealing this!
When the guests all arrived, we played some of my favorite shower games. I love the one where guests take a string of yarn and they try to guess how long the yarn should be to fit around the pregnant belly. Let me tell you – people think I’m HUGE. Every piece of yarn was at LEAST two feet longer than I am around! It was a lot of fun! We also played a game where you had to fill in the blank with nursery rhymes and I realized that I am a terrible mother because I am not well-versed in those. I had no idea how to finish Rub-a-Dub-Dub or Old Mother Hubbard! And I couldn’t remember what kind of pie Little Jack Horner stuck his thumb into, either!
People found the cutest baby clothes to give Gracie, too! Look at this little tutu!
And check out these adorable handmade baby booties! They came from an Etsy shop called Little Posh Bebe. They are made with eco-friendly felt and adorned with the cutest, most adorable little flowers. I think they are absolutely beautiful!
People were so generous and it made me so thankful for the new friends I’ve met since we’ve moved to Florida.
All in all, it was a perfect way to kick off my last two weeks of pregnancy. I think I might actually be able to hang in there until April 4 after all.
Though, if Gracie wanted to make her appearance any earlier, I’d be okay with that, too…
*****Today I am grateful for kind people.
17Mar
THINGS I LIKE TO EAT:
- Swiss Cake Rolls
- Salads
- Cheese
- Chocolate milk (currently my favorite)
- Dr. Pepper
- Bananas
THINGS I DON’T LIKE TO EAT:
- Most meat
- Most veggies
- Anything with garlic
THINGS I LIKE TO DO:
- Sit
- Sit and boss Chris around
- Sit and stare at my swollen feet
- Sit and watch Gracie kick
- Sit and balance things on my belly
- Sit and daydream about sleeping
- Sit and play with Bean
THINGS I AM NOT ABLE TO DO:
- Climb steps without heaving like a 30 year smoker
- Sleep
- Walk for more than 15 minutes at a time
- Stand on one foot (I know this because I fall down when I put pants on…it’s as funny as it sounds, trust me)
- Evict my fetus
- Run
- Hop
- Skip
- Do laundry (I can’t carry the baskets)
- Talk to people who want to one day have children. I’m afraid I’ll scare them.
THINGS I WISH I COULD DO:
- Have this baby
- See my feet
- Have this baby
- Knock people in the head when they ask if I’m having twins
- Have this baby
- Go 10 minutes without heartburn
- Have this baby
- Pick up Bean and snuggle him good
- Have this baby
- Sleep
- Have this baby
THINGS THAT HURT:
- My back
- My hips
- My calves
- My ankles
- My feet
- This one spot in my belly where Gracie likes to kick
THINGS I AM FEELING:
- Pissed off
- Frustrated
- Excited
- Anxious
- Sore
- Big
- Old
- Hungry
THINGS I AM GRATEFUL FOR:
- Chris
- Bean
- My doctor, the Satanist
- A big, fat, healthy baby
- That I’m having a c-section (see above)
- Swiss Cake Rolls
16Mar
On Tuesday during my first period class, I had the biggest contraction I’ve ever had. I was in the middle of teaching and it literally took my breath away. It lasted a few minutes and then it was over. I’ve had contractions off and on throughout my third trimester, but this one was much stronger and it was during the day. I don’t think I’ve ever had contractions during the day. Usually I get them at night after I’ve been walking around all day and my body is tired. Still though, I recouped and continued teaching. About an hour later, it happened again. A really, really strong and breath-taking contraction. By lunch, I was having them about every half hour.
On my planning period, I called my doctor just to see what they thought I should do. I spoke with her nurse and she assured me that there wasn’t anything to be done until contractions were about 5-10 minutes apart and that I should sit down, put my feet up, and drink lots of fluid because contractions can be triggered by being overly tired or being dehydrated. Since I only had one more class left that afternoon, I finished my day out and headed home.
When I got home, I did just like my nurse suggested. I rested and drank lots of water. My contractions still continued, but they weren’t nearly as strong or as regular. So, I decided to put in for a substitute for Wednesday and take a day to rest and then I went to bed at 7:15. I think I was asleep before Bean.
When I got up this morning, I felt much better and wasn’t having contractions nearly as intensely or as regularly. I took Bean to daycare and then headed to my doctor’s office. The first thing I said to my doctor when she came into the exam room was that my hospital bag was in the car and if she needed a ride to the hospital, I could take us right then. She laughed.
And then she said no.
And then came the begging.
“Please, please, please! Please! Please let me go to the hospital! Please! Please, please, please! Take this baby out! Please! Please!”
But she wouldn’t budge.
“You look great!” she told me.
“But I am so uncomfortably big! I don’t even fit in bathroom stalls anymore! My back hurts! My feet are swelling! I can’t sleep! Please! PLEASE deliver this baby today!”
“Katie,” she said. “I’m not delivering that baby unless there’s a medical emergency.”
So, I thought for a minute.
“I think that disc in my back is bulging again,” I said hopefully.
“You seem to be walking fine,” she replied calmly.
Shoot. This is the problem when you have a smart doctor. They actually pay attention to things. I’d have to be sneakier.
“I think my water broke,” I tried.
“You THINK?”
“Yeah. I think it did.”
“No,” she said. “You’d know.”
DOUBLE DAMN!
Finally, I gave up and asked my doctor at what point I was actually allowed to go to the hospital. She said that my contractions had to be 5-10 minutes apart or my water had to break.
“If I get a call from the hospital that you are up there, I’m asking them about those two things. If one of them hasn’t happened, I’m not coming up there,” she laughed.
She’s tough, my doctor. But she knows me too well.
So, it looks like I had a false alarm there this week. And it looks like I have to wait a wee bit longer before I meet Gracie. And this kind of makes me feel like this:
Hot momma.
A couple days ago, I posted on Bean’s page about what all I’m packing in Gracie’s hospital bag. I had a ton of requests to do a similar post on what I’m packing for myself, too. So, here we go…
I had a c-section with Bean because he was breech. And huge. And stubborn. Because of that c-section and especially because it’s been less than 2 years since my last c-section, I’ll be having another one with Gracie. Though I would prefer to have had at least one of my babies naturally, my first c-section wasn’t so horrible and so I’m not really worried too much about having another one. The recovery is tricky and can be long, but it really wasn’t as bad as what I had expected. I’m crossing my fingers that this time around is similar. Having a c-section slightly changes what I’m packing, so keep that in mind as we go through this list.
The first most important thing that I’m packing are comfy pajamas. Critical and crucial to the recover process. I was going to bring my maternity yoga pants that I got when I was pregnant with Bean and that I haven’t taken off since then. They have holes in them. They have no elastic. They drag the floor. I love them. But when my mom heard I was packing these, she dragged my bed-resting butt to Target. I’m so glad she did because I found some comfy jammies.
When you’re having a c-section, you really have to be careful about what pants you wear afterwards because of your incision. Most PJ pants hit right where the incision is and so I when I had Bean, I wore a gown instead of pants. But in a gown, I had to be careful how I moved so I didn’t flash anyone. And when you’ve just had major abdominal surgery, the last thing you want to do is worry about how you’re moving. This time around, I looked for pants that sat really low on my waist and that had a drawstring so that I could loosen them as I need. We’ll see how that works out this time.
As concerned as I am about how comfy my pajamas are, my mom is just as concerned with how cold my feet are for some reason. She has insisted with both pregnancies that I wear slippers in the hospital. But I hate slippers. So instead, my mom got me these cute socks with rubber grips on the bottom.
And as if that wasn’t enough, she loaded me up on regular socks, too. My mom has a sock fetish. Can you tell?
But actually, socks are really useful in the hospital. You are in your room a lot and it’s nice to have some socks to kick around in, but you are also out of your room quite a bit, too. You’re walking to the nursery to see your bambino. You’re doctors and nurses want you up and walking as soon as possible. You’re sniffing down vending machines full of Famous Amos cookies. So, throw some socks in your bag.
Another necessity? A bathrobe. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of bathrobes. Like slippers, they just seem to get in the way. But when you’re up and walking around, it’s nice to have an extra layer of clothing on. Plus, it gets a little chilly in hospitals.
When I was in the hospital with Bean, I packed all this reading material. A had a ton of books with me. Turns out, paying attention to books when your brand spankin’ new baby is laying there next to you is impossible. I just sat there and stared at Bean. For hours. And then I’d sniff his head. And then I’d stare a few more hours. Books? What were books? This time around, I’m only bringing two books and those are more just in case I have trouble sleeping. Nurses are always coming in throughout the night and I am a light sleeper, so I’d always wake up and have a hard time getting back to sleep. If that happens, I am bringing my two favorite (and only) parenting books. With Bean, I referred to two books religiously. The first was BabyTalk Magazine’s Guide to the First Year. It covers small trivial things like how to cut your baby’s nails and how to really change a diaper. I’ve been flipping through it lately just to refresh my memory on newborn care, so I’m throwing it into my bag just in case. The other book that Chris and I both loved was The Happiest Baby on the Block. We used this book for the sleeping methods. They worked like a charm on Bean and so we’re going to try them again with Gracie and see what she thinks.
Another thing I’m bringing are travel size toiletries. That way, I don’t have to worry about packing and unpacking them when I’m at the hospital. I’m going to throw them into a Ziplock bag and then when I’ve used them at the hospital and we’re ready to go, I can just chunk the whole bag in the trash and be done. Super easy and worth the $1 a bottle. I’m also bringing lotion because hospitals have really dry air and my skin is dry anyways.
One thing I am definitely bringing is my face stuff. After a c-section, a shower is incredibly painful and tricky to maneuver. With Bean, I was in the hospital for 5 days and only managed to take 1 shower because of the effort and pain. But I still want to feel clean! I’m bringing all my face care stuff (face wash, moisturizer, eye make up remover, and soothing eye gel) so that I can maybe fake myself into thinking I’m clean.
Some people bring their own pillows to the hospital, but I don’t want to have to keep up with anything extra and bulky. And I don’t want my home pillow to get all hospital-y. Instead of bringing the whole pillow, I’m just going to bring my own pillowcase. If fits easily into my bag, it’s not the end of the world if something gross happens to it, and it will be much more comfortable and homey to sleep on something that smells and feels like my own bed.
Other things that we’ll pack when THE TIME comes:
- Snacks and bottled water for me and Chris
- A phone and email list so that Chris can get the word out when Gracie arrives
- Our insurance, medical, and doctor information
- Our camera, video camera, laptop, and chargers for all of that stuff
- Cell phones and chargers
- A pack of diaper wipes (good for feeling fresh in the hospital bed and they’re just so handy!)
- PJ pants and extra clothes, a sheet or blanket, a pillow all for Chris
- A gift to give Bean from Gracie when he meets her for the first time
- A notebook or notepad to keep track of who visits or sends flowers so that I can send thank you notes later
What about you? What did you bring to the hospital that you couldn’t live without?
*****
Today I am grateful for Domino’s Pizza after long days.
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