The TUMMY!

It's all about the tummy! At 28 weeks and one day I am officially into my 3rd trimester! I took this tummy pic this morning to celebrate. Less than 12 weeks to go! (Hopefully).

To contribute to the celebration, baby kicked me awake at 3am this morning and kept me awake until at least 4am with HARD kicks all up and down my right side! The little rascal.

Getting Ready for Baby!

I love the bassinet and changing table! That's a really cute mobile hanging above the changing table, and a cute little bouncy seat on the floor next to it!

Dali loves the new changing table!



On Sunday one of Travis' sisters, Laura, loaned us a ton of baby stuff! Last night we spent hours putting everything together and rearranging the nursery, and I am SO excited to have so many wonderful things for the baby! It's amazing how much better it makes me feel about bringing a baby home...I didn't realize how much I was starting to stress out about not being completely ready! And I still have 3 months! :)
We are planning to go shopping this weekend for curtains and a throw rug for the baby's room, and then I think it will look a lot cuter. Right now it's still kind of bare. But, I love the bassinet and changing table that Laura's letting us borrow! As you can see, our cats love the new stuff too! I'm starting to feel a little more ready...

The Pros and Cons of Being Pregnant

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how unprepared I was for the difficult task of becoming a mother, and I've decided that some of it is worth sharing. I wish that someone had shared these things with me before I become pregnant! Here's a little list:
1. Not taking steps to avoid pregnancy is the same as planning to become pregnant.
--->Therefore, if you're planning to become pregnant, at least acknowledge the fact and do some real planning! Here are some things I wish I'd done/known:
2. Check into your work and state's medical leave/maternity leave policies. Unfortunately for me, Minnesota's law is that you only get leave if you've been with the company for at least 12 months. I'm due to have the baby 11 months after I started work at Concordia. Tough luck.
3. Check your insurance policy, to see what they cover and IF they will cover a pregnancy (especially if you become pregnant before your insurance coverage starts).
4. Consider whether or not you want to stay at home. SIX WEEKS IS NOT VERY LONG! Maternity leave in the US is ridiculous. If you think you would rather stay at home, assess your financial situation to see if you can afford it. For us, Travis has decided to work nights so he can be with the baby during the day and I'll be with the baby at night. We'll let you know how that goes!
5. Check into daycare. I've been on our preferred daycare's list since I was 5 weeks pregnant, and the odds of "getting in" are not looking good.
6. Consider how flexible and "family friendly" your employment is.
7. Consider how happy you are with your employment and level of education, because having a baby will make improving either one incredibly difficult.
8. Consider the things you hoped to do while still young, like travel...learn a new language...rough it in the woods for a month...all of these dreams will be put on pause or possibly derailed after baby!
9. Consider your relationship with the dad. If you have a playful and fun relationship with your partner then you might consider the fact that having a baby will change that relationship! I would have liked a little more time to be youthful and have fun with Travis. (If you don't have a fun and playful relationship with your partner you might question your decision to have a baby together!)
10. Consider that, beginning with the 2nd/3rd trimester, you will not be able to sleep well. According to my fellow mommy, Ruth, this continues up to the baby's 1st birthday...we'll see how long the interrupted sleep goes! This may seem petty, but I think it's good to know beforehand how much you enjoy sleep and how having less sleep affects you!

I love the number 10, so I'm going to stop.
Instead of listing 10 reasons why I'm happy to be pregnant, I thought I would share a revelation:
Last night I had a nightmare that I lost the baby, and was told that I could never get pregnant again. I woke up in a complete panic, and wasn't sure if I'd had a dream or if I had really lost the baby. My sense of loss was so powerful, I can't describe how completely depressed and distraught I felt before I realized it was all a dream. Here's what I realized after that dream: for all the ways my pregnancy stresses me out and for all of the negative things that I sometimes focus on, I am glad to be having this baby. I realized that I utterly, completely love our baby. There are many things that I would have done differently if I'd known better, but I wouldn't give up having this baby for anything. So, I'm just going to list one "pro" (which more than trumps the 10 "cons"):
1. I love our baby!

Tummy Picture!

Yay for my big tummy! Look how it pokes out of my shirt! I think it's so cute...I love how round my tummy is getting. The baby is now about 14 inches long, head to foot!

I am really pregnant!

This weekend was nice and quiet. Travis and I brought Charlie (our dog) home from eye-removal surgery on Friday and spent our time cuddling him (thus missing the big convention in Grand Forks that had Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and Oprah Winfrey in attendance!). He was actually quite perky on Friday--very happy to see us! He's become a little quieter since then, and seems almost depressed...I think it's because he has to wear a cone on his head all the time and he's getting rather tired of it. The eye doesn't look as gruesome and weird as I had expected...it's just a bunch of skin all sewn together. I am so happy to have him back, and I hope that this is the last time his eye ever gives us any trouble! (Especially since his surgery-related appts have cost about $800...and all of the appts that he's had since damaging his eye last summer add up to at least twice that amount!). Travis' mom joked that having Charlie is as expensive as having a child...I guess I should thank him for all the practice we're getting!
In other news from this weekend, I woke up on Saturday morning in a complete panic about having a baby! It occurred to me that the nursery is practically empty and I haven't finished decorating the house, and there are a million things to do in the 3 months or so that we have left before baby arrives! So, I spent no less than 4 hours on Sat morning sterilizing and redecorating our main bathroom. It looks great! It burned off all of my nervous energy too. Travis and I also watched 2 baby videos this weekend and as we watched we both expressed feelings of "Oh my god, we're going to have one of those!" It's sinking in.
In addition to emotionally and mentally coming to terms with having this baby, I have also been feeling "very pregnant" lately! Since I'm such a big fan of lists, here are the ways in which I having been feeling "very pregnant:"

The "Very Pregnant" List:

1. My tummy is HUGE! (and my face and my backside...)

2. I can feel baby kicking very regularly and throughout the day. Baby kicks like clockwork right when I go to bed and kicks me awake in the morning! (often at about 5:00am) In fact, baby seems to be kicking the majority of the time...whenever I want to feel the baby I just have to be quiet for a moment and focus on my tummy!

3. Bending over gracefully is impossible--which I unfortunately forget frequently and so I often end up in an awkward pile on the floor!

4. I've been getting uterus "growing pains" (shooting pains)

5. Back pain!

6. Off-balance...I fell backwards for the first time yesterday (thus worstening the whole back pain thing!)

7. Leg cramps! All the time!

8. Peeing! All the time!

9. I've been getting headaches...especially when I don't drink enough water. It doesn't take very long!

10. Heartburn...ugh. That one just started and doesn't seem to follow any rules, but is especially vicious right when I lay down for bed (even if I haven't eaten for HOURS!)

11. Lactating (need I say more?)

12. Did I mention that my tummy is HUGE??? Pictures coming soon!

Wow, I am really pregnant!

Baby Nicknames

Well, I haven't really been posting lately because nothing much has been happening...Travis and I went to the rodeo on Saturday night which was REALLY fun except for the calf-roping...I hate the calf-roping! But I love the broncs and the bull-riding and the barrel racing, so that was fun! Unfortunately, as we were sitting there I was becoming aware that I feeling not so good and, sure enough, by Sunday morning I was really sick! I have spent the last few days completely miserable. My normal reaction to colds is to medicate myself to death and kind of pass through the cold in a haze but, since I'm pregnant, going on medication overload isn't exactly the smartest idea right now! So, I've just spent the last few days in bed, in the bathtub, or sitting half-dead at work. Not very exciting stuff! On the bright side, baby is kicking just as vigorously as usual, and so seems unaffected by my illness.
Now, while we're waiting for some news that's more exciting than sleeping and coughing--I have decided to share some nicknames that our unborn baby has already been blessed with!

NICKNAMES FOR THE BABY:

1. "Baby"

Of course. This is what nearly everyone--including myself--call the baby at least once in a while!

2. "Romia"

This would be Ruth's nickname for the baby...a combination of our boy name ("Ronan") and our girl name...which used to be "Amaia" but we're thinking now will be "Sophia"...either way, the nickname "Romia" still works!

3. "Little Newt"

One of my favorites.

4. "Little One"

Another classic, similar to "baby"

5. "Little Fish"

This is a nickname that I use to refer to a lot of people! Why should the baby be left out?

6. "Maximus"

This is what my father in law, Ralph, calls the baby--despite the fact that I've informed him many times that I'm NOT naming the baby Maximus, Maxine, Max, or any other variation.

7. "Maxine"

The father-in-law's answer when I ask what I should call the girl

8. "Varmint"

Grandpa's name for the baby (he calls all small things "Varmint"...it's nothing against our child!)

9. "Sophia"

What I call the baby, since I think it's a girl

10. "Ronan"

What Travis calls the baby, since he thinks it's a boy!

Wow, I can't believe it's an even 10! I can't believe how many nicknames our baby already has!