Step 1: Take TUMS to alleviate hearburn.
Step 2: Jonathan asks if I'm okay. I must be turning green.
Step 3: Run to bathroom.
Step 4: Toss cookies.
Step 5: Not sure yet... could just deal with heartburn for 19.5 more weeks and risk occasional toilet-hugging. Could take a TUMS when it gets bad and also risk toilet-hugging. Is this what we call a lose-lose situation?
Friday marked 20 weeks of baby-growing fun around these parts. To celebrate, I had to buy What to Expect When You're Expected - completely hilarious as expected. It's made me laugh quite a bit and we all know that laughter is the best medicine... except of course for actual medicine... which I generally can't have.
But baby-wise, things are going well. I've started to feel "quickening" which is the odd term for the baby moving around in my belly. It's not consistent or hard at all, just a strange little muscle spasm-type feeling every now and then. Jonathan is eager to feel the baby too, but it will probably be a few more weeks before it's strong and consistent enough for that. I also haven't been quite as ill as I was in the past... I don't really keep count but I'd estimate that the toilet-hugging frequency is down to 2-3 times each week now and holding pretty steady there. It's not so much a nausea from food or smells issue as it is heartburn. I need to try some tums but I keep forgetting to grab them. For the time being, chocolate shakes seem to coat my esophagus sufficiently to keep the acid at bay for a while. Of course now I have to start writing down what I eat every day and tracking the balance and protein intake for class every week... so I might not be able to get away with a milkshake for dinner every night :) Did you know I'm supposed to aim for 100 g of protein every day?! I don't think I could eat enough to get so much. Unless I sat around gnawing on turkey legs all day. But even then...
We had our second Bradley class last night, and it was most excellent. Every week a different couple brings snacks for the group, and last night's couple set the bar high with these amazingly delicious whole wheat sweet potato chocolate chip muffins. Oh so good. We also had a visiting massage therapist in the house who taught everyone some techniques for relieving various aches and pains. She also told us that if we go to her for a prenatal massage, we can come back after we have the baby for a free post-partum massage. AND if we call her while we're laboring, she'll come to us and give a free labor massage! How amazing is that?! At the end of class we discussed breastfeeding and pumping, which sounds logistically complicated to me but I suppose we'll figure it out. I'm determined to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months. I mean... it's free! And free things are quite appealing to me. I would like to breastfeed for at least 1 year, but not exclusively of course since the little ones start getting to eat stuff at 6 months. Also, some trivia - we learned that the two people who influence moms the most and have the biggest impact on moms' decisions to start, continue, or quit breastfeeding are the mom's partner and the mom's mother. I think I lucked out there because Jonathan's all for breastfeeding (again with the FREE bit), and my mom is too. Yay!
Well thanks for sticking with my rambling self this morning. Sometimes I'm just trying to get this all down in no particular order before I forget it.
World peace, a cure for heartburn...
Oh and a few other things here. I even added some clothing items for Jonathan in case anyone *cough**parents* is interested in such things (do note that they need to be ordered as Old Navy doesn't carry big/tall sizes in-store). Of course Jonathan has his own list somewhere - I'm assuming it's full of games and more games.
Baby B didn't make the wishlist this year, but if you're extra curious you can still find our registry here. I don't think it'll be changing too much between now and March. I feel the need to remove an item for every item I add at this point, so I think we're at a level of homeostasis there.
Speaking of Christmas, we are super excited to be FLYING to Kansas and staying long enough to see people for more than just a minute or two! We'll be there for nearly 2 weeks! What will we do with ourselves?! Seeing many of you readers will certainly be the highlight of our holiday - way better than any of the presents we could drool over. I'm counting down the days as I type.
Le sigh.
The end of the semester is upon us. Although I'm always thankful to be finished with classes the week after Thanksgiving, it sure does make November terrifying. I have a 20-page research paper and presentation, a group paper, another paper and presentation, a group documentary, and various other tasks to do here and there over the next few weeks.
Sounds like it's time to pull out those mantras and practice perspective-taking.
Yesterday I met Kate, another midwife who might help me as I deliver baby Bartel! Kate is super nice and reminds me of my mom's friend Kate Mix, who is my godmother, I think? I also had a UNC nursing student observing my appointment and she got to play "find Chelsea's uterus" with Kate. They were both quite quick, and they both tried their best to get me to feel it too but still no dice. I just feel mushy insides, more mushy insides there... but apparently they could feel my uterus and it's expanded all the way up to my belly button. That's where it should be at the halfway mark (though it still surprises me, given my lack of baby belly).
My weight was exactly what it was 5 weeks ago, so my net weight gain since the start of the pregnancy is still -3 lbs. They're not worried that I'm not gaining weight, so I'm not either. I'm honestly eating as much as I possibly can, and keeping down as much as I can, so that's the best I can do.
Last night we had our first Bradley class, and I really like the other couples so far. Our leader is really fun and I was excited when she said that she is a computer programmer for SAS so Jonathan can identify with that part. She's just a good balance of funny and factual and such. We talked about how to deal with pain last night and Jonathan learned that he is not allowed to say "Deal with it" during any point in my labor. Now it's our running joke. I think the classes will be good though. We practiced some exercises, we'll get lessons from a massage therapist and lactation consultant, we watch a birth video and talk about it every week... and you get to commiserate a bit with other heartburn-riddled, achy-hipped preggos. I like it.
Oh I also got my H1N1 shot yesterday. Whew. This is why I get nothing accomplished academically.
Seriously... where's the bump? That last picture was taken today, which is technically 19 weeks, 2 days. Or even more technically, 19 weeks, 5 days if you go by how the baby was measuring at the sonogram. For serious - where is this baby hiding?
Tomorrow I go in for another monthly appointment. Jonathan can't make it this time, which is okay since it should be pretty routine. Then tomorrow night we start the first of twelve weeks of Bradley classes! Two and a half hours a week for twelve weeks! I guess we have a lot to learn about this whole get the baby out business. I'm excited to meet the other couples though. The group is kept small and we meet at the leader's house every week, and then the group has reunions and such after the wee ones are born. Fun!
Alright back to Sunday night bonding with the Jonathan.
