Magic Number 35

Today I am 35 weeks pregnant, and 35 days away from my due date!  Just five little weeks to go.  I can’t decide/figure out if these are going to be the five longest or shortest weeks of mylife. 

I seem to be in a wee bit of a downward spiral.  Blood pressure is up, I have swelling for the first time, my neck keeps spasming/cramping, and quite frankly, my belly is HUGE.  But, I think I still have a good attitude, though I crack a little from time to time.  Nothing  a few hormonal tears can’t fix. 

What’s good is that Cheeto is kicking up a storm!  Very active and a very strong heartbeat.  So I’ll take whatever this pregnancy gives me as long as Cheeto continues to thrive.

 

Rough Day

I’ve had a bit of a rough day today.  It all started with yesterday.  I did too much.  Way too much.  But it is really hard to stop myself.  I’m used to being able to run 20 miles and then go bowling (yes, I did this when I trained for my first marathon).  Now, doing more than making the bed and walking the dog kicks me on my ass.  I’ve learned if I do too much that the next day I am hurting and pretty useless.  I guess the silver lining on this latest ass kicking is that I did too much on a Saturday, so I had Sunday to recuperate. 

Yesterday started off just fine.  I took Riley for a very nice walk.  About two miles which took about 40 mintues.  She loved it.  I loved it.  It was very nice.  The weather was beautiful and we were both feeling good.  As lunchtime approached, I thought about making homemade macaroni and cheese.  We had a bunch of cheese laying around in the fridge, so I put it to good use.  Between making the mac and cleaning the kitchen, and prepping the rest of lunch (with Alan’s help), I was on my feet for about an hour.  Yesterday afternoon/evening I showered (that is becoming a task in and of itself these days), partially cleaned the bathroom, straightened up the living room, vacuumed, made dinner, and cleaned the kitchen.  Alan got home early on account of it being the 4th (which was awesome) so we were able to have dinner together.  He could see by the way I was moving and walking that I had done too much.  He scolded me, but couldn’t really do much more.  And we both knew that I’d pay the price today.

I woke up and felt like I had been lifting the world on my shoulders the day before.  My shoulders were spasming, my back was aching, and my uterus kept having Braxton Hicks contractions.  Riley refused to pee when I took her out at 8:00, and refused again when I took her out at 8:45. I made breakfast while in tears from pain and frustration with the dog (thank you hormones!) .  Alan got up and did good, he offered me a hug.  We sat down for breakfast at Wimbledon to watch the men’s final. Once done eating, I tried, in vain, to get comfortable.  Sit on the couch – no.  Sit on the chair – no.  Lay on the floor – no.  Nothing worked.  I had massive knots in my shoulders and my uterus kept freaking out whenever I made a movement.  Luckily there was no real pain associated with it, so I think it was just Braxton Hicks. 

It tooks me a while (an hour or two!) but eventually I got comfortable, which was heavenly.  I’ve been trying to drink a lot of water today because I know dehydration can cause Braxton Hicks and I just feel like I need water.  The only problem is then I had to use the bathroom more often, and again, every time I stood up, my uterus freaked out.  Cheeto has been moving around a lot today, so I don’t think little Cheeto had been impacted at all by my bull headed-ness. 

Alan took great care of me, preparing my lunch and bringing me water or other supplies as needed.  Before he left for work, he helped get me set up with my provisions for the evening and walked Riley as well.  LOTS of water, reading material including What to Expect When Expecting and Appetite for Life, remote for the TV and DVD, pad of paper and pen (you never know), phone, Chapstick, crossword puzzle book, and movies.  Here’s the setup:

 

 

 

 

 

 And so, I’ve pledged to myself, Alan, and Cheeto to do nothing today aside from relax.  Sure, the dishwasher needs to be unloaded, but I will not do it.  And my dinner plate needs to be rinsed, but I will not do that either.  I only get up to eat and to use the bathroom.  That’s it.  And I am feeling better for it.  It has been a bit of a rough day but I am feeling better and think I will be good to go to work tomorrow.  I am going to keep up with the water and taking it easy today, and tomorrow.  I’m going to try my hardest to not do too much for the next six weeks, but it really is going to be hard for me.

 

Six weeks and counting. . .

Little Cheeto is due six weeks from today.  Can I just say, “HOLY CRAP!”?  First off, I can’t believe the month of June is over.  It seems like Memorial Day was last weekend, there’ s no way it can already be July.  No possible way!  And six weeks?  Are you kidding me?  I remember back in January when it seemed like we had forever and a day until Cheeto would come into our lives.  Heck, I think in January, Cheeto wasn’t even called Cheeto, we were still calling Cheeto “it” in January. 

But here we are.  A mere six weeks out.  And I am doing fine.  Alan is doing fine.  Cheeto is doing fine.  And it’s nice.  Sure, my belly is getting pretty big, but that’s supposed to happen.  It weighs me down a little, but when Alan’s home, he helps me get up, especially from the couch, which I just sink into and get stuck in.  He once tried to help me up by pushing my butt, I advised him to never do that again.   

I no longer sleep through the nights.  It’s not anxiety or excitement or worry that wakes me, it’s my bladder, which gets full every 1.5 – 2.0 hours.  Luckily I can fall back asleep quickly, but it feels like just minutes have passed when I wake again to use the bathroom but it’s been a couple hours.  Getting up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom can be interesting.  First off, Alan’s asleep, so I am on my own to get belly and the rest of me out of bed.  Then there are the first few steps.  They can be quite comical to observe.  Cheeto likes the right side of my uterus, and thus, the right side of my back, my right hip/IT band, and occasionally right knee share a groan when I place weight on my right leg.  But what’s funny is that each time I get up in the middle of the night, it gets easier and easier and the aches get less and less.  So, by the time my alarm goes off, I get up and there are no aches or pains at all.  I start my days fluid and dexterous, and it slowly dwindles as the day progresses on.

Six weeks away, and really I think the only thing we need at this point is a baby.  The nursery is done.  We have a plethora of clothing, blankets, diapers, and wipes.  We have diaper bags, changing pads, burp cloths and the like.  We have anything a little baby could ever want or need, and then some due to the generosity of our family, friends, and co-workers.  And this helps.  It helps me relax and enjoy these last few weeks.  My nesting instinct is still going strong, but I can’t do as much physically as I once could, and I am coping with that just fine.  Sure, I cleaned and dusted my cube at work, but that I could do sitting down. 

Sunday I went on a terror, scrubbing the tub and sink in the bathroom, then getting on my hands and knees to clean the bathroom floor, then made some snack mix for us to enjoy for the week, then cooked dinner, then did a couple other things, and by the time I stopped, I felt like crap.  I went to bed and Monday morning, still felt off, so I worked from home (and was super productive).  That was (has to be) my last mega day of nesting.  I hurt too bad and it brought on a lot of braxton hicks contractions.  And so, I have accepted (for the most part) that I physically can’t do all that I want to do.  I am now allowing myself just one nesting activity a day.   Last night it was dusting.  Tonight it may be straightening up the living room. 

What I am doing is realizing that it’s okay to just lay on the couch and read or watch TV.  It’s okay to just relax, and play with the dog, and pet the cat.  It’s okay, even, to be downright lazy.  Because in about six weeks, there will be no more lounging on the couch, there will be motherhood.  I am so very excited for that, but in the meantime, I’m going to enjoy my last few moments of laziness.

 

Future of this blog

I’m not sure what the future of this blog is.  I started it to share my training for a marathon with my friends and family.  I ran that marathon and posted about it over a year ago.  I’m not running now since I am nearly 34 weeks pregnant.  I do plan to start running again in the fall, but that is going to be a slow build up.  I don’t know how I am going to fit running in with being a mom.  The baby will be too small to put in a jogging stroller for the first 6 – 9 months.  I would feel guilty spending time away from the baby running when the baby is awake.  But I think I’ll need to run to keep my sanity.

With the birth of this baby comes a whole new world for Alan and me.  In certain ways, we’ll both feel like single parents. I’ll work during the day and come to a nanny and baby, but no husband.  Alan will take care of the baby during the day, leaving the baby with the nanny and heading to work in the evenings.  Two nights a week and two mornings on the weekends all three of us will be together, but the majority of the time, we’ll be apart. 

It could be nice to have this blog to share our experiences and to let other men and women out there that are married to cooks and chefs that it’s doable.  But then again, maybe I don’t want to share that with “cyberspace”.  Maybe I just want to share it with friends and family through phone calls and e-mails.

If I was a better writer, maybe I’d be more in to keeping up with this blog.  But it is maddening.  I have all these great posts I write in my head, but when it comes to actually putting it down, all my beautiful words, witticisms, and analogies just disappear and I am left writing a very boring, bland, and matter-of-fact post.  What do I expect to get out of this blog?  It certainly isn’t a book deal or other means of bringing in extra money (see prior sentences about not being a great writer).  I don’t know what I expect, I don’t think I expect anything of it.  Which begs the question – why do it?

I don’t know.  We’ll see.  As my due date approaches and life changes gears, perhaps I will come back and post more, but for now, more posts shouldn’t be expected.

 

New movies. . .

There are a few new movies coming out that I really want to see, but I probably won’t see in the theater given their opening dates. BAH!

One of my favorite books is The Time Traveller’s Wife, and apparently it is being made into a movie which is coming out this summer.  On August 14.  One day after my “official” due date, and one day before my personal guess due date.  By that time in August, I think the only driving I’ll be doing is to and from work; and since Alan works Friday nights, I don’t think I’ll be able to catch this while awaiting Cheeto’s arrival.  My only hope is that it is a hit and stays in the theaters for more than a few weeks.  But then will I really want to leave Cheeto with a babysitter when he/she is still so young?  Hopefully, then, this movie will be released on DVD in time for Christmas so I can add it to my wish list.

Then there’s Julie and Julia.  I just finished reading this a few weeks ago and am currently reading Julia Child’s biography, so I would really like to see this movie.  It opens August 7, just six days before my “official” due date. Again, I won’t be driving around town taking myself to the movies by then (fearing that I have a contraction while driving and slamg on the gas and rear-ending someone), so unless Alan really wants to see this and there is a very early showing of it before he goes to work on Saturday or Sunday, it isn’t going to happen.

I will see these someday, just probably not this summer.  I’m ready for the new release called CHEETO! 

 

Entering the kitchen

We’re stopping by Alan’s restaurant tonight to pick up his paycheck and he’s making me go in the kitchen.  I think he wants to show off my big belly since it has been a while since they’ve all seen it.  I hate going into Alan’s kitchen at work.  I don’t know why, but I do.  did in Chicago and I do here.  I love to meet everyone he works with and to get faces to go with the names I hear, but I feel like I am going to get in the way, I worry I may make someone screw up, and I simply feel like I don’t belong. 

And now I want to go in the kitchen even less.  I am not as agile as I used to be and don’t want to get in the way.  This belly is weighing me down, and causing me to take up more room, so even if I squeeze up to the wall to try to get out of the way, the belly still sticks out.  Plus the floors can be slick and I don’t have the proper shoes to not slip, so I will be hanging on to Alan for dear life.

Come to think of it, I don’t like to go into any professional kitchen.  We’ve been given tours of the kitchen at Charlie Trotter’s and Citronelle, and there I was uncomfortable as well, for all the same reasons, primarily afraid I’ll get in the way.  And I don’t know if the men and women that work in the kitchen hate having outsiders come through.  I know I’m not a fan of large parties parading through my place of work (it doesn’t happen that often, but does happen from time to time).  Granted, I’m not a large group, but you get the idea. 

So, to any wives/significant others of cooks and chefs that may read this blog, how do you feel about going into the work kitchen?  Like it or leave it?

 

Two months

Two months from today, Cheeto is set to make it’s debut on the world!

 

Dreams and anticipation

Well my dreams have been varied and interesting through out this pregnancy.  Last night I had my first dream of giving birth to the baby.  It was very surreal.  It was only me, Alan, and the doctor, no nurses or anyone else.  The baby was huge!  It looked like a six-month old and could sit up by itself.  The doctor offered for Alan to cut the umbilical cord, which he did, but not with great excitement. 

Then later on in the dream (or perhaps it was earlier) I was at an antique store and found a jewelry box just like the one my mom has.  I used to LOVE going through that jewelry box as a little girl, tyring on all the necklaces, bracelets, and even clip-on earrings.  It is something I do want to get eventually, a neat jewelry box with all sorts of drawers and compartments to explore and store my treasures in.  I have no real jewelry of monetary value, but I do have lots of fun necklaces and pendants that are currently just in a sad drawer.  Heck, I’d have fun today going through my own jewelry box and finding favorite necklaces and bracelets once again.

After these dreams, I was awoken with a pretty sharp pain in my lower abdomen.  Being that I am 31 weeks pregnant, I can’t help but start to get paranoid about going into labor early (come to think of it, I’ve been paranoid about that throughout this pregnancy, I bet all women are to some degree).  So I laid there, the pain passed, and I waited.  It never came back, so I don’t think it was a  contraction.  I don’t know what it was.  Cheeto very likely kicked something or was laying on something, pinching a nerve. 

Just nine weeks to go!  I’m doing okay for now, I think my “freakout” time frame is when I am six weeks away from my due date.  So, I have three more weeks to be laid back and relaxed. 

 

Cheeto is well loved

Babies are amazing.  Well, not even babies.  Fetuses.  Here is this little thing, that is still in me, but can be loved so much.  My sister-in-law threw me a beautiful shower this past weekend and I was overwhelmed with all the wonderful gifts and well wishes everyone brought.  This baby isn’t even born, yet there are so many people who obviously already love it so much, and I’m not just talking about Alan and me.

Our home is starting to look like a home with an infant as the nursery is nearly complete, and there is now a basinette in the living room.  Jerry (the cat) seems to think the hammock area under the basinette is for him to sleep in, when in actuality, I’m pretty sure the designer intended for that to be used to store diapers. 

Riley and Jerry are very curious about all the stuff we brought into the house this weekend.  We are letting them get lots of good sniffs in and really investigate it all.  While Riley doesn’t have a clue how her world is going to be turned upside down in just a little over two months, I feel for poor Jerry.  His previous owners had a baby and I think he may see some items and know what could be coming next.  We’ll try to make the transition as easy on him as possible.

Alan and I are getting very excited to meet Cheeto and start our new life as parents and a nice, little family.  I’m sure the next nine-and-a-half weeks are going to fly by, but it feels like they are crawling.  Luckily I am still feeling good and just starting to slow down a little bit.  This belly is getting big!

 

August 15

I predict I will have Cheeto on August 15.  My due date is August 13, so it is very feasible.  “Why do you think August 15, Erin?” you may ask.  Well, for starters, I anticipate delivering a little past my due date since a large majority of women do for their first.  But mores so, having just finished Julie and Julia, I am now reading Appetite for Life - A Biography on Julia Child where I just learned that she was born August 15.  How cool would that be for Cheeto to share Julia Child’s birthday? 

If Cheeto IS born on August 15, don’t get all cute and think that if it is a girl we’ll name her Julia.  We already have our names picked out and as pretty as “Julia” is for a girl’s name, it’s not the one we picked.