Baby!

Jen's Baby Updates: Week 14

Sunday, October 20th

I was at Target (pronounce it Tar-jay if you want to make it sound more posh) on Tuesday, and walked through the baby and child area. I thought I should start my quest for the perfect security blanket. The odd part was that I felt like an intruder! Maybe this isn't all real to me yet!

I went to Foy's Costume Shop in downtown Fairborn on Friday, and it was terrifying! They had a DJ outside of the store, loud music blaring, and there were tons of people there! I tried to go in the store, but started feeling so clausterphobic that I could barely stand it! I'm not normally clausterphobic, but there were so many people and so much stuff in such tiny aisles that I could barely move! It made me think about how difficult it would be to keep track of a child in there (there were lots of kids there), and it made me appreciate how nice it is to know exactly where my child is. I should enjoy that while I can!

Midwife Visit

I went for my monthly appointment this morning, and everything is fine. I got to hear the heartbeat again, though just for a second at a time; the little peanut was rolling around in there so it was tough to target the Doppler for any length of time. No audio recording today!

They told me that I should be eating lots of fruits and vegetables. Yuck. I just can't do it. They suggested that I eat a fruit smoothie instead of Slim-Fast for breakfast. The entire point of Slim-Fast is that it is really convenient and quick (better than making or skipping breakfast)! I can grab it out of the fridge and drink it on my way to work. Hardly the case with a smoothie, which would need to be assembled, and involves all sorts of ingredients, like fruit. <sigh>

All of the blood tests that they gave me on the first appointment came out fine. I also found out my blood type (O positive), which I don't think I've ever known. I mean, we figured it out in high school biology, but I'm pretty sure that I thought I was B something, but I was evidently wrong. I suppose that's why we don't have high school biology students working as doctors.

Anyway, the good thing is that I don't have to worry about any strange Rh factor rejections with any children that I have. You only are at risk for that if you have a negative Rh factor. The problem in that case is that your child could be positive (if the father is) and then your body could develop antibodies to the positive factor during your first pregnancy (if the child has positive Rh). Not generally a problem for the first child, but could be a problem for future children.

Symptoms

Shape

I'm showing more now! At least, I've been wearing clothes that make it more obvious to other people. I got a comment (from someone who knows that I'm pregnant) that I now have a little bulge! And Travis grabs me whenever I walk by so he can turn me sideways to see my bulgy profile. Pretty fun!

I'm looking forward to really showing, because I'm so excited about this that I want everyone to know! Travis has been taking pictures of me as this pregnancy has progressed... as soon as I have time (probably December), I'll make them available on the web page.

Appetite

I'm so hungry always now. I should be gaining lots of weight, considering how much I'm eating. I've bought a bunch of those microwave meals for me to consume at 11:00 at night. I tried fruit, but I was just hungry again an hour later. Normally, I would never eat that close to bedtime, but otherwise I just wake up starving!

It is 2:00 in the morning, and I'm eating another dinner. I mean, a complete dinner! Amazing. Normally I would never eat this much!

Energy

I'm tired again. So much for the brief spurt of energy that I had. I just want to sleep all the time, but I have too much work to do. I'm considering giving up Karate for the rest of the quarter, because it is the one thing that I do that I have not signed a contract for, and the one thing that I don't get paid for. As such, it really should be the first to go. I would miss it, though, and I do need to work out.

I have been really cranky all week. I think that it is combination of pregnancy hormones, tiredness, concerns about teaching, and just needing more time to myself. We had our friend Frank staying with us for a few days while he took some classes in town, and I just had no energy or time for socializing. Hopefully I'll recover before the party! Otherwise, come to the party but stay away from me!

Insomnia

Sunday: I tried to catch up on sleep this weekend. Travis put me to bed at 9:30 last night (after I fell asleep watching the extras on the "Monsters, Inc." DVD), and I didn't wake up until 9:30 the next morning. Even then, I stayed in bed reading for a long time. It was nice, but I was still tired all day.

Names

Thanks to Clark Slagle for the most clever name suggestion we've received this week: 'Boom Boom De Doom'.

My Aunt Ellen suggested 'Ellen', but then proceeded to tell me that she thinks that it is a boy. I guess she wants him to be able to defend himself!

Miscellaneous

Weekend

I went to the Renaissance Festival with Holly, her new beau Tom, and Melinda. It was really fun! It was a beautiful drizzly cold day, and the unfortunate part was that I couldn't wear the gorgeous cloak that Delia made me for the wedding because it was too muddy and I'm not willing to ruin it. I'm sure it would be washable, but I'm very protective (just wait until you see me with a child!). I made sure to bundle up in other warm clothes, though, so that I wouldn't catch a cold or unnecessarily chill the baby.

I did eat applies, carrots, grapes, and pumpkin seeds all day long, so I actually got my daily recommended allowance of fruits and vegetables, for a change. It was nice to have something to snack on while wandering the festival. I also had some hot apple cider, and I can't imagine that anything could have tasted better on a drizzly cold day.

Halloween

I went to a friend's pumpkin carving party today, and briefly considered carving a female symbol into one pumpkin and a male symbol into the other, because we don't know yet, but instead opted for the simplicity and time-tested scare factor of 'Boo!'. Travis's pumpkin, a startled creature with a dagger (dripping blood) in his forehead, was a big hit.

We're having a Halloween party next weekend (you're all invited, of course), and I have no good costume ideas. I never do, but I thought it would be easier with the added feature of the pregnancy. I wish I were showing more, because then I could incorporate that into a costume. I'll have to fake it with a pillow or something, which is a little disappointing.

I thought I might wear my wedding dress and have Travis walking around in overalls carrying a shotgun, trying to find someone to marry me. He refused on the grounds that he doesn't want anyone else to marry me. I'm not sure that I could fit into my wedding dress anymore, anyway. I may end up wearing my friend Melinda's nun costume, and pad myself a little to be an obviously pregnant nun. I still haven't made a decision. What do you think?

Read Jen's Baby Updates: Week 15 next!