Her name is Dawn Meehan. She is (normally) a very funny woman, with a very popular, humorous blog. She recently published her second book, "You'll Lose the Baby Weight" (and Other Lies About Pregnancy and Childbirth).
If it's as good as her first book, then you can expect your face to hurt (from smiling and laughing) by the time you turn the last page.
Her blog has been lacking in the humor department lately, because she is going through some tough stuff. She recently got a divorce. Her husband has been...irresponsible and dishonest for quite some time now, so in her eyes, she's in a healthier place, emotionally, now that they are no longer married. Well, she would be in a healthier place emotionally if she didn't have her six children to worry about.
Yes, you read that correctly. She is now a single mother of six. The oldest is 16, the youngest is four. Three girls, three boys. Though her children seem to be doing somewhat okay with the divorce (it didn't escape them that their dad hasn't been a good dad for many years now), two of her sons are now struggling with depression. One of her sons "deals" with his depression by lashing out at her, breaking things, and slamming doors.
The other son has been hospitalized at a place that deals specifically with depressed and suicidal teens. Visiting hours are extremely limited, and he can't even see all five of his siblings at once. She can only bring them in one or two at a time, for one hour, a couple of times a week.
This is on top of her normal duties of feeding and clothing her kids, getting them to school and to their various activities, paying her mortgage and bills, all of which is challenging enough when you're a single mother of six. An unemployed single mother of six (she doesn't earn any money through blogging).
And today she learned that her ex was fired from his job, and when she inquired about unemployment, he told her that it was "none of her business." She has no income, no child support, and her kids no longer have insurance coverage, so she has no way of paying the medical bills (or paying for any of her other expenses, for that matter).
I honestly don't know how she keeps her head up every day. It takes an incredible amount of strength just to get up in the morning, and even more strength and vulnerability to share her struggles on her blog. She asks only for prayers. She says that helps more than anything else.
I'm going to take it one step further and ask that you not only pray for her and her family, but also consider buying her book. If you have $10.79 to spare, follow this link here to purchase it from Amazon.
You can follow this link here to read her blog. Thankfully, you won't have to dig very far into her archives before the laughter starts. Somehow, she still manages to find plenty of humor in her life, and few things make her happier than to be able to share it with the world.
January 12, 2011
January 11, 2011
Note To Self: No More Cajun Food For Dinner
It seems that late at night is the time for blogging! It is nearly 1am, and I woke up about an hour ago not feeling too great. So I made myself some tea, and decided to pass the time by writing a little blog post!
(I'm already feeling better, btw. I think it was the spicy food I made for dinner. I know I'm supposed to stay away from spicy foods, but it's so hard! I don't like anything REALLY spicy, but I love to add flavor to all my meals, so it borders on spicy, which tends to bother me later on. I may never learn my lesson.)
I'm at 29 weeks now, and I honestly don't feel any bigger than that picture of me at 27 weeks. I'm sure I'm growing, but I can't really see it. I'm crossing my fingers that this will mean a smaller baby (but still healthy!).
Today I felt like I couldn't quite breathe deeply enough. I remember when my sister was pregnant with her first, and she felt that way a lot during the end. My mom suggested having a tiny fan just for your face. I guess the cool air makes you feel like you can breathe easier. I'm not going to invest in one of these, but I will be fanning my face more with whatever I can find. I'm sure my coworkers will think I'm just too warm, and they might wonder why I don't just remove my heavy sweater!
I think I am warmer in general these days. I don't feel overheated, but Art has been making a lot of comments lately about how I keep the bedroom way too cold. Or when he hugs me, or spends time with my belly, he always says something like, "My warm wife." So I guess I'm a bit of a furnace now. Which isn't such a bad thing during these cold winter months. Or in our cold office.
I've been trying to track my Braxton Hicks contractions, but it's so hard to do, because they're so subtle! (Which is probably a good thing.) My belly kind of always feels a little tight, which is what a Braxton Hicks contraction feels like. I'm guessing that I have about two a day.
Baby movements haven't changed a whole lot, but I'm definitely noticing that the baby has "favorite" things he or she likes to do. My belly always bulges on the left side, but almost never on the right side (in fact, the baby is doing that as I'm typing this). Sometimes I push back, and I feel something hard, but I still can't tell if it's a foot or a bum or a head or what. Also, lately I feel tickles under my ribs on the right side, and tickles down by my left hip, at the same time. I guess the baby is stretching, because both movements feel kind of like hands and/or feet.
I was hoping that at some point I could record a video of my belly moving, but it's like Baby knows when I'm watching, because the movements always stop when I look down. Sneaky child. They're out-smarting me already. :)
Speaking of growing, I did have to buy a new winter coat today. That houndstooth-patterned coat that Art picked out is now too small. I knew when I bought it that it probably wouldn't fit me much past Christmas. I actually tore it before Christmas, along a seam in the back, but I just put off shopping for a new one. I hope I can fix it. It's a nice coat, and I want to be able to wear it post-pregnancy.
My new one is two sizes bigger, and I still need to move the buttons over to give myself a little more room! But this one should hold me over until the baby comes. It has a high waist, and there are only buttons above the waist. Below the waist, it just overlaps.
The store was having a clearance on coats, which is a good thing for a lot of people around here, because we just got some snow and are scheduled to get a whole lot more! It's been a rather warm, rainy Christmas (quite typical for the Northwest), and I thought it was going to be a cold, sunny January (like last year). But we're getting something right in between: snow!
I was overjoyed on Sunday morning when I got up and looked outside. However, I do understand why everyone over here freaks out when it snows. Being from the prairies, I used to make fun of everyone for how they reacted when we got a couple of inches. But now I get it.
See, it doesn't snow a whole lot out here, so there aren't any snowploughs. Well, there are snowploughs, but not for the city in general. They're pretty much just at airports. I'm used to having all the snow cleared from the streets after a snowfall, but cities and towns don't budget for that on the west coast, because they would only need them for maybe two weeks out of the whole year. Same thing with spreading salt or gravel. The city doesn't do that, because it's not in their budget, because they would only have to do it twice during the whole year.
Also, when it snows here, the temperatures hover right around freezing. So it melts, then freezes, then melts, then freezes, and actually becomes quite treacherous. Our parking lot is a particular bad spot. It becomes insta-ice rink as soon as we get a little snow. I thought that maybe our landlord would spread salt or gravel (since he lives on the property, so he surely understands how awful the parking lot is. Right?) Wrong. It's not even in his budget.
Well, he did spread a little salt on the sidewalk by the mail boxes, since that's a common area where everyone will be walking, but that's it.
Right now, driving has been alright (once we manage to get out of our parking lot). But that could change over the next three days, and of course, I'm going to continue to be super cautious. I actually wore my big, clunky, winter boots to work today, because I needed them to keep me safe while I made the short trip from apartment to car. I felt silly the whole day, because there's basically no snow or ice where I work (and I work 8 minutes from home!).
So I think I'm going to wear the boots just outside, and bring my regular shoes with me to wear inside. I'll be a lot less awkward, and a lot more comfortable.
Hm, what else is new? Art is doing quite well. That man knows how to keep a New Year's resolution! (Hint: don't make vague goals. Make specific goals, with time frames, and specific steps to achieving them. Have a detailed plan.) He's been recording every hour of sleep, every supplement he takes, every bit of food that he eats, every workout and every stretch.
His back is already feeling much better, and he's lost 6 pounds in one week. He's aiming to lose a total of 20 pounds, while gaining back some muscle, and of course, healing his back completely. I've been enjoying supporting him in this, because I get to cook healthy meals that we both eat (and both benefit from).
I've been trying new recipes left and right, and they're all good! (As long as I've made them correctly.) I've said it before, and I'll say it again: eating healthy doesn't have to be boring or gross! I get excited when I can make things like cauliflower and zucchini taste amazing. I never used to eat those things. Now, I don't shy away from them, because I know how to cook them and flavor them to make them delicious. Which is what I did today.
I pulled out a Cajun seasoning mix, added some olive oil, cut up cauliflower and chicken breasts, covered everything with the Cajun sauce, and roasted it in the oven for half an hour. Delicious. And a tad spicy. Which brings us back to the beginning of this post, and why I'm writing it in the first place. :)
Not all meals are like that, thankfully. I slow cooked a pork loin yesterday, I slow cooked a duck last week, and I threw together a "stuffing" recipe on the weekend, but instead of bread, I used leftover Christmas turkey. It was so good, I made it twice! I'm actually quite proud of that one, because I kind of followed a recipe, and kind of just made it up as I was going along, and I did it in real hurry. But it turned out great!
I've been working out again. My goal is to get to the gym twice a week, which for me, is about all my body can take. I have to scale back the workouts when I do go, but hey, it's better than nothing. It takes me longer to recover from a workout too, so it may not even be safe to go more than two times a week. I can normally handle the almost-constant soreness that comes with being a CrossFitter, but I have to be more careful about those things now that I've got a baby along for the ride.
I think the hardest part about working out (and just having pregnancy soreness in general) is that it's so hard to stretch! So many hip stretches are no longer feasible because my belly gets in the way, (or the nature of the stretch gives me a foot or leg cramp) so it's difficult to really stretch my hips in ways that will make them feel better. And I always need to make my hips feel better. Art showed me a couple of stretches that I can still do, so I spend several minutes in those positions every day, because it's the only thing works!
Well, I don't think I have much more to write about, and it's nearly 2am. I feel better now, so I should go back to bed and try to get as much sleep as I can. It's not like I need any help feeling tired these days!
(I'm already feeling better, btw. I think it was the spicy food I made for dinner. I know I'm supposed to stay away from spicy foods, but it's so hard! I don't like anything REALLY spicy, but I love to add flavor to all my meals, so it borders on spicy, which tends to bother me later on. I may never learn my lesson.)
I'm at 29 weeks now, and I honestly don't feel any bigger than that picture of me at 27 weeks. I'm sure I'm growing, but I can't really see it. I'm crossing my fingers that this will mean a smaller baby (but still healthy!).
Today I felt like I couldn't quite breathe deeply enough. I remember when my sister was pregnant with her first, and she felt that way a lot during the end. My mom suggested having a tiny fan just for your face. I guess the cool air makes you feel like you can breathe easier. I'm not going to invest in one of these, but I will be fanning my face more with whatever I can find. I'm sure my coworkers will think I'm just too warm, and they might wonder why I don't just remove my heavy sweater!
I think I am warmer in general these days. I don't feel overheated, but Art has been making a lot of comments lately about how I keep the bedroom way too cold. Or when he hugs me, or spends time with my belly, he always says something like, "My warm wife." So I guess I'm a bit of a furnace now. Which isn't such a bad thing during these cold winter months. Or in our cold office.
I've been trying to track my Braxton Hicks contractions, but it's so hard to do, because they're so subtle! (Which is probably a good thing.) My belly kind of always feels a little tight, which is what a Braxton Hicks contraction feels like. I'm guessing that I have about two a day.
Baby movements haven't changed a whole lot, but I'm definitely noticing that the baby has "favorite" things he or she likes to do. My belly always bulges on the left side, but almost never on the right side (in fact, the baby is doing that as I'm typing this). Sometimes I push back, and I feel something hard, but I still can't tell if it's a foot or a bum or a head or what. Also, lately I feel tickles under my ribs on the right side, and tickles down by my left hip, at the same time. I guess the baby is stretching, because both movements feel kind of like hands and/or feet.
I was hoping that at some point I could record a video of my belly moving, but it's like Baby knows when I'm watching, because the movements always stop when I look down. Sneaky child. They're out-smarting me already. :)
Speaking of growing, I did have to buy a new winter coat today. That houndstooth-patterned coat that Art picked out is now too small. I knew when I bought it that it probably wouldn't fit me much past Christmas. I actually tore it before Christmas, along a seam in the back, but I just put off shopping for a new one. I hope I can fix it. It's a nice coat, and I want to be able to wear it post-pregnancy.
My new one is two sizes bigger, and I still need to move the buttons over to give myself a little more room! But this one should hold me over until the baby comes. It has a high waist, and there are only buttons above the waist. Below the waist, it just overlaps.
The store was having a clearance on coats, which is a good thing for a lot of people around here, because we just got some snow and are scheduled to get a whole lot more! It's been a rather warm, rainy Christmas (quite typical for the Northwest), and I thought it was going to be a cold, sunny January (like last year). But we're getting something right in between: snow!
I was overjoyed on Sunday morning when I got up and looked outside. However, I do understand why everyone over here freaks out when it snows. Being from the prairies, I used to make fun of everyone for how they reacted when we got a couple of inches. But now I get it.
See, it doesn't snow a whole lot out here, so there aren't any snowploughs. Well, there are snowploughs, but not for the city in general. They're pretty much just at airports. I'm used to having all the snow cleared from the streets after a snowfall, but cities and towns don't budget for that on the west coast, because they would only need them for maybe two weeks out of the whole year. Same thing with spreading salt or gravel. The city doesn't do that, because it's not in their budget, because they would only have to do it twice during the whole year.
Also, when it snows here, the temperatures hover right around freezing. So it melts, then freezes, then melts, then freezes, and actually becomes quite treacherous. Our parking lot is a particular bad spot. It becomes insta-ice rink as soon as we get a little snow. I thought that maybe our landlord would spread salt or gravel (since he lives on the property, so he surely understands how awful the parking lot is. Right?) Wrong. It's not even in his budget.
Well, he did spread a little salt on the sidewalk by the mail boxes, since that's a common area where everyone will be walking, but that's it.
Right now, driving has been alright (once we manage to get out of our parking lot). But that could change over the next three days, and of course, I'm going to continue to be super cautious. I actually wore my big, clunky, winter boots to work today, because I needed them to keep me safe while I made the short trip from apartment to car. I felt silly the whole day, because there's basically no snow or ice where I work (and I work 8 minutes from home!).
So I think I'm going to wear the boots just outside, and bring my regular shoes with me to wear inside. I'll be a lot less awkward, and a lot more comfortable.
Hm, what else is new? Art is doing quite well. That man knows how to keep a New Year's resolution! (Hint: don't make vague goals. Make specific goals, with time frames, and specific steps to achieving them. Have a detailed plan.) He's been recording every hour of sleep, every supplement he takes, every bit of food that he eats, every workout and every stretch.
His back is already feeling much better, and he's lost 6 pounds in one week. He's aiming to lose a total of 20 pounds, while gaining back some muscle, and of course, healing his back completely. I've been enjoying supporting him in this, because I get to cook healthy meals that we both eat (and both benefit from).
I've been trying new recipes left and right, and they're all good! (As long as I've made them correctly.) I've said it before, and I'll say it again: eating healthy doesn't have to be boring or gross! I get excited when I can make things like cauliflower and zucchini taste amazing. I never used to eat those things. Now, I don't shy away from them, because I know how to cook them and flavor them to make them delicious. Which is what I did today.
I pulled out a Cajun seasoning mix, added some olive oil, cut up cauliflower and chicken breasts, covered everything with the Cajun sauce, and roasted it in the oven for half an hour. Delicious. And a tad spicy. Which brings us back to the beginning of this post, and why I'm writing it in the first place. :)
Not all meals are like that, thankfully. I slow cooked a pork loin yesterday, I slow cooked a duck last week, and I threw together a "stuffing" recipe on the weekend, but instead of bread, I used leftover Christmas turkey. It was so good, I made it twice! I'm actually quite proud of that one, because I kind of followed a recipe, and kind of just made it up as I was going along, and I did it in real hurry. But it turned out great!
I've been working out again. My goal is to get to the gym twice a week, which for me, is about all my body can take. I have to scale back the workouts when I do go, but hey, it's better than nothing. It takes me longer to recover from a workout too, so it may not even be safe to go more than two times a week. I can normally handle the almost-constant soreness that comes with being a CrossFitter, but I have to be more careful about those things now that I've got a baby along for the ride.
I think the hardest part about working out (and just having pregnancy soreness in general) is that it's so hard to stretch! So many hip stretches are no longer feasible because my belly gets in the way, (or the nature of the stretch gives me a foot or leg cramp) so it's difficult to really stretch my hips in ways that will make them feel better. And I always need to make my hips feel better. Art showed me a couple of stretches that I can still do, so I spend several minutes in those positions every day, because it's the only thing works!
Well, I don't think I have much more to write about, and it's nearly 2am. I feel better now, so I should go back to bed and try to get as much sleep as I can. It's not like I need any help feeling tired these days!
January 2, 2011
I Just Started Typing and This Is What Came Out
Happy 2011 everyone! I hope you all had a joyous, safe, and nausea-free New Year's. Because I did. But I was worried that I wouldn't. Last week was such a bad week. I was sick off and on from Monday to Thursday. It was annoying. Also, I never want to taste chamomile tea or ginger ale ever again. I drank SO MUCH of both for four days, and sometimes it helped, and sometimes it didn't, and I'm just so glad I'm feeling better.
So yeah. Don't get the flu. It's a bad idea, and you WILL regret it. Especially if you're pregnant. Did you know that I lost five pounds? I weighed myself on Monday (mere hours before the flu hit me), and the scale (which is perfectly accurate) told me that I had gained 20 pounds. I weighed myself on that same scale on Friday, and it told me that I had only gained 15 pounds. Oops. I understand now why my midwife told me at my last appointment that I could stand to gain more weight than I have. I didn't think I was THAT sick, but when your body, well, you know, when you have the flu, and then you barely eat for four days, it's pretty easy to lose five pounds!
Thankfully, the baby is fine. S/he never noticed that I was sick (although sometimes I wished they had noticed. When you're already nauseated, and they're happily twisting and turning in there, it does not feel good). I think it's amazing how my body puts Baby first. It will throw my immune system under the bus, but will do everything it can to make sure that the baby has a strong immune system. Any cold or flu that I get won't be passed on to him or her, but the antibodies will be.
Something else I found out at my appointment last week is that I have an anterior placenta. When I casually mentioned this on Facebook, it generated a huge discussion, so this time, I'm going to explain myself so ya'll aren't worried.
Anterior placenta means that the placenta is sitting on the front of my uterus (behind my belly button) instead on the back of the uterus (close to my spine). Anterior placentas aren't as common, but it's NOT A PROBLEM. I want to make that very clear. There is nothing wrong. It doesn't make one little bit of difference for the health and development of Baby. It's not dangerous, it won't cause any complications for this pregnancy, or for labor, or for future pregnancies. It's just not as common, but that's it.
I was just surprised to hear about the anterior placenta, because I wasn't told at my 20 week ultrasound, or my 24 week appointment. She only told me at this last appointment. And I know that mothers with anterior placentas tend to not feel fetal movement as early as other mothers, but this wasn't a problem for me. I felt Baby move at 18 weeks, and we've been going strong ever since.
I'm at 28 weeks now (officially in my third trimester!), and after talking with my midwife, I realized that I've been feeling baby hiccups! I assumed they would be strong, and that my whole belly would jump with every hiccup (like when I hiccup), but it doesn't feel like that at all. It almost feels like a slow, steady heartbeat. It can't be felt from the outside at all.
Also, my midwife told me that I will probably start experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions. I was really surprised when I heard that. I just assumed they didn't start until a few weeks before labor begins. But you know what? She's right. I think I have been feeling Braxton Hicks contractions!
It just feels like a tightening, usually quite low on my belly. It doesn't hurt at all. I just can't believe that they start this early. I guess the uterus needs a lot of practice for the real thing.
Know what else? I've been rambling. I totally meant to write about New Year's, but I've gone and done a baby update instead. Switching topics now!
New Year's was wonderful (and I have zero pictures to show you because I was too busy enjoying it and completely forgot about my camera). The past couple of years have been kind of disappointing as far as plans are concerned. Two years in a row I tried to plan a party, and invite our usual friends, and I made food, and I planned to play games, and both years, it kind of flopped. People showed up really late, or not at all, and we didn't really play games, and it was just kind of a let down.
This year we got to spend one night and one day with friends of ours who came up from California to see their family. I love how their family considers us family as well, and they didn't mind at all that we basically crashed their family gathering. It was at our friends' grandparents house. Lots of aunts and uncles and cousins were around (most of the cousins are our age), and most of them stayed the night. I couldn't believe that they had room for all of us!! We had a casual dinner on Friday night, rang in the New Year all together, and then everybody who didn't stay the night came back for a big breakfast on New Year's Day.
The family hadn't celebrated Christmas yet, so Art and I sat back and got to watch them all open their presents. It sounds like it would be awkward, but it wasn't at all. Then we all bundled up and headed out to see a porpoise necropsy! (An autopsy on an animal.) Yeah. I guess a bunch of the family found a dead porpoise washed up on the beach earlier in the day on the 31st, so they called up a marine biologist friend who lived close by, and he said he would perform the necropsy on the 1st, and we could come in and watch.
I'm not particularly grossed out by that stuff, so I found it fascinating. The smell wasn't great, but it could have been a lot worse. She (the porpoise) had only been dead about 48 hours.
They found out that the cause of death was a fungal infection in her lungs, which can actually be passed on to humans, so we all had to wear masks, and not stand too close. It probably wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done (being pregnant and all), but they assured us that as long as our bare skin didn't come into contact with porpoise blood or tissue, that we'd be fine. If it was truly that dangerous, we would not have been allowed in there at all.
This porpoise was also pregnant (about three months along), but we didn't stick around long enough to see them open up the uterus. Other people did, and took pictures, so I still got to see a porpoise fetus at three months. It's so tiny (about six inches in length), yet fully developed (complete with a blow hole). Porpoise gestation is 12 months long, so it still had a lot of growth left.
Everybody was surprised that I would have wanted to see that, (being pregnant and all), but again, that stuff doesn't bother me. Maybe it's because I've seen so many fish gutted in my life, and to me, this was just a really big fish. I mean, it's still sad, but....I don't know. I just find it interesting! I just think it's funny that we were all eager to spend part of New Year's Day watching a porpoise necropsy.
Anyway, after that was over, Art and I and our couple friend who came up from California went for a long walk on the beach. (The grandparents live mere blocks from the beach.) The guys smoked their pipes, and we girls talked about babies and weddings and all that girly stuff. It was cold, but thankfully, it wasn't windy.
When we got back, it was time to curl up by the fireplace, take a nap, and wait for dinner. The grandparents went all out. There must have been at least 20 of us around that huge long table in their dining room (like a royal banquet or something), and grandma got out her fine china and crystal, and we had goose and prime rib, and mashed potatoes, and all sorts of other things that I didn't eat because I wasn't that hungry! But I did try a tiny piece of goose. The meat is quite dark, and I don't know that it's amazing all by itself, but someone made a cranberry and blackberry sauce to go with it, and the combination was amazing.
After that, Art and I decided it had been a wonderful 24 hours, and it was time to head home. But then we stopped by his parents' place to see his dad before his dad left for work (he works nights). So we ended up only getting home at midnight anyway! We slept in this morning, had breakfast for lunch, and that brings us to right now.
I'm not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow, but it's been a good, full two weeks off. Busy, but not too busy. And other than being sick, I really enjoyed it. I'm kind of nervous as well. Up until now, my due date has seemed so far away, but now these last three months are going to fly by, and before we know it, we're going to have a little baby! And then you all get to look forward to blog post after blog post about pooping and crying and sleepless nights...... :)
Before I end this incredibly lengthy post that most of you have long since abandoned (except for my mom), I should talk about New Year's resolutions. I don't have any. Well, I guess I do, but they're not new. They're just a continuation of last year. I want to be as healthy and fit as possible.
These past couple of months I've barely been to the gym, so I want to try and go at least twice a week before the baby is born. And we've got a fridge full of good food, and recipes and meal plans for the next month, so we can get back to eating healthy. I'm going to spend some time today doing as many preparations as possible for the week, so that on the days that I go to the gym, I can still serve a healthy dinner that doesn't take forever to put together, and we can actually eat before 8pm.
And that's the latest! 2010 didn't start off being really great, but it got better and better as the months went by. And now I'm looking forward to 2011. I think this is going to be the best year yet. And I pray it is the same for each and every one of you!
So yeah. Don't get the flu. It's a bad idea, and you WILL regret it. Especially if you're pregnant. Did you know that I lost five pounds? I weighed myself on Monday (mere hours before the flu hit me), and the scale (which is perfectly accurate) told me that I had gained 20 pounds. I weighed myself on that same scale on Friday, and it told me that I had only gained 15 pounds. Oops. I understand now why my midwife told me at my last appointment that I could stand to gain more weight than I have. I didn't think I was THAT sick, but when your body, well, you know, when you have the flu, and then you barely eat for four days, it's pretty easy to lose five pounds!
Thankfully, the baby is fine. S/he never noticed that I was sick (although sometimes I wished they had noticed. When you're already nauseated, and they're happily twisting and turning in there, it does not feel good). I think it's amazing how my body puts Baby first. It will throw my immune system under the bus, but will do everything it can to make sure that the baby has a strong immune system. Any cold or flu that I get won't be passed on to him or her, but the antibodies will be.
Something else I found out at my appointment last week is that I have an anterior placenta. When I casually mentioned this on Facebook, it generated a huge discussion, so this time, I'm going to explain myself so ya'll aren't worried.
Anterior placenta means that the placenta is sitting on the front of my uterus (behind my belly button) instead on the back of the uterus (close to my spine). Anterior placentas aren't as common, but it's NOT A PROBLEM. I want to make that very clear. There is nothing wrong. It doesn't make one little bit of difference for the health and development of Baby. It's not dangerous, it won't cause any complications for this pregnancy, or for labor, or for future pregnancies. It's just not as common, but that's it.
I was just surprised to hear about the anterior placenta, because I wasn't told at my 20 week ultrasound, or my 24 week appointment. She only told me at this last appointment. And I know that mothers with anterior placentas tend to not feel fetal movement as early as other mothers, but this wasn't a problem for me. I felt Baby move at 18 weeks, and we've been going strong ever since.
I'm at 28 weeks now (officially in my third trimester!), and after talking with my midwife, I realized that I've been feeling baby hiccups! I assumed they would be strong, and that my whole belly would jump with every hiccup (like when I hiccup), but it doesn't feel like that at all. It almost feels like a slow, steady heartbeat. It can't be felt from the outside at all.
Also, my midwife told me that I will probably start experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions. I was really surprised when I heard that. I just assumed they didn't start until a few weeks before labor begins. But you know what? She's right. I think I have been feeling Braxton Hicks contractions!
It just feels like a tightening, usually quite low on my belly. It doesn't hurt at all. I just can't believe that they start this early. I guess the uterus needs a lot of practice for the real thing.
Know what else? I've been rambling. I totally meant to write about New Year's, but I've gone and done a baby update instead. Switching topics now!
New Year's was wonderful (and I have zero pictures to show you because I was too busy enjoying it and completely forgot about my camera). The past couple of years have been kind of disappointing as far as plans are concerned. Two years in a row I tried to plan a party, and invite our usual friends, and I made food, and I planned to play games, and both years, it kind of flopped. People showed up really late, or not at all, and we didn't really play games, and it was just kind of a let down.
This year we got to spend one night and one day with friends of ours who came up from California to see their family. I love how their family considers us family as well, and they didn't mind at all that we basically crashed their family gathering. It was at our friends' grandparents house. Lots of aunts and uncles and cousins were around (most of the cousins are our age), and most of them stayed the night. I couldn't believe that they had room for all of us!! We had a casual dinner on Friday night, rang in the New Year all together, and then everybody who didn't stay the night came back for a big breakfast on New Year's Day.
The family hadn't celebrated Christmas yet, so Art and I sat back and got to watch them all open their presents. It sounds like it would be awkward, but it wasn't at all. Then we all bundled up and headed out to see a porpoise necropsy! (An autopsy on an animal.) Yeah. I guess a bunch of the family found a dead porpoise washed up on the beach earlier in the day on the 31st, so they called up a marine biologist friend who lived close by, and he said he would perform the necropsy on the 1st, and we could come in and watch.
I'm not particularly grossed out by that stuff, so I found it fascinating. The smell wasn't great, but it could have been a lot worse. She (the porpoise) had only been dead about 48 hours.
They found out that the cause of death was a fungal infection in her lungs, which can actually be passed on to humans, so we all had to wear masks, and not stand too close. It probably wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done (being pregnant and all), but they assured us that as long as our bare skin didn't come into contact with porpoise blood or tissue, that we'd be fine. If it was truly that dangerous, we would not have been allowed in there at all.
This porpoise was also pregnant (about three months along), but we didn't stick around long enough to see them open up the uterus. Other people did, and took pictures, so I still got to see a porpoise fetus at three months. It's so tiny (about six inches in length), yet fully developed (complete with a blow hole). Porpoise gestation is 12 months long, so it still had a lot of growth left.
Everybody was surprised that I would have wanted to see that, (being pregnant and all), but again, that stuff doesn't bother me. Maybe it's because I've seen so many fish gutted in my life, and to me, this was just a really big fish. I mean, it's still sad, but....I don't know. I just find it interesting! I just think it's funny that we were all eager to spend part of New Year's Day watching a porpoise necropsy.
Anyway, after that was over, Art and I and our couple friend who came up from California went for a long walk on the beach. (The grandparents live mere blocks from the beach.) The guys smoked their pipes, and we girls talked about babies and weddings and all that girly stuff. It was cold, but thankfully, it wasn't windy.
When we got back, it was time to curl up by the fireplace, take a nap, and wait for dinner. The grandparents went all out. There must have been at least 20 of us around that huge long table in their dining room (like a royal banquet or something), and grandma got out her fine china and crystal, and we had goose and prime rib, and mashed potatoes, and all sorts of other things that I didn't eat because I wasn't that hungry! But I did try a tiny piece of goose. The meat is quite dark, and I don't know that it's amazing all by itself, but someone made a cranberry and blackberry sauce to go with it, and the combination was amazing.
After that, Art and I decided it had been a wonderful 24 hours, and it was time to head home. But then we stopped by his parents' place to see his dad before his dad left for work (he works nights). So we ended up only getting home at midnight anyway! We slept in this morning, had breakfast for lunch, and that brings us to right now.
I'm not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow, but it's been a good, full two weeks off. Busy, but not too busy. And other than being sick, I really enjoyed it. I'm kind of nervous as well. Up until now, my due date has seemed so far away, but now these last three months are going to fly by, and before we know it, we're going to have a little baby! And then you all get to look forward to blog post after blog post about pooping and crying and sleepless nights...... :)
Before I end this incredibly lengthy post that most of you have long since abandoned (except for my mom), I should talk about New Year's resolutions. I don't have any. Well, I guess I do, but they're not new. They're just a continuation of last year. I want to be as healthy and fit as possible.
These past couple of months I've barely been to the gym, so I want to try and go at least twice a week before the baby is born. And we've got a fridge full of good food, and recipes and meal plans for the next month, so we can get back to eating healthy. I'm going to spend some time today doing as many preparations as possible for the week, so that on the days that I go to the gym, I can still serve a healthy dinner that doesn't take forever to put together, and we can actually eat before 8pm.
And that's the latest! 2010 didn't start off being really great, but it got better and better as the months went by. And now I'm looking forward to 2011. I think this is going to be the best year yet. And I pray it is the same for each and every one of you!
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