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March 11, 2002
March 11, 2002
37 Weeks
Hello everyone,
Hope everyone is doing well and having healthy pgs/successful attempts at TTC.
I am in total disbelief that my pg journey is coming to an end. It makes me very sad to think I don’t have much left time to enjoy this, I really will miss it, every aching joint, swollen finger, every bit of discomfort. I feel so lucky that I got the chance to experience this wonderful time and I will never forget any of it. I only wish everyone could know how great this feels, everyone deserves at least that in life.
Megan’s Visit/Baby Shower
I had an absolutely wonderful time this weekend meeting Megan M. formerly of Precon. and PG diaries, now a Babies Today diary writer. Megan so generously decided to come up for my VA shower and spent the weekend in our home. I knew that we would get along because we click so well over the phone, but still nothing compares to meeting someone in person. Megan is one of the friendliest and entertaining people I have ever met and we had an absolute blast.
I picked Megan up at the airport on Friday afternoon and even though I had seen pictures of her, it was still strange to finally get to see her in person. She looked great, even better than her pictures and I was blown away to think that she just had a baby this fall! I only pray that I am that skinny after I have a baby (though somehow I doubt it).
After I picked her up, we drove into Georgetown for a late lunch and spent the next few hours just catching up on everything that we had been saving up for months. Later on that evening, Charles, Megan and I went out for a late dinner of all places, The Cheesecake factory, where we enjoyed the worst service ever - hour and a half wait, 40 minutes to get a simple order of fries and they ran out of cheesecake. Didn’t matter though, we still had a great time together, all three of us laughing all evening long.
The next day (March 9), was my shower. It was held in a local restaurant, a sort of bistro type place called Cafe Deluxe, and started at 2. Before the shower, Megan, my mom and I went to Tyson’s Corner mall so Megan could pick up a few things she wanted. We went to Pottery Barn Kids and a few other stores I don’t think she has in her hometown. All I can say is Megan did some major damage!!! It was fun to watch, every woman deserves to treat herself, right?
After the mall, we headed over to the restaurant for the shower. Everyone had ordered and was just finishing the first course when the unimaginable happened - one of my best girlfriends (who almost didn’t attend due to a very bad stomach virus), proceeded to lean over onto the center of the long table and vomit out her entire lunch. It was the eeriest thing I had ever seen, I don’t think I have ever seen an adult throw up before and I felt so horrible for her. It was just like this nonstop flow of vomiting (sorry to be so gross) and for a minute, I never thought it would end. It was like watching Linda Blair in The Exorcist, it was even coming out of her nose and was just all over the place. Everyone just stood there and watched in shock. Needless to say, after that episode, no one ate a thing. My poor friend later told us that she was fighting off a stomach virus (she is an elementary school teacher and catches stuff all the time from her kids).
Since no one was eating, it was decided that I should open the gifts. Again, I got so many incredible gifts - books, clothes, toys a wipes warmer, sleep positioner, towels, and FOUR bouncy seats. Two of the bouncy seats were one I registered for, the other two were different. I ended up returning the duplicate bouncy seat and keeping the other three because all of the bouncy seats were so different, for different ages with different features. Plus, I liked them all so much I couldn’t bear to return any of them.
Even better than the gifts were the people who attended. As I already mentioned, it was simply great that Megan would come all the way from TX just to attend my shower, but also, Kamina (formerly of Precon. diaries) was there as well as Mary, a “lurker” from my board (I know she is thrilled that I call her that), both of whom I have grown to be very close friends with since they live in the area. There were also women I went to college with and a couple of coworkers and relatives - just 14 people but everyone really clicked and had a great time together. It was all in all a very special day and my best shower out of the three.
After the shower, Megan and I went shopping at Crate and Barrel and when we were done there, Charles took us on a night tour of Washington, D.C. Since she had never been to this area before, we wanted to make sure Megan saw everything, all the monuments, the White House and the Pentagon.
Sunday morning, we took Megan to the airport to catch her flight home. I was really sad to see her go, the time together was really too short. Next time you come Megan, you better stay a week.
This afternoon we did nothing but sit around and finish thank you notes, wash more baby clothes and clean the house. We want to be sure we have EVERYTHING done before this baby comes. We even put the trusty shower curtain on the mattress this morning when we changed the sheets! I couldn’t sleep all night long because I kept thinking my water would break and that I would ruin the mattress so this morning I decided it was time to just put it on already.
Doctor’s Appointment
To backtrack, I had my weekly check up last Wednesday, the 6th, where I learned that I tested negative for Strep B, so I was very happy about that. I also had my first internal exam where the doctor informed me that I am not dilated at all, not effaced, nothing, in other words - sealed tight as a drum. I realize that means nothing, of course, since a pg woman’s body does what it wants at any given time, there is really no way to predict. My mom had two weeks to go when she was pg with me when she went in for a check up one day; at that time her doctor told her she had at least two more weeks to go and of course, she had me the next morning at 2 a.m., so like I said, you can never predict.
I gained 2 lbs this week and my blood pressure was raised, but not raised enough to cause concern - yet. We will see what they say this week about my BP but I have to be honest, I am really, really hoping it is normal and they don’t send me over to the hospital to be induced or anything like that. I am so not mentally ready for that particular scenario.
Swim Class
As I have said a million times, I really do love my swim class and all the girls in it. We just recently decided we should go out to lunch together at least once a week and it is always fun when we do. Last week we went out to a little bistro bakery type place - all seven of us - and had a really fun time just talking about and comparing pgs, etc. When we left, the restaurant just happened to be packed with the lunch crowd, there was even a line going all the way out the door. We walked through the restaurant, all of us at least 7-8 months pg, as everyone stared at us as if we were some phenomenon. I guess we did look funny all of us pg and waddling through the restaurant. That is when one of my girlfriends yelled out “whatever you do, don’t drink the water here!” and everyone laughed at that one. After lunch, everyone came over to our place to just hang out, have dessert and chat some more. What was so funny is that none of these women have ever known me not pg and had no idea how I looked before getting pg. There were several pictures of Charles and I taken from last spring scattered around the house, as well as our wedding pictures. As the girls looked at my pictures, they kept asking me “Who is this woman?” referring to me! When I told them that the picture was of me, they were shocked that it was, they said I look so different now (which was a nice way of saying I am much fatter now), but I thought it was funny to see their reaction. I know I am bigger than before but on yourself, you never see it as clearly, you know? Anyway, I love that I have met these women have started friendships because I feel like I will have a strong base of new/first-time moms to bounce stuff off of and pal around with this summer as we all take on the experience of caring for a newborn.
Infant CPR Class
Charles and I took a crash course in infant CPR last Wednesday night and feel very good about what we learned. I had taken CPR before but really didn’t remember too much about it, plus CPR for an infant is not the same as for an adult. In addition to CPR techniques, we learned a variety of safety tips which I am sure will prove very useful. Of course, one thing we did learn and were not thrilled to hear is that under no circumstances should you have any type of bumpers in your crib OR bassinet. The instructor informed us that these bumpers are a major cause of SIDS, etc., and that if we have them, we need to take them out immediately. So, regardless of whether I believe these facts and statistics, it goes without saying that I have to take these bumpers out because God forbid should anything ever happen and I didn’t take out the bumpers, I’d never forgive myself.
One of the other women in the class and I were talking about car seats and what kind fits in what cars, etc. This woman told me that when she went to the fire dept. to have her car seat installed, the firemen were unable to install it in her car because (according to the firemen), her particular car seat, a Graco, does not fit well in her type of car, a Ford Explorer. So, she had to return not only her car seat but the whole travel system since the car seat was a part of the stroller, etc. The firemen also told her that the worst car seats to try and fit into a car is the Peg Perego, especially if the car you drive is an SUV, PARTICULARLY, if the car is a Ford Explorer. This was very disturbing to me because as you can probably guess, the car seat I have is a Peg Perego (part of a travel system) and the car we are in the process of buying is the Ford Explorer. How incredibly annoying. The woman in my CPR class told me she drives a ‘98 Explorer and that perhaps since ours will be brand new, we won’t encounter the same problems she had but still, I will be so pissed if I have to take back my whole travel system. Actually, I can’t since we threw the box out, I guess we would just have to buy a separate car seat. If anyone out there has any experience or information regarding either the Ford Explorer or the Peg Perego and how they pertain to car seat installation, I’d love to hear your opinion/experience.
How I Feel
Today I got up and went to swim class earlier than usual. I swam for an hour before the hour long class started. Needless to say, by the time the class ended, I was pretty much dead on my feet - lethargic and without an ounce of energy. This afternoon, I am planning on doing nothing except lying around and napping. I am honestly too tired to do much else. I am sure you can tell that by my listless and completely boring entry. Rereading this, it is probably the most boring entry I have ever written but I am too tired to even care at this point. I must admit, I feel “different” than I did last week, or any other week. At the risk of grossing you out, I have been going to the bathroom (not to pee either) a lot and it has not been a pretty sight. I have heard that this is sometimes a sign of labor starting. Since I have had this for the past few days, I am beginning to wonder.
The baby moves all the time and the kicks are getting harder and more uncomfortable with each day. My fingers and feet are swollen all the time now and are getting really stiff. Megan, Charles and I were hysterical one night because my hands swelled up very badly and we all agreed that they looked like Ball Park Franks, “they plump when you cook’ em.” That ridiculous splint I was prescribed to help my carpal tunnel syndrome has done nothing at all, my wrists ache just as much as before.
Even though I am ready for this baby to come with respect to the necessities, I do not feel that I am mentally prepared. I take that back, I feel mentally prepared for the baby, just not the delivery. I guess what I am saying is I am actually getting scared. Not of the pain but of something going wrong. I am mainly afraid of the exact time when I actually go into labor. Now that I am 37 weeks and now that I have no showers left, nothing left to buy, do or plan for, I feel like my mind will now allow my body to do what it needs to do. With that in mind, I feel like anticipating my labor is like waiting for a bomb to go off. The scary thing about it all is that no matter what you do, this bomb is definitely going to go off, nothing will stop it, it’s just a matter of when - and how. That’s the part that scares me the most. Where will I be? In the bed? (Hopefully). In the store? (Please God no). On the road? In traffic? (No, no, please no). Will Charles be with me? (I pray to God yes). I guess I should stop wasting my time and energy worrying about it, it will happens when it happens and there is nothing I can do about it. But it is easier said than done when you have nothing left to do except sit around and WAIT. And I mean it when I say there is nothing left - I have my bags packed with two coming home outfits, (one for (ha) a smaller baby, one for a larger baby, given to my by Jennifer B. of PG Today!), socks, slippers, nursing gown, nursing bra, toiletries, phone cards (in case you can’t use a cell phone in the hospital), camera, video camera, cord blood kit, and snacks (since I hear they starve you in the hospital). I have washed every last bit of baby clothing, stacked the diapers, set up the diaper genie and wipes warmer, set up the stroller and all the bouncy seats, sterilized the pacifiers, stocked up on the baby lotions, cremes, shampoos, soaps, etc. I have put away all the gifts, written all the thank you notes (all 100 + of them), and printed out all copies of emergency and necessary phone numbers for when the “big moment” comes. I think the only thing left to do is come up with a boy’s name, that task is becoming the bane of our existence, we simply cannot think of one name we really like.
Now all I need is the baby. As scared and nervous as I am, I can’t wait. I have wanted this for so long and now it’s almost here. I still can’t even believe my good fortune, whatever did I do to deserve such a wonderful gift?
Until next week,
Corinne and her baby
EDD 4-1-02
PS: For those of you who have asked for pictures and commented on them on my board, I thank you so much for all the nice things you said. Normally. as you know, I would respond to each of you but I have been on line less and less due to fatigue - (it took all my energy just to write this crappy entry). Please know I appreciate your interest and your kind thoughts. Additionally, Megan M. was nice enough to set up a web page for me that has a variety of pre-pg pictures, pg/belly pix and pictures of the baby’s room. Rather than me email them to you, if you would like to see any pictures please go to www.babiesonline.com/babies/s/swiss/
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