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October 5, 2001
15 Weeks
October 5, 2001
Before I start my entry, I would like to say congratulations! to my dear friend Megan who welcomed the arrival of her son Mitchell on October 2. I would also like to wish Megan a very happy birthday today, no doubt spent becoming acquainted with her best “birthday gift” ever.
Normally, October is a time of year that I absolutely love. I love the fall season, the change of colors on all the trees, the crisp, cool autumn air. Well, not as much this year. Can I just say, I am sick of the heat. Ugh. I must admit that usually, I am a hot weather person. I love the sun, the heat and especially the humidity. But now that I am pg, even the slightest rise in temperature is aggravating. I guess I just never thought that the heat would affect me so quickly during a pg but it most certainly has. For example, last week Charles and I went to visit my alma mater, the University of Virginia, for the day. The weather was spectacular - warm and sunny, but still there was a crispness in the air definitely indicative of a fall day. This was the absolute BEST day physically that I have had since learning I was pg. I had enormous amounts of energy, we walked all over the campus and back again visiting old classrooms, old dorms - everywhere. Nothing hurt, my back was great, I had not one bit of nausea, I wasn’t tired. I felt absolutely fabulous. The next day I spent at home but the temperature was back up to 85 degrees. Well wouldn’t you know it, I felt more nauseous than I had in weeks! I was so sick and I attribute this mainly to the heat. So for the first time in my life, I cannot wait for the temperature to plummet, I will never be so happy. : )
Despite the heat, I am still enjoying the beginning of October. I love walking into stores and seeing all the fall and especially Halloween decorations - I always take it as the world offering me a personal celebration of a very important day for Charles and I - our wedding anniversary of October 31, 1999. I also take great pleasure in knowing that for the duration of my baby’s childhood, we will be spending quality time on our anniversary with him/her as a little family, going from house to house in pursuit of the much sought after Snickers bar.
I feel quite satisfied that the past week has proven to be very productive for me (us). This week we confirmed, secured and paid for our daycare spot, we signed up for Lamaze classes, we registered at Babies R Us and we scheduled our Level II ultrasound, which will take place on November 9. I know it sounds a bit early to have done some or all of these tasks but we really didn’t have a choice. First of all, the daycare in this area is booked up to a year in advance, so since I don’t plan on going back to work until 6 months after the baby is born, I would need daycare starting in October of 2002. Therefore, I really had no choice but to get daycare squared away right now.
The daycare center we chose is a very pleasant place, the children seem very well cared for and what’s more, the place is spotless. (A lot of the daycares we checked out smelled like we had just walked into a piss factory). When we went to drop off our registration and deposit, we were quite impressed at the way a particular situation was handled in our presence. An older woman came to pick up her children. She had the code required to enter the building but the director of the center didn’t recognize her at first. As soon as the woman walked in the door, the director was all over her, asking who she was, asking for i.d. and asking that the other teachers come out and verify the woman’s identity as well. It turned out this woman was the children’s grandmother and that the director hadn’t seen her come in in the morning, so all turned out fine. This was a very comforting scene to witness, let me tell you - you can never be too safe.
We also signed up for Lamaze classes starting end of January. It is a 5 week course that meets once a week for 3 hours a night. Again, this class also books up quickly so we decided to just get the registration over with as well.
We weren’t planning on registering at BRU just yet, but at the request of several family members and friends together, we just went ahead and did it. We figured that it really doesn’t matter anyway, if anything the registry would serve as a great check-off list for us to use ourselves.
Every time I tell people that we are having a Level II ultrasound, they ask if something is wrong with the baby. I guess this is because Level II ultrasounds are not standard practice with a lot of doctors, but they are with mine. I cannot wait to have it done, though my excitement derives only from knowing the baby is healthy, not from knowing the sex.
Another thing that I did this week which REALLY made me feel good is commit to help my local RESOLVE chapter with its volunteer work. For those of you unfamiliar with it, RESOLVE is a national support group for women and couples suffering from infertility. The other evening, I received an email from the chapter’s secretary asking me if I would like to help out. I emailed her back saying that I would absolutely love to help out but that I had to be honest with her and let her know that I was pg, and that I was showing. I added that I would absolutely hate to hurt someone in the throes of TTC and that I would hope they would take this fact into consideration. I wasn’t quite sure what response I would receive but was pleased to receive an enthusiastic return email. The secretary said that she herself had no problem with the fact that I was pg and that they could have me volunteer during hours when no one would have to see me. I know it may seem strange to be involved with such an organization when I am already pg, but I feel connected to these women. For the most part, I have no concept of what pain and suffering a lot of them have endured going through numerous failed IVF cycles, etc. A lot of them are older women who have been TTC for years, many of them with numerous, serious infertility issues. My infertility situation was nothing like that, as we well know and I thank God that I came out of that nightmare virtually unscathed. Nevertheless, I feel like I owe it to women suffering from this horrible condition to do my part, to help out in some way, however I can. Who knows? That could be me again one day. I think we all owe it to try and do all we can to eliminate infertility by advocating treatment, advocating insurance coverage for these treatments and for advocating awareness. So, I look forward to meeting these women helping out as much as I can.
Physically, aside from the heat and its resultant effects, I feel pretty good. It’s amazing how happiness over an impending event such as a new baby will make you forget about the annoying parts of the pg. I have had a back ache off and on for two weeks now that is nearly crippling when it strikes. I have also had this very strange pain shooting through my collar bone at times, but I simply use a (ugh) heating pad (non-electric) and the pain disappears rather quickly.
My breasts are growing at leaps and bounds. Charles always teases me and says that it looks like I have breast implants. Initially, I had bought a bunch of 34 D and 36 D bras - well, now I know why my pg books advise that you don’t buy a lot of bras in one size all at once - that is because you outgrow them quicker than you can wear them! Some of my size Ds already feel tight.
Of course, the best part of the physical aspect of my pg is the tiniest flutterings of kicks I now feel. They don’t occur every day, maybe every 2 or 3 days do I ever feel them, but they are there, no doubt about it. My friend Jenn B. described hers as a hairbrushing from the inside. That is a good analogy, I can see her point. However, mine also feel like little actual kicks. Tiny kicks being made by a beanie baby perhaps, but kicks nonetheless. It’s a very comforting sensation.
This week I went maternity clothes shopping for items that are more well-suited for cooler weather. Here is an annoying little fact about being tall and being pg - every maternity shirt/top is so incredibly short-waisted. I have a very long torso anyway and it completely sucks having to find shirts to fit me that have been created for women who are 5’4. No offense of course to short women, but I totally do NOT want to wear a shirt that comes right to my beltline - not a pretty sight at this point in time. And the same goes for pants. I have long legs and I find myself having to buy larger pants than I need to meet my height requirements. If I had to do my life all over again, I would have gone into fashion design so I could design maternity wear that was 1) fashionable and 2) wearable, even if you are taller than 5’7. I did finally find some longer sweaters at Gap on-line that I liked. I also checked out what Old Navy had to offer and was sorely disappointed. The Old Navy maternity wear is a far cry from Gap quality and taste. I am quite sorry but becoming pg did not suddenly make me long for a black, green and brown camouflage dress, thank you very much.
And speaking of bad taste in maternity wear, is it just me or does it seem that when women become pg, a lot of them simply give up on themselves? Geez...We were in Pea in a Pod the other day and this pg woman walked in who looked like she was maybe about 9 weeks along. She was wearing black spandex-type pants with a belly shirt that exposed about 2 1/2 inches of her newly swollen midriff. Tie this all in with a pair of wicked bitch pumps and cleavage that would make Dolly Parton blush, and you have quite the recipe for disaster. All I have to say to that poor woman is - hang it up lady! Your kid will have enough problems to discuss with his therapist without you adding to the mix. Really!
Now I would like to speak about another pg topic that leaves me nonplussed every time I think about it. Even though I am not that far along in my pg, I still feel the need to question the necessity of reserved parking for expectant mothers and mothers with infants. I don’t know why but something about this completely bothers me. Unless you have a medical condition that prohibits you from walking very far, or a child who is sick or has special needs or unless you have more than one infant, I simply don’t see the need for reserved parking. Today, when we went to Babies R Us, Charles asked me if I wanted him to park in the reserved parking space. Sweet of him to offer, yes, but completely not necessary. I told him thanks but no, I needed the exercise. Here is my problem with the parking: throughout pregnancy, women all talk about how they have to watch their weight, how they need to stop putting on weight, how they are too tired/too sick to exercise, how they need to walk because it is healthy for labor and delivery. After pregnancy, women talk about how much weight they have put on, how they are never going to take the weight off, how they need to take the weight off, how they are too busy with the new baby to exercise, how the extra weight they are carrying is not healthy. Classes are signed up for at local YMCAs and gyms everywhere: pg yoga, pg swimming, pg aerobics, mommy and me, aerobics after birth, etc. Now, are these same women willing to admit that given the facts just presented, it will kill them to walk a few more measly feet from their car to the entrance of the store????? I am sorry but the logic of this scenario was completely lost on me. Like I said, unless you have some condition or your child has a condition that would make it more difficult to walk the extra distance, I say let’s get off our asses and walk a little for God’s sake. I for one KNOW that the ice cream and skittles I sneaked two days ago dictates that I pass right on by that reserved spot and march my ever growing ass whatever distance is required of me.
Ah, I feel my old self returning in full force. : ) For a minute there, I thought pregnancy was making me soft.
Until next week, much love,
Corinne and her baby
EDD 4-1-02
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