We have finally finished the move. I say that in an exasperated tone as if 3 days to completely move and unpack is a long time. However these 3 days of 6am starts and 2 am finishes have been brutal. All of the energy that had seemed to arrive with the second trimester is quickly fading, not to mention that I have been battling some sort of illness for the past 2 weeks. Unlike anything I've ever experienced before, each day it decides whether or not it wants to manifest itself and if so which body system it wants to attack. Last week I had 2 days of no voice several other days of stomach issues and a stuffed up head. What is unique is that the days are not consecutive. For example Thursday I had no voice and a painful throat, Friday was stomach issues, Saturday was congestion and head issues but each day the symptoms were completely separate from any of the ones on the other days. Anyway, as a result of all of this my body is exhausted. The long days of moving and the illness is completely unbearable.
On the plus side of things the new place is absolutely fantastic. There are already several items in Michaela's closet and we will begin decorating her room this weekend when we go buy furniture. I can't wait. She moves a lot, but not enough to keep me up at night, as a matter of fact, I haven't been waking nearly as often as before or as I probably expected. It is as if my desire for sleep is more persistent than my desire to relieve my bladder of the pressure. What has become an issue in the past few days though is pain in my hips. Trying to be the good pregnant woman and sleep only on my sides (it has to be sides (plural) because trying to limit my position to left side alone is practically impossible) has led to severe pain in my hips and lower back. Everyone has recommended using the pillow between the legs but that is quite uncomfortable. Also not being able to cuddle with Alex as much has been quite frustrating as well. Everyday I am finding more and more articles of clothing that don't fit or fit just a little too snugly.
The nesting has definitely begun to set in as well. Part of this may be associated with having a fantastic new apartment that I don't want to dirty however, after living there for only 4 days I have already vacuumed 3 times and it drives me crazy to have even one dish in the sink. I can't leave the bedroom with the bed unmade and just the thought of the remote left on the coffee table rather than tucked neatly in the drawer where it belongs is absolutely maddening. Therefore, my current inability to do laundry (our washer is broken) is driving me crazy. Also there are 2 boxes that are yet to be unpacked, both of them containing shoes because we still need to buy the shoe holders (I will be buying them today!) The good thing about all of this though is that Alex seems to be catching my cleaning crazies as well--although at a much lesser degree. He has been diligent about at least putting his clothes in the hamper rather than on the floor and clearing his dishes after dinner. He has also been a huge help with me coping with my recent illness. He was kind enough to run me a nice warm bath last night which I was longing for to soothe my aching body. It was very nice to enjoy the warm water but apparently my body was rejecting all of the heat and I hadn't considered all of the cautionary notes about warm baths and hot tubs, etc. Quickly the bliss of the bath became a bubbly nightmare. My head started spinning and my heart throbbing in my head. Dizzily I stood up and clutched the side of the tub as I started to black out and then proceeded to throw up over and over again. I still feel miserable and can't wait until I can go home and go back to bed especially since today all of the symptoms of whatever this bug is I'm fighting have decided to manifest themselves.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Week 23: Moving Inside and Out
First I would like to mention our new layout. I felt that it was only fitting to make the page pink in anticipation for our little girl. With that having been said I feel the need to emphasize that I have no intention of forcibly making my child wear pink, nor do I have any intention of overly emphasizing traditional feminine roles. Now all caveats aside...on to my baby!!!
Everyday it brings me more and more joy as I feel her move. Her movements are becoming far more frequent and it is always really exciting. Alex has begun to feel her move as well which is a huge relief for both of us. I know that it has been difficult for him to feel any sense of bonding with her because she hasn't been moving in a way that he could feel her. When she did for the first time the sheer joy that lit up his face was like a kid at Christmas who had just opened that coveted gift that he was sure he wasn't going to get. I was so happy to see him so happy and pleased that there was finally a sense of bonding for him.
I had my doctor's appointment yesterday and everything seems to be going well. I am still gaining weight more quickly than I probably should but my doctor said that as long as I keep exercising and avoiding sugar that I should be fine. The avoidance of sugar--thankfully hasn't been too difficult because overall sweets are currently the least appealing of all foods to me. Also the reason for this avoidance is because of the high risk of gestational diabetes during pregnancy. I have a sugar test next month to determine whether or not this is something that they need to be concerned about. They are also going to do an blood count to check my iron. This concerns me a bit--even though I know that the treatment for low iron will just be iron supplements, I have had a tendency towards lower iron. With little Michaela sucking away all of my iron so that she can form strong muscles, there is a good chance that my iron will be low. While the obvious solution would be to consume more red meat--it is difficult to do so when the meat has to be prepared medium well to well done. Being married to a carnivorous rare meat eater, I have come to enjoy a bit of blood in my meat which hasn't been possible and therefore has led to a lack of desire for red meat.
All of the joys of the second trimester have also been in full force. Notably the increased energy and decreased illness. The heartburn however, is something that I don't see departing in the near future. Even in my efforts to avoid foods that have the potential to cause that burn it seems that something always causes it. Additionally, sleeping has become increasingly more difficult. As I grow larger I am finding it more and more difficult to find comfortable sleeping positions. All of the recommended pillow positions have become more of a hassle than help and also prevent me and my hubby from cuddling. By the end of the day when I am completely worn out, the desire for sleep is so overwhelming that the inability to do so is devastating.
Now that last line was probably a bit confusing...seeing as how I said the fatigue had improved and yet at the end of the day I am so fatigued that I can barely reach the bed. You see this is where the moving "out" part comes into play. As I have mentioned in a few of my previous posts we have been trying to buy a house. Well...we're moving...but not to the house. In a long scenario of utter frustration our lending company decided to pull our loan 2 days before closing and so we are off to another apartment. Initially I was quite discouraged about this situation and discontented by the fact that we wouldn't have a yard or space to raise our child, but then we found the most beautiful of all (reasonably priced) apartments in the St. Louis area. I am pleased with our new residence which boasts 300 sq. feet more than the house we were going to buy. Not to mention that it is a first floor apartment meaning--NO STAIRS and has been fully updated. The packing and moving process however has been exhausting. I am finding it difficult to comprehend just how we acquired so much stuff. It seems like the more we pack, the more we find. Not to mention how completely useless I feel and incapable because I can pack a box, but then I can't move it!!! Little Kayla and I are exhausted but once we finish with the move we can start decorating her room!!!
Everyday it brings me more and more joy as I feel her move. Her movements are becoming far more frequent and it is always really exciting. Alex has begun to feel her move as well which is a huge relief for both of us. I know that it has been difficult for him to feel any sense of bonding with her because she hasn't been moving in a way that he could feel her. When she did for the first time the sheer joy that lit up his face was like a kid at Christmas who had just opened that coveted gift that he was sure he wasn't going to get. I was so happy to see him so happy and pleased that there was finally a sense of bonding for him.
I had my doctor's appointment yesterday and everything seems to be going well. I am still gaining weight more quickly than I probably should but my doctor said that as long as I keep exercising and avoiding sugar that I should be fine. The avoidance of sugar--thankfully hasn't been too difficult because overall sweets are currently the least appealing of all foods to me. Also the reason for this avoidance is because of the high risk of gestational diabetes during pregnancy. I have a sugar test next month to determine whether or not this is something that they need to be concerned about. They are also going to do an blood count to check my iron. This concerns me a bit--even though I know that the treatment for low iron will just be iron supplements, I have had a tendency towards lower iron. With little Michaela sucking away all of my iron so that she can form strong muscles, there is a good chance that my iron will be low. While the obvious solution would be to consume more red meat--it is difficult to do so when the meat has to be prepared medium well to well done. Being married to a carnivorous rare meat eater, I have come to enjoy a bit of blood in my meat which hasn't been possible and therefore has led to a lack of desire for red meat.
All of the joys of the second trimester have also been in full force. Notably the increased energy and decreased illness. The heartburn however, is something that I don't see departing in the near future. Even in my efforts to avoid foods that have the potential to cause that burn it seems that something always causes it. Additionally, sleeping has become increasingly more difficult. As I grow larger I am finding it more and more difficult to find comfortable sleeping positions. All of the recommended pillow positions have become more of a hassle than help and also prevent me and my hubby from cuddling. By the end of the day when I am completely worn out, the desire for sleep is so overwhelming that the inability to do so is devastating.
Now that last line was probably a bit confusing...seeing as how I said the fatigue had improved and yet at the end of the day I am so fatigued that I can barely reach the bed. You see this is where the moving "out" part comes into play. As I have mentioned in a few of my previous posts we have been trying to buy a house. Well...we're moving...but not to the house. In a long scenario of utter frustration our lending company decided to pull our loan 2 days before closing and so we are off to another apartment. Initially I was quite discouraged about this situation and discontented by the fact that we wouldn't have a yard or space to raise our child, but then we found the most beautiful of all (reasonably priced) apartments in the St. Louis area. I am pleased with our new residence which boasts 300 sq. feet more than the house we were going to buy. Not to mention that it is a first floor apartment meaning--NO STAIRS and has been fully updated. The packing and moving process however has been exhausting. I am finding it difficult to comprehend just how we acquired so much stuff. It seems like the more we pack, the more we find. Not to mention how completely useless I feel and incapable because I can pack a box, but then I can't move it!!! Little Kayla and I are exhausted but once we finish with the move we can start decorating her room!!!
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Week 22: Changes
Ok so first let me mention that I was certain I posted something for week 21--but apparently it slipped my mind. With that having been said, let me fill you in on what has been going on.
Michaela has been moving all the time which is absolutely wonderful. Every time she moves it is a wonderful little reminder of how special it is to have this little life growing inside of me. Alex still is having trouble feeling her mostly because every time that I tell him she is kicking, she stops when he puts his hand on my stomach. I feel pretty good in general too. The fatigue has improved a million times. I have actually been up until 11 or later 3 times this week. This is quite an accomplishment from my previous 8 o'clock bed times. Of course that might have something to do with the fact that I wake up 2 hours later...nevertheless it feels nice to not have to kick out house guests so that I can go to sleep.
In other news life has been super busy. Our closing date on our house has moved until January 5th which if you will look at your calendar is a mere 3 days away. The process involves so much more than anyone will ever tell you and is more physically and mentally exhausting that you could ever imagine. Especially when it comes to the waiting for the final approval. And the process is about to get even more exhausting. You see, we haven't even started packing yet. This is actually a very strategic move. My reasoning for this statement is that if by some chance this deal doesn't go through, I wouldn't have wanted to waste all of that effort. (Plus I just can't bring myself to face that daunting task!)
All of the winter holidays have also added to the stress of the recent weeks, not that I haven't enjoyed almost every minute of them but the rushing and traveling and marathon Christmas's have been tiring at best. It was fun to have everyone doting over how my stomach has grown and to receive presents even for our unborn daughter. I also registered for my childbirth classes today. This experience was most excellent. Far more exciting than I ever anticipated. Our classes start on March 5th and should be wrapping up just 2 weeks before our due date. This was really exciting. Just knowing that it is getting close to the time for our beautiful little daughter to be here is absolutely wonderful. Of course I am aware that the next few months mean even more stress and rushing--oh well I am sure that I will survive.
Michaela has been moving all the time which is absolutely wonderful. Every time she moves it is a wonderful little reminder of how special it is to have this little life growing inside of me. Alex still is having trouble feeling her mostly because every time that I tell him she is kicking, she stops when he puts his hand on my stomach. I feel pretty good in general too. The fatigue has improved a million times. I have actually been up until 11 or later 3 times this week. This is quite an accomplishment from my previous 8 o'clock bed times. Of course that might have something to do with the fact that I wake up 2 hours later...nevertheless it feels nice to not have to kick out house guests so that I can go to sleep.
In other news life has been super busy. Our closing date on our house has moved until January 5th which if you will look at your calendar is a mere 3 days away. The process involves so much more than anyone will ever tell you and is more physically and mentally exhausting that you could ever imagine. Especially when it comes to the waiting for the final approval. And the process is about to get even more exhausting. You see, we haven't even started packing yet. This is actually a very strategic move. My reasoning for this statement is that if by some chance this deal doesn't go through, I wouldn't have wanted to waste all of that effort. (Plus I just can't bring myself to face that daunting task!)
All of the winter holidays have also added to the stress of the recent weeks, not that I haven't enjoyed almost every minute of them but the rushing and traveling and marathon Christmas's have been tiring at best. It was fun to have everyone doting over how my stomach has grown and to receive presents even for our unborn daughter. I also registered for my childbirth classes today. This experience was most excellent. Far more exciting than I ever anticipated. Our classes start on March 5th and should be wrapping up just 2 weeks before our due date. This was really exciting. Just knowing that it is getting close to the time for our beautiful little daughter to be here is absolutely wonderful. Of course I am aware that the next few months mean even more stress and rushing--oh well I am sure that I will survive.
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