Merry Christmas!

God brought his son into this world to show us love.
We were made by love for love.
I'm excited to share that with Gumbo.
He was made by love to show love to the world.

That's all. I hope you have a wonderful day.

What a week!

I worked from home Monday to get more rest and recover from the previous week's illness.
Tuesday I went to work and it was ok. Work party afterwards was fun. It was fun to hang out with friends from work and play the white elephant game. I miss drinking alcohol and caffeinated beverages, especially at events like these.
Wednesday I hazed through the day and went to birth class at night. Didn't sleep well that night.
Thursday was even hazier. Slept the second I got home from work, got up at 10 to drink some gatoraide, went back to bed until 7am.
Woke up really happy on Friday, bright and renewed from sleeping so well. Walked to the metro station. but I fell on the way to work. Why can't I walk properly!!! Its so embarrassing to not be able to do a simple thing like walk safely. I was mad all day about it. We had a gingerbread building contest at work and it was fun. We didn't win, but we laughed alot! Tom and I watched Muppet Christmas, Letters to Santa. Went to bed. I was kicked out of bed at 3:30am for fidgeting. Slept in the downstairs bed. Woke up cranky. (Sorry this blog is cranky, its just the mood I'm in. When I'm not cranky, I'm generally very enjoyable...)

Baby status: I think he turned. I can feel kicking below my sternum. I feel a hard mass below my stomach. It is either his head or his butt. If it is his butt, its great. If it is his head, its still good, but I have more work to do to get him in the right spot for delivery.
He kicks and punches and turns all of the time. When I'm trying to sleep, he's just moving and moving and moving. This is another reason I'm not sleeping well. Tom and other people think its amazing to feel and I've been sharing it with people right and left. Lots of my coworkers just come up and touch me now. I let them know if he's moving and where, or not moving and "here's your hand back". Its cool to share the magic with them.

Its coming soon. I could potentially have this baby in 6 weeks and he would be considered full term. I have lots of contractions, more when I am tired (therefore a ton this week).




Here is a picture of me in the tub trying to relax so I'll have a good night of sleep. You can see the linea negra starting to show up. (My makeup is smeared under my eyes.)

Today Tom and I will go to the newly reopened Museum of American History and then to the movies to see Twilight. We also hope to eat out someplace nice and just make a nice day out of this Saturday.

All the best to you, have a nice time leading up to Christmas, and remember, its not about stuff, its about love.


Love, V

seismic baby

I was taking a bath today and my stomach made seismic waves in the tub. He was like a fish flopping but in my belly! Really cool! I hope it was him flipping over to a head down position!

Also, I'm not sick anymore.

Tom is having trouble sleeping due to my own troubles sleeping, but he still seems to love me. So, thats a great thing!
Love, V

sick

Actually, I thought I stayed home because I was pregnant, but it looks like I am ill. I threw up. Hopefully I'll feel better soon.
Lots of love,
V

staying home

I stayed home from work today cause I'm soooooo pregnant. I'm going to nap and take a bath and read. I guess I'm in the third trimester now.

I'm getting the line on my tummy now. For a month or so, I just thought it was from wearing pantyhose. It is somewhat dark below my bellybutton, I can barely see it above.. but its there...

love, V

Sooooo pregnant

So. I'm really pregnant. No, I mean, really, really, really pregnant. Like its an effort to get out of the car when its on an incline, Its hard to breathe when I'm laying on my back, pregnant. Its pretty huge, and my "its" i mean my belly. I'm 29 weeks.

Gumbo is spending a lot of time moving around, mostly stretching and pushing on both sides. I wish he would get it in his head to rotate, he's in a breech position still. He also could fold in half, I think he is laying flat in there, or as flat as possible. He was 1.5 lbs two weeks ago, but now he's supposed to be 3 lbs. To reflect this change, I was crazy hungry for the last two days.

Oh! another new thing for me, is that I am actually craving things. It started Wednesday night, I was driving my car and all of a sudden, I had this incredible urge for Cup O Noodle. I had to have it, so I stopped at 7-11 and got one. It was delicious! Then the next day, Tom picked me up from the metro and I convinced him that Taco Bell would be the perfect dinner - and it was. Besides that junk, I still desire protein, fruit, and veg - the true building blocks of life. =)

In other news, we registered this weekend. We registered at both Target and on Amazon.com. It was a weird choice to do Amazon, but there were some items that were only sold at specific stores, so I had registered for one item at REI, and one item at an online breastfeeding store, then I realized that all of the items were on Amazon.com, so I un-registered at REI and breastfeeding store, and registered at Amazon instead.


We had a great Thanksgiving with Tom's brother and sister and her fam. I will post some pics later. There seems to be a problem with picture posting right now.
Love, V

2 down, 4 to go

So, Julie and Tim Maxwell had their little girl, Mary Elizabeth, on 11/21/08. Congratulations to them! There is only one more to go: Josh and Ashley Brumfield, before we are due. EEEEEKK!!!
I still think it will be interesting to see if Shanti and Ravi or Katie and Brian have their babies first.
On Thanksgiving I hit the 3rd trimester mark. I'm in the home stretch. EEEK!
I'm still very comfortable in my skin and am just beginning to notice difficulty/slowness in my movements. I have to remind myself to walk slower - its ok, I'm not in a hurry.
This week I was walking to work and *SPLAT* I wasn't walking anymore. I have some bruises on my knee, and my elbow hurt for a few days, but I feel fine now. The baby is moving a bunch - so I am pretty sure he is ok. I went to the midwife on Tuesday for a regularly scheduled appointment and they said he was fine.
We had a bunch of questions for the midwife and it was our longest appointment ever. There are 5 midwives in the practice and we found one that we really like. We hope she is the one that comes to help us deliver. Her name is Alice.
We are also on a quest to find a birth assistant. This person is the equivalent to a nurse, she does the blood pressure and other vitals, and backs the midwife up. She also can act as a doula and help with the process of labor. We interviewed a few and found one that is very motherly and we think she might work nicely.
We had a happy thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday because it involves eating and hanging out with people you love, two things which I really adore.
Tom's sister, Andrea, her husband and their baby came over, as did one of Tom's little brothers, James. We ate turkey and stuffing and potatoes and sweet potatoes and more. After dinner we went for a walk in the park near our house. We saw a bunch of deer, and the sun was setting over the hill, making the sky a deep crimson red. Very lovely.
Today James, Andrea, the baby and I are going to DC to do touristy stuff. Tom and Jake are working. Tomorrow we will go to the zoo.
I send everyone love, especially my immediate birth family, who I usually spend Thanksgiving with, sorry we couldn't this year, but we love you so much and missed you a lot. We look forward to next year!
xxoo

Gumbo gets stirred.

Here is a picture of me that I took this weekend, it was in the 60s. Now it is in the 30s. I hate winter.

I realize its been 2 weeks since I last wrote. Sorry. Not much is happening. The baby kicks and moves. This week he moved from his horizontal position into a vertical one. I think he is breech, but he has plenty of time to turn. He did it while I was in a meeting. I wanted to shout, "Hey! This cool thing is happening right now, RIGHT NOW, as we are speaking, my baby is turning his body in my womb!!!" Of course I didn't, but I wanted to.

Tom went to Minnesota and brought back tons of hand me downs from his sister Monica. He also had his birthday and then got sick. He is almost done with his illness, however, and hopefully will be feeling top notch soon enough.

Gumbo is the length of a hot house English cucumber (14 inches). And weights 1 2/3 pounds. He's darling isn't he?

Finally, I made a labor playlist on my ipod of music to last 13 hours. I hope that the hard part of labor does not extend beyond this 13 hours.

That's all folks.

6 months: Little hands and feet

We're 24 weeks. 6 months. 6 MONTHS PREGNANT!!! That's almost the third trimester!!!!!!

I forgot to mention last week that Gumbo is stirring up my body. His precious little arms and legs are kicking me all over. Its fabulous. For anyone who has never felt it, I would describe it like the inside of a drum. I feel the boom of the kick or punch, but there is no noise. It would be awesome if I made noise when he kicked. When he kicks or punches, I feel like he making an inside joke with me. I love it.
He is kicking my lower left belly, i can feel it on the belly side and on the lower floor of my pelvis (that doesn't feel to good). Then I can feel teeny tiny punches up near my liver

I am still tired, tired, tired from my trip. This weekend will bring little rest. Tom went to Minnesota for his 10 year college reunion. My best friend, Liz, is coming in town at 2am tonight with her boyfriend, Mikey. I'm sure we will laugh and have so much fun.

My biggest issue this week is incredible back and hip pain. I think it all started with an adorable outfit that I wore on Tuesday. It involved a skirt, tights and a really cute pair of heels. I felt fine all day, but when I took my shoes off at night, my hips started aching. Then when I laid down to sleep I couldn't find a comfy spot on my side. Sleeping on my stomach was difficult, sleeping on my back was bad too. All week at night I fidgeted and adjusted (driving Tom CRAZY) and got very little rest.
Its Friday and my hips don't lie, they scream. So tonight I took a bath in Epsom salt, it helped a bit... but I doubt tonight will be a silent night. The good thing about tonight is that Tom is in Minnesota and I have the bed to myself, and can adjust away without worrying I'm waking him up.

Even better is that Liz is here tomorrow when I wake up! Its like Santa is bringing her! YAY!

We started taking Bradley birth classes this week, they were nice.

Oh! Exciting news: our friends Craig and Christina had their baby this week. We hung out with them in August for Adam and Stephanie's wedding. They delivered a baby girl, Samantha Rose, weighing just over 8 lbs at a birth center in Mississippi. They were so happy because they had a successful VBAC and a wonderful birth experience as opposed to their first child's delivery which was a forced C-section due to a breech. Tom and I are so happy for them. Samantha Rose is our God daughter and will get baptized in NOLA area first weekend of January. We will not attend the baptism due to our own impending birth.

When I called Tom and told him about Samantha, he said, "Oh no! That means our birth is that much closer!" I told him, "no it doesn't, we have plenty of time!" EEK

Two babies to go until Gumbo.
1st: Julie and Tim (a girl)
2nd: Josh and Ashley (a mystery)
3rd: US!
4th: Shanti and Ravi (a boy)
5th: Katie and Brian (a boy)

It will be interesting to see if the last 3 are born in that order, we are all 2 weeks apart!
More next week!
I love you!!!
xxoo

travel and consequences

So this week I was in San Diego for a Public Health conference. the conference was fun, but overall I am exhausted and feeling icky. For the last three mornings I have been nauseated again. I think its from feeling tired, the jet lag and eating at funny times in San Diego (SD breakfast at DC lunchtime, SD dinner at 11pm DC time, SD lunch whenever it fits in). I hope it evens out over the next couple of days - because, frankly, I don't like it.

In other news, not much is happening. We got a baby swing this week. We are really excited about having our baby. People are starting to ask when we are due and responding, "Oh, thats close." NO ITS NOT! Its completely really, really far away. February and early March are completely really, really far away. By new years, we will be close, it will be almost time, but NOW? we are still totally far away.

We start taking Bradley Birth classes this week. That will be fun. I'm glad we will really be preparing for the labor portion of giving birth.


Love to all!

Happy Days

We are really settling into our home now. It's nice to no longer be looking for a house or moving. I also started a new position with my company so my day to day work is much more suited to my strengths and what I enjoy doing. I am doing outreach and professional development. That said, I go to a lot of career fairs and do lots of trainings for our current employees. Its very me.

I am starting to really look pregnant and not just like I ate too much food. Its cool. It really just happened this week. We will have to post some pictures of me being pregnant.

I feel wonderful. I hate the 1st trimester. I was crying all of the time and exhausted. Now, I am so full of energy and feel like a sparkling diamond its wonderful. Gumbo is moving all of the time and that is fabulous. Its so sweet to feel a little kick when I am working on our budget at work, or giving a presentation. It feels like an inside joke, or like remembering a kiss. Its just such a sweet feeling of joy. I have my old energy back and am using it up riding bikes and walking. We went hiking last weekend and we did a very hard trail. I was so happy to be able to complete it. I'd like to try it again in the next few weeks - because its awesome.

I'm going to San Diego today for 5 days for the American Public Health Association Conference. Its a really cool conference, 30,000 people go, 1,000 booths in the expo, 20-40 presentations going on simultaneously. Its huge. I will be at the Chemonics booth for most of the time promoting our company and the health development work we do. I plan on going to a few presentations but also relaxing when I can.

We are collecting baby things more and more lately. We just got a "My Breast Friend" pillow from a listserv at Tom's work for $10! Those things are usually like $40-$50. We organized all of the baby things that we've received so far and are starting to think about what types of things we will want or need for little Gumbo. There is a bunch of stuff out there. Its nuts! Registering for our wedding was fun, because you can say "I like these dishes better than those" but for strollers and cribs and car seats you have to think about safety and how easy/hard they are to clean, durability. Its so much to think about. We will probably delay for another month or so. =)

We are starting Bradley classes in November to help us with the second part of that sentence. Overall we are so excited to know that we are having a boy, and looking forward to a smooth pregnancy and hopefully pain free childbirth (ha!).

Much love to you, kisses, hugs and more hugs. I like hugs.
Love, V

New Address

In case any of you need our new address. it's:

1619 Farragut Avenue
Rockville, MD 20851

IT'S A BOY!!!

So, we went to our ultrasound in the end of september with V's momma! It was very exciting except for the rather obtuse Ultrasound technician.baby turning way with hand on top of head

baby on back

baby on back with hand on face


...and the picture you've all been waiting for!


Proof of boyhood!

Moved In

So, Tom here. We are pretty much moved into our new house. Veronica is doing well. Getting rest and eating food. We have our Ultrasound on October 3. I took pictures of each room of our house with Veronica in it to reprise what Veronica's mom did when she had taken pictures of their place and a young Veronica was in almost every picture her mom took. Momma Averill- give us a picture of young Veronica and we'll post it.

So here are the pictures:Here is our kitchen
bathroom

office

guest room
living room

baby room
master bedroom

Charley Horse

I got an incredibly bad one last night. I haven't had such a bad one since I was doing track in high school. As I lay moaning and writhing in the middle of the night I thought, "I just ate a banana." Because I had eaten one just before bed.

This morning I checked the internet

• Leg Cramps (""Charley Horse''): As your baby grows and puts pressure on your lower body, your legs may not get enough blood. Leg cramps can develop when you are tired or not getting enough calcium in your diet.
• Try to rest often with your legs higher than your heart. Drink milk and eat yogurt and cheeses. Talk to your doctor about your diet. You may need to take daily calcium pills.

Ok, so its not even a banana issue, its a calcium issue. I am not having cravings, but I am sure having aversions to food, and cheese is one of them. It grosses me out, the smell, the meltyness. BUT last night I had a blizzard from DQ and I had rice with some grated Romano on it. So I'm not completely devoid of calcium.

It is also probably an issue of me sleeping on my back still. I hate sleeping on my side, I wake up every 50 minutes with a numb arm or a hip on the edge of needing replacement surgery. Sometimes, I even still sleep on my stomach, kind of propped sideways on a pillow so I'm not completely horizontal. Ugh, I don't know what is worse, a killer Charley horse or numb arms/broken hip every 50 min. Also, the little list of cures says to lay with your legs higher than your heart, the only way to do this is on your back- which is forbidden at this time. So, is that even a real remedy?

Also, about supplements for calcium. I get these little white spots on my face that look like white heads, but really they are "calcium deposits" and if I try to squeeze them, nothing happens. In the rare cases that I have been very aggressive with them, I find that I am left with a huge red pit on my face, and a hard little ball of white. Its like a little bone or tooth grew into my face. Whenever I take supplements of calcium, I get more of these, or the ones I have grow. I have one on my eyelid right now and its doubled in size since I've gotten pregnant. Does anyone else get these deposits? Especially anyone related to me?

Oh, and its nice that being "tired" is a cause too. What pregnant woman isn't tired?

With love and cramping,
V

Growing along

This week has been pretty good. I interviewed and was hired for a new position at my company. I will be moving down to HR. I will do some outreach, recruiting and mentoring to employees. I start October 6th, and am happy for the change.

Everyone at work pretty much knows I am pregnant and that is really nice. It was a secret there for so long, and it is so great to talk about there. Now when I am tired, people won't think I'm a lazy, whiny, crybaby. They will just think, "hey, she's pregnant." =)

I need to take some "bump" pictures for you guys and post them. So far, I'm not really showing, people are in shock when I tell them I am at 17 weeks. They are wondering where I am hiding it. I think it depends on what I am wearing. Some outfits make me want to hold it in, and some outfits make me want to push it out.

I'm eating well, balancing my dairy, protein, and veg intake and am feeling well enough to take my vitamins again. I'm super tired still, but I DID just move and have spent a number of "resting hours" not resting and unpacking instead. This week I've been trying to take it easy and unpack less.

No pain, no kicking, no nothing from the womb. I know the baby is growing because I am gaining weight finally. I can feel my uterus is right under my bellybutton. I hope the scale doesn't go too high, but I know it doesn't really matter as long as the baby and I are healthy.

Tom is still handling me quite well. I don't know if I could handle being pregnant without him. I really wonder about women who are pregnant and single, or only have a quasi-supportive partner. How do they do it? There is no way I could do this without Tom. Thank you sweetheart.

Finally, I think both of us are getting over the stress of moving. We are trying to relax and just be happy in the evenings. Our house is almost unpacked. We are having a housewarming party on September 27th. Come on by!


Love, V

A happy day.

We moved into our house this past weekend. It was a tremendous effort but we had so much help from Tom's work friends and Andrea and Jake. Andrea packed our kitchen in the old house, brought it to the new house, and unpacked it there. It is the only thing that is unpacked so far. HUGE THANK YOU to all of our helpers that day!

We are now working on clearing out the old house and unpacking into the new one. This weekend we will do final cleaning at old house. Aunt Mary and Cousin Christy said they would help, so I hope they do! =)

Today was a happy day because I told my boss I was pregnant. She was very happy for me. Then I told her I was leaving my position, she was not mad, and showed no sign of shock. She even supported me moving to a different position in the same company. HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF. I thought she would yell at me, and that I would cry. I'm glad it didn't happen that way. Sometime soon I will have to tell my bigger boss, I hope it goes as well.

I think with the change of job I will really begin to enjoy being pregnant. The stress of my job has put a huge damper on my happiness since becoming a vessel for this new life. I am starting to show and am even wearing some maternity pants because, they are just so comfortable.

I had a lot of pain this Sunday in my abdomen around my uterus. Tom and I were really scared and thought it could be something bad, but I tried to relax and see if it got worse. It was really bad at times. My mom said that maybe it was gas, and I should wait and see. A few hours later, I started farting and the pain went away. I'm really glad it was just gas. =) I know that as the baby gets bigger things like this will happen more and more. I am not looking forward to it, but hopefully it will prepare me for the pain of childbirth. Probably not.

I love you all, thank you for your continued support and advice!
Love, V & Tom

Doctor says no to sex.

So, we were not able to find out the sex of Gumbo on Big Thursday. We will have to wait 5 more weeks until I am 20 weeks along. Then we will have to go to some super awesome sonogram machine place. I hear this is standard. Its a bummer. Thinking that we would find out on Thursday really kept us going. We are ok with it. The sex will still be a surprise, and now we have more time to imagine and dream about our baby girl/boy.

We bought the house! We are really happy. It will be nice to clean and garden this weekend at the new house, and begin moving the following weekend.

I am not showing yet, but definitely not wearing my "skinny jeans" anymore. I'm also moving up to clothes that fit me when I was heavier a few years ago. I've gained 5 lbs overall, doctor says it is fine, she wants me to eat more dairy and exercise more. I think I can handle it.

Love, V and Tom.

BIG THURSDAY

It is Wednesday night.
Tomorrow is Big Thursday.

We have our Dr. Appt at 9:30 tomorrow morning.
We are hoping to find out the sex of Gumbo. At that point we might give Gumbo a sex based name. Our top names are Dixie and Jaques =)

At 1pm, we meet with the Realtor to do the final walk through, and at 2pm we sit down in the title office to buy our house.

We are nervous, anxious and scared and excited and exhausted. We hope that everything goes well and we aren't duped or tricked into anything. We are starting to understand how the foreclosure crisis happened. We are really well educated, smart, careful people and we STILL don't really understand everything that is happening.

Oh well, tomorrow night we will have the house and hopefully rest (or excited talking all night long!)

Update you tomorrow or sometime in the near future!

Love, V and Tom

Nothing going on...

So its week 13.5.
I didn't write last weekend, sorry Mom. =)

I'm feeling fine, this week I am still tired and need lots of sleep. I think Gumbo had a growth spurt on Tuesday because I ate like a madwoman all day long. My gums got swollen this week. I counteracted this by brushing, listerine-ing, flossing, listerine-ing again. It took a few days, but its gone down. I also have been chewing lots of gum, just to keep my gums clean all day. Ice Breakers makes a gum called Ice Cubes that is really yummy. It has Xylatol in it. In Finland, they put Xylatol in everything, and supplement it for pregnant woman just to keep their gums from getting swollen. A coworker (LM) told me this, and its funny because I had been chewing it because it made me less nauseated, took away headaches, made my gums feel better and tasted good. (They sell it at Target).

Katie A. (sister-in-law via Brother Stephen) sent us another shipment of baby things, so we have quite a collection of toys, and some shoes and a diaper bag already! I am really excited about unpacking these things in the baby room in our new house!!!

Andrea and Monica (sister-in-laws via Tom) have given me quite a supply of maternity clothes, so I might not have to get much in that department either.

I'm not showing yet, but I think I stopped holding my stomach in as much, and when I eat, I push it out really far- because it feels good! =)

I am meeting with HR people at my work in the upcoming weeks to see how/when to tell my boss about the baby. Recently my boss said, "... everyone is pregnant, its like an epidemic" I know she was joking, but in Public Health, an epidemic is a bad thing... so I hope she isn't mean about Gumbo.

House update: we are closing on the house in exactly one week. Thursday, August 28th is the closing date. Last week we got word that Radon levels were high in the house. They are doing some Radon remediation right now, and will re-check levels before closing.

I have been changing utility bills, and this is pretty much the only thing I have done to contribute to house buying. Tom has amazingly handled almost everything. Its cool to be married, sometimes you get stuff (like a house!) but don't have to do much! Its pretty awesome. (or maybe this only happens when you are married to Tom- hands off ladies).

I don't know if they want to be "outed" but here is a list of other people in my life that are also gestating right now: Craig and Christina Baker #2 (due Nov) Josh and Ashley Brumfield#1 (due Jan) Katie and Brian #1 (due March) Shanti and Ravi #2 (due March). It is really exciting to have so many people to share the joy, wonders, and frustrations of pregnancy with.

I'd also like to thank Andrea and Monica for their advice and support. They both gave birth this past winter/spring (Feb/March) and have been giving good advice, helping me understand what is coming next, which medical test I'll have to take, etc. I know they make baby book, but sometimes, What to Expect When you are Expecting is too general for me. For example, I have no need for the questions on "how chlamydia affects your pregnancy" or "how to quit smoking" "should I color my hair" or "what to do when you work with toxic chemicals". There's nothing like a person to answer all of your questions.

Love, Veronica (and Tom loves you guys too!)

12 weeks! YAY!

So this weekend makes me 12 weeks along and 10 weeks gestational age.
I've passed the critical time frame. OF course, I have a whole life of worry ahead of me, but it is great to know that we've made it this far. =)
Our 12 week check-up will actually happen around 15 weeks due to scheduling issues/avaliblity of the doctor's office.
We got a spot at BirthCare, for our birth in February. We will go in for an orientation in September, but we haven't completely made up our minds yet if we will use them. I think how we give birth will depend on how the pregnancy goes and the position the baby is in when I go into labor. BirthCare is where Andrea gave birth last February. She did it with a midwife in a birth center. Tom and I are considering a home birth, depending of course on what I said above, where the baby is positioned and how the pregnancy progresses.

This week I feel that I am gaining more energy and starting to feel better, I sometimes have bursts of icky nausea, but I try to keep my blood sugar steady and stay away from things that might bother me (like smelly vitamins).

The big news this week is that we are buying a house!!! AHHH! Our home inspection is Saturday (tomorrow) if all goes well, the house is ours. It is cuter from the inside, but here is an outside picture!
Our fiend Adam got married this past weekend. Here is a picture of Tom and I at the wedding, and a picture of Adam and his bride!We did one more thing last weekend, its kinda dorky, but we took some pictures of Tom and I in our wedding clothes. Tom had rented a tux because he was in the wedding, and our friend Christina is an amazing photographer. So we took some more pictures. We never took any pictures of just Tom and I in our wedding clothes, all of our pics were with friends, family or wedding party. I realize many couples take pictures after their wedding, but they usually don't wait 2.5 years. Well, we did. We didn't even think about it until a year later, then we were moving, and things got busy and stuff like that. So this weekend we went ahead and took some more pics. Here is one of me and Tom at a park. =) I look pretty good for 3 months pregnant!

I'm starting to "feel pregnant" and poochy. Some of my clothes are no longer comfortable, but everything still fits. Its almost a good thing I gained weight a few years ago and then lost it. I have bunches of clothes that fit me in many sizes. Monica, one of Tom's sisters, gave me her pregnancy clothes, and Andrea, Tom's other sister, has a box for me. I'll be pretty set in the clothing department for a while. =)

Hope this updates you pretty well. WE love you and are happy you are part of our lives!
Love, V & Tom.

Crazy Week

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday I had morning sickness, or all day sickness. No actual puking, but generally feeling like it would happen at all times.
This makes work really bad.

Wednesday (today) I was great, with renewed energy and very good feeling.

Today, we also wrote a contract and put a bid on a house. We will let you know what happens! OMG! Life is so exciting!
We are also going to a wedding in Wisconsin this weekend.

Week 10

Now we are in week 10. We are beginning to really feel great about being pregnant. I am starting to tell people. It is really fun!
This week Gumbo is the size of a small plum. very cool.


Symptoms:
tired - but getting more energy.

hungry for the first time in ages, I am eating ALL of the time. I take this as a good sign.

highly emotional- I cry a lot, but it feels good, so its ok.

in love- I am trying to make an effort to strenghten my home life. I don't really like my job right now, so I am trying to make home a haven. I have no cause to fight, or be mad or frustrated at home. I am so happy to have such a loving spouse. Even if we want to fight or yell, our heart isn't in it. I see this as a good thing. (we are pretty happy, even when fighting, our disagreements aren't cause for alarm, faithful readers). I think we will have a very happy home in the future, by making it so in the present.


About the birthing post, this week has been very revealing. We thank you for your feedback, many people emailed me about their experiences. We have a dr. appt on August.... 2_? so we will talk to the doctor about our options.
We know that we have full insurance coverage for whatever we choose and that is a happy, freeing thing to know.

Have a good week. Love, V

Business of Being Born

Last night we watched the Business of Being Born. It is a documentary about the birth industry in hospitals vs. home birth with a midwife.



The movie
1. frightened me
2. made me cry at least 3 times
3. has prompted some interesting conversation in our home about where/how to have our baby.
4. made me dream all night long about giving birth

We know a number of people who have had natural childbirths, or at least tried to. Bradley method seems good. Geez, it is really scary to have a baby. I thought that an epidural would make the pain go away, but apparently it slows the laboring, so you need pitocin to speed it up, which increases pain, which means you need more epidural which slows down labor.. its a vicious cycle.

This was in the movie, but scientist that I am, I looked it all up and ITS TRUE!

We have a lot to think about.

I think the worst thing to think about is being in a hospital with a "normal low-risk" delivery, but feeling vulnerability because you are pressured or frightened by your birth process (which is normal) and then having a physician or nurse exploit that vulnerability.

I was there when Andrea gave birth and it was really intense and scared me a little bit. She was said that if she had been in a hospital she would have taken the epidural when offered. BUT when it was all over and Sophia safely delivered, she said she was really happy that she did it that way, and it was just like she wanted.

My mom delivered us naturally in a hospital and reports that it was great. Andrea was happy with her natural delivery in a birth center. C&C prepared for natural in a hospital, but baby was breach and she had to have a C-section.

My grandmother doesn't remember her births because they just knocked her out. She said it was great, I used to think this sounded wonderful. Then I saw this movie and learned that she wasn't knocked out, she just didn't remember it because she had "night terror" or something like that. They used to tie the women up because they would scratch and claw themselves from the pain, they were completely unaware of their surroundings and what was happening. They would tie women up with lambswool because it didn't leave marks and the husbands wouldn't question what was going on. This does not sound wonderful, it sounds horrible.

In many ways, I wish I had not watched this movie, and in many ways I am so glad I did. I think that whatever we decide with be both horrible and wonderful. I know that memory blocks out bad and painful things. I know that there will a flood of happiness at the end which will make it ok. I just hope that all of the oxytocin makes me forget the whole thing except for the good parts.

I know that a number of different people will eventually read this and I'd like to hear what you think, what your experiences have been, and stuff like that. Thanks.

We made a baby!

We made a baby, and now the baby is growing in me. We are calling the baby Gumbo. We are pretty sure we made it with the energy we got from eating piles of crawfish at the Louisiana Colleges Alumni Crawfish boil. Baby is due in late February, therefore I am planning on giving birth in early March.

So far the pregnancy has been going well. Due to some hormone issues in the fam (and myself) , I'm taking thyroid and prometrium every day, also having progesterone monitored every other week via LabCorp.

We took a home pregnancy test on June 18 or 19, positive.

We had one ultrasound a week later, we were only 6.5 weeks so all we see is a grain of rice. But the grain has a beating heart. Wow!

Now I am at almost 9 weeks. I am tired all of the time, but could also be due to new job that is filled with type A personalities who work all of the time and don't even take lunch breaks. Don't want to fall into that. Luckily, I'm a type B, so I think I'm immune. =) hopefully, plus the fact that baby Gumbo is more important than anything else right now.

Tom is being amazing, he is picking up my slack at home. I get home, lay in bed and pray for merciful rest. In the meantime, I hear him cleaning the kitchen, emptying the dishwasher, and tidying the living room. I feel like all I do is sleep or rest all of the time. He's such a good spouse. I can't wait to see him with the baby. =)

He is telling everyone he knows, trying to keep it a secret, but not really trying at all. The first person he told in my presence was a couple at the grocery store with a baby. He was so excited. They told us to go to the movies as much as we could before the baby comes. Tom went out and bought a bunch of discount tickets, and we saw Wall-E last week.

I, on the other hand, am keeping mum. I've told a few people, but want to tell most people in person. One friend couple (Josh and Ashley) called us last week and told us they were due in January. I had to tell them that we would be due in February! It was fun to tell them that way.

Symptoms: tired, likes to cry, boob pain, one incidence of morning sickness after getting off of Metro going to work (gross and embarrassing, but at least I had a bag to yack in).