Princess and the Pea

Let me start out by saying that I have always been one of the incredibly fortunate few who has never had back problems. Shoulder problem, of course, but that doesn't count. A few months ago I noticed that my back would get really sore from time to time; conveniently enough, this usually occurred after I did any amount of housework. Then, I noticed that it was also sore when I woke up in the morning. It was then that we realized that we were sleeping on a 10 year old mattress (on the floor because we don't have a bed frame). So, my mission this week has been to find a bed frame and mattress. We found a bed frame at Thomasville so that is purchased and on its way (I'll post pictures when it arrives). The mattress is a bit of a more complicated issue. It's so difficult to find one, and it's something that I hate to pay a lot of money for (even though everyone has advised us not to skimp). Why are they so expensive????? I'm determined to find one this weekend so keep your fingers crossed.

In terms of Miss Hailey, she is doing fine. She's decided that it's a fun game to kick my organs now instead of out into my belly where it's kind of cute. So, every once in a while I'll be sitting around and I'll feel a foot or arm or something hit some vital organ. I'm thinking that it's most often my bowel or intestines maybe. Whatever it is, it's something that I don't feel on a regular basis!

The Selfishness before Selflessness

I’m learning an interesting (although dangerous) lesson. Pregnant women are allowed to be a bit selfish about everything from food portions to weekend plans. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that I’m unfairly using my “condition” to my advantage. How can I explain this without making it sound like Luke deserves a medal for bravery (although he probably does)? I just find myself taking a little more time (ok…and food) for myself and feeling a little less bad about it. Let me give some examples. I’ve begun going to the chiropractor, and I’m seriously considering monthly or biweekly massages. I’m also suddenly 100% behind the idea of getting a cleaning lady, and I don’t mind napping at 3:00pm on a Sunday. These are all things that I probably would have never considered before because they were always too expensive, too indulgent or just a waste of time. Now that I’m pregnant, my new motto is: I’ll gladly take that 90-minute massage and that bigger bowl of ice cream too.

Maybe it’s not even a matter of selfishness. It’s more an issue of having more needs than ever before and learning not to feel bad about that. I’m just not used to falling asleep on the couch or “needing to sit down.” Sometimes I feel useless or lazy. Look at the pregnant women chasing around 3 kids all day. I know that once Hailey comes along all of my effort and attention will be on her comfort, happiness, and safety. So, I guess that I should just enjoy these last few months of selfishness (or whatever you want to call it) before I give myself over to her every want and need.

New Picture

Here is a picture of the pregnant belly at 22 weeks. As you might expect, Luke deserves the credit for artfully taking and editing this picture. I look like I'm leaning back to emphasize the belly, but I was just trying to stand up straight. I think that says something about either my terrible posture or the size of my butt...no comments from the peanut gallery, please.

Explaining the Pregnant Waddle

If you're like me (and hopefully you're not), you've often found yourself watching pregnant women waddling around the grocery store or the mall or wherever and found yourself wondering, "what is it about a big belly that makes people waddle." You may have also noticed that big, fat men with bellies larger than some pregnant women do not tend to waddle. So, what gives?

Well, now that I've experienced this phenomenon myself, I've decided to shed a little light on the subject. I have discovered that there are at least three reasons for the pregnant waddle. I say "at least" because I'm sure that there are more that I have not experienced because I'm not quite big enough yet. So, here are the ones that I've experienced so far:

1) "I have to pee waddle" - It's no surprise that pregnant women have to pee every five seconds, what with a little person exerting constant pressure on our bladder. Sometimes that feeling becomes so uncomfortable that we try to move our midsection as little as possible. Thus, the "I have to pee waddle."

2) "My stomach muscles are shredded waddle" - As our stomachs expand, there are abdominal muscles in there that are paying a terrible price. I find that those muscles tend to hurt from time to time as Hailey has her little growth spurts. This makes it very uncomfortable for me to use them for anything (including walking).

3) "Back pain waddle" - This waddle has an entirely different cause, but the same overall effect. If you've ever been pregnant and experienced a painful or stiff back, you know exactly what this one is about!

If you have any others, feel free to post them in a comment and I'll add them to my second installment.

Baby Hailey Update

Today is the second day of Week 22. According to my baby book, Hailey's arms and legs are moving with noticeably more force now as the muscles strengthen and the bones become stronger. I'm still not feeling her too regularly, but I've been pretty busy lately so I might not be noticing her. She's also begun sucking her thumb, and her head hair and eyebrows are visible today.

In news of the belly button, it's begun to flatten out completely. I guess that the next step is to become an outy! I'll try to get a picture up this weekend.

KFC and Other Musings

First of all, it's official...I can no longer fit in any of my pre-maternity pants. Up until today, I was able to squeeze myself into one last pair of grey work pants that I owned (don't ask me why I owned them because they were 2 sizes to big on me before I got pregnant), but those days are over. I tried them on this morning, and all of a sudden I couldn't even button them. I just wore them last week!!!! This only confirms what I've been saying for the past few days...Hailey is having a growth spurt. She must be growing because I'm getting all kinds of weird pains coming from her region. I'm not sure if I'm feeling her moving around or simply the wripping of all of my abdominal muscles to shreds. Either way, something's happening.

On a subject that is completely unrelated to the fact that I can no longer fit into my pants, I've been having some serious cravings for Kentucky Fried Chicken over the past few days. I haven't caved in yet because the disgust factor has been more than I can overcome, but it's just a matter of time. They say that you crave what the baby needs nutritionally, so does that mean that Hailey really needs some greasy fried chicken skins?

Official Name Spelling: Hailey Marie Hamilton

After much review and debate, we've decided on Hailey Marie Hamilton.

Hailey's grandmother, step-grandpa, and grandpa are all coming in and out of town over the next 5 days so I apologize if the blog frequency suffers. I'll try to get another belly shot up as soon as it seems worthwhile. The belly is still a little incognito. Now I just look chubby. Oh well, I'll take chubby over uncomfortable any day. By the way, tomorrow will be the first day of my 21st week.

Foot Picture

Isn't this the cutest baby foot that you've ever seen! Just thought I'd share another ultrasound shot. There's also a 16 minute video of the whole experience, but even a proud Mommy thinks that's a little much. In other exciting news, I bought my stroller last night for half off at Burlington's Baby Depot. I saved $50 on it, and it was the exact one that I wanted (highest rated on Consumer Reports, of course). The bargains continue...

Introducing...Haley (or Hailey or Hayley) Marie Hamilton

If you haven't guessed already, it's a girl!!!!

Haley is about 10" long according to the ultrasound. She's got adorable little feet that we could see very clearly. I've got a good picture of that. We also were able to see her heart, brain, spinal cord, kidneys, bladder, arms, and girl parts (of course). She had a heart rate of 138, and she might have been sucking her thumb at one point. I have to admit, it was pretty cool to see her moving around in there. She also seems to like her privacy because she was all curled up in a ball, and she wouldn't let us get a good view of her face. We were, however, able to see her nose and upper lip. She looked perfect to me!

Naked Baby Theory

I've been thinking about the baby's arrival and baby clothes a lot lately. Maybe it's because we find out the sex (hopefully) on Wednesday, and I'm contemplating the evil conspiracy that declared that all girls must wear pink!

Anyway, when the baby arrives, it will be the middle of summer here. For those of you who have never experienced the joy of a Tennessee August, let me tell you that it is HOT! It's the kind of heat that has you running from your air conditioned car into the air conditioned grocery store so that you don't wind up with pit stains from the heat and humidity outside. Now, I'm typically a very cold person, so I can tolerate the heat for longer periods than the average person, but it's not particularly pleasant. That's why I think that the baby will probably spend a lot of it's first few weeks on earth mostly naked (with a diaper, of course). I know that air conditioning is a problem with a naked baby, but I don't like to keep the house too cold. So, I'm thinking that I don't need a lot of newborn clothes because BH will probably grow out of them before it's cool enough to wear them. I've already invested in some newborn onsies, and those will probably be the bulk of my newborn wardrobe. I don't really know if this theory is correct or not. I guess I better ask some people who have had babies in the heat of the summer. In the meantime, it's just something to think about when you get lured into the baby section at Target, as I find I frequently do.

There it is in all of its glory...the belly!!! Ok. It doesn't look like much, but it is at 33". Plus, the belly button is getting all hard and shallow. BH is now 5.5" long and has all of his/her little organs. Today is the first day of Week 19. Apparently, in the next month the baby will grow 2 more inches. Yikes! There will definitely be some serious belly expansion then.

The Underground World of Consignment Shopping

This weekend I discovered the secret holy land of baby crap, the underground paradise of bargain shoppers, the mecca of all used baby things…the consignment sale. A friend of mine, who is expecting her first child in March, first mentioned this amazing institution to me on Saturday. I subsequently had to register online by verifying that I was indeed a first time mother. I’m not sure what would happen if you lied about said motherhood stage, but I’m guessing that you risk being banned from the holy land forever. Luckily for me, I was among the select few who could gain early entrance. After registering, I had my golden ticket, which came in the slightly less exciting form of a black and white printout of an invitation.

Late on Sunday night (and by late I mean 7:00pm because that’s late when you’re busy growing another human) we arrived at this huge, inconspicuous warehouse. Well, it wasn’t as inconspicuous when we drove up and saw the droves of SUVs and minivans, but whatever. I felt like I was going to a secret rave for bargain hunting mommies. The website promised 30,000 sq ft of mint condition used baby supplies, 16 checkout lines, maps of the facility, etc. It warned shoppers to tell husbands and babysitters that they would be out late.

Well, what we found inside was a little less dramatic than what was advertised. For example, 30,000 sq ft might have been the size of the entire space, but about half was completely empty. And, the 16 checkout lines were really just 16 people waiting to count and pull the tags off your crap with only 3 actual computers to do the “checking out.” So, the line took approximately 30 minutes to get through.

Still, you can see from the picture above that I did pretty well for BH on my little shopping extravaganza. Yet, I only spent $79.I even got the exact bouncy seat that I had picked out! I also got a bunch of stuff that I didn't even know I needed, but according to my friend Katie, I definitely have to have. So, there you have it. The whole event was a complete success, except that I was so wired from my bargain hunting that I had a hard time going to sleep and even after I fell asleep, I dreamed of more sales! I'm certainly turning into my mother's daughter.

Buffalo Trip

Thanks for all of the comments on the Name Game. We haven't played in a few days since I went home for my grandfather's surgery.

My grandfather (my mother's father) was diagnosed with bile duct cancer over a month ago. On Monday, he had surgery to remove a golf ball size tumor. I flew up to Buffalo on Saturday and attended the surgery on Monday. It was a very complicated 9 hour surgery that involved removing organs and parts of organs. He did great in the surgery and was only minorly cranky when I saw him the next day (completely understandable if you ask me!). He's since been moved out of the ICU and is terrorizing the nurses on other floors. Today they tried to walk him half way down the hall, and he insisted on walking all the way to the end. Sounds like he's up to his old tricks!

The Name Game

Naming a baby is difficult, stressful work. There are so many factors to consider. Luckily, we've had a girl's name picked out for years. Because of that, I'm pretty sure that BH is going to be a boy, just to cause me as much stress as possible. So, we've begun the name game at our house. It goes a little something like this. Me or Luke, "What about [insert boy's name here]?" The respondent "No, I don't like that because [insert any number of lame excuses here]." This game might begin at any moment and might take place via email, phone or smoke signal. It doesn't really matter how it's played because the result is always the same.

The excuses for why a name isn't right are where the real entertainment and creativity come in. A name might be rejected because it's shared by a famous (not so good) actor, a friend's dog, a serial killer, a cousin twice removed that lives in a different country, etc, etc. Those can be predictable, and we've both learned how to avoid most of those basic name pitfalls. It's the excuses like "I knew a boy named [Nathan in this case] who put gum in my hair in second grade. He was a jerk." Ok. I really liked the name Nathan, and this was vaguely like Luke's excuse for not liking it (I may have embellished slightly). So, let me recap. He doesn't like the name Nathan because he's harboring a grudge against a kid from the second grade!!!! Now, if he had said that he didn't like Nathan Lane, that would almost be more acceptable. Still, Nathan is out.

In Luke's defense, I have had some serious naming missteps. For example, yesterday I came up with a girl's name of "Hiatha." I'm putting that in quotes because after further research, I realized that it's not a real name. I thought it was interesting, but Luke said that it sounded like something that a ninja yells as he's breaking a board with his head. Fair enough. That's a perfectly good excuse for why you don't like my made up name. It's not like I was going to use it or anything! I was just trying to be creative!

In closing, I would like to point out that after weeks of playing the name game we still have no firm boys name. At least we've found a few that we can agree on. Nathan, of course, not being one of them!

Week 17

Today is the first day of Week 17. BH is now approximately 4 5/8" long and weighs less than 5 ounces. I still have no sensation of movement in there, but that should happen in the next few weeks. The baby is now growing toenails, and its head is no longer pointed down towards its chest. In fact, BH can now make some basic facial expressions! 21 days till the ultrasound!!!!

Belly Button Meter

I had (and I stress had) a very deep belly button my whole life. All of a sudden, I've realized that my belly button has become a great gauge for the growth of my baby bulge. Each day it feels just a little more shallow and just a little more firm. I'm guessing that it's slowly turning from an in-y to an out-y. I don't know why I thought that would happen all at once, but it appears to be a slower process. Hopefully, I can get some pictures up soon!

Midwife Appointment Update

I had another appointment with the midwives today. Mom was in town so we both went, and we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat. It was clear, strong, and fast. How exciting!!!! I've been waiting and waiting for today just to hear the heartbeat and get confirmation that everything was okay still. It's weird when you can't feel it moving yet so you just have to go on faith that it's still happy in there. I'm really looking forward to being able to feel it moving (which I should be able to feel in the next 2-4 weeks). Not so much looking forward to the point where the baby starts karate chopping my vital organs in the middle of the night, but a little flutter of movement here or there would be reassuring. We find out the sex on March 1st at 8:30am...only 27 days and counting!

Ode to Stomach Sleeping

I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to sleep on my stomach. I'm guessing that it won't be long. So, I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on my years of comfort as a stomach sleeper. Ahhhh.....comfort!!!! Before you think that I'm crazy (although you've probably come to that conclusion long before now!), it's not just that I occasionally sleep on my stomach. I have slept in the exact same position for as long as I can remember. I didn't change when I went to college. I didn't change when I got married (don't ask Luke because he's always pissed about it). What am I supposed to do now???? I purchased a body pillow so that I might be able to simulate the same position, but for now I'm just going to enjoy the few days that I have left. I suppose that giving up the stomach sleeping is just one of many changes to come. Wish us luck!

Basic Answers

My Aunt Melanie was nice enough to write me a comment on one of my previous entries, and she had some very good questions that I probably should answer. Here are the basics of my pregnancy:

Due date: July 23, 2006

Sex: Not sure yet, but we find out in early March (can't wait!!!)

Weight gain: 8 lbs so far

Cravings: None so far, but sometimes certain foods seem really gross to me.

Luke: I think that Luke is really excited that we are pregnant. He's been on a diet so no real cravings for him. I may have him write a guest blog to share his true feelings and to tell everyone what a pain in the butt I've been!

Mysteries of Pregnancy Theater 3000 - Episode 1

I'm now 15 weeks, and my waist has grown from 29" to 32" during that time. I'm measuring from the belly button. I'm not sure if that is the right thing to do, but it's the only way I could figure out where to measure consistently. So, my waist has grown 3" around at the belly button. Here's where the mystery starts...the baby is only about 3.5" big. To really see that in perspective, you need to look at a ruler. Three and a half inches is not very big. Could I not just fit that 3.5" into the existing space???? I don't need to be growing yet. The good news is that I haven't put on any more weight. That's super good news since I have to go to the midwives next week, and I don't want to get yelled at for gaining more than the 8-10 lbs that I'm allowed in the first 20 weeks!