Expectations

Sometimes I feel strange when I reflect on being pregnant. At this point it's hard to remember what I thought it would be like. Well, it's hard to remember a lot of things, but that's another conversation... Anyway, I think I had this image that pregnancy would be all sweetness and cute clothes and the tenderness of growing a baby inside me and the glow that comes from the joy of all those things. The reality, however, has been far different.

Now don't get me wrong... I'm thrilled to be pregnant. I know so many women who have longed for this very thing and I'm not taking it for granted. But it's just not that happy and glowy and sweet all the time.
I spend a large part of my mornings getting frustrated with fourteen year olds who complain because they spent their last 6 minute class change talking with friends and didn't get time to use the restroom. I spent those 6 minutes sitting down to rest my back and aching feet and it's not until the late bell rings that I recognize that dull ache is coming from my bladder's desperate cries for help. So when they complain about needing to pee... well, I'm not proud of this... but I laugh. It's really the only way I can keep from going crazy as I begin crossing my legs in a desperate hope that the 45 minutes won't drag out too long and I'll get some rest at the next break.

And why was I resting my back? Because this thing called "sciatica" that so many women have referred to... well it finally reared its' ugly head. HOLY CRAP. The lower right part of my back aches from 8:25 till 4:00. I find myself perching on empty desks, leaning on the marker rail on my white board, and occasionally coming up with activities that allow me to teach the students from a seated position at the computer in the front of my room - all for a second of rest from the throbbing pain.

And the glow I was expecting? The best I've gotten was this comment two weeks ago after I huffed and puffed up 4 flights of stairs to my classroom: "Mrs Rodgers, you have that pregnancy glow!" Um, no. That's sweat. And I'd clarify if I could catch my breath and correct you. No glow here.

Oh, but at least pregnancy clothes are cute, right? Let me just put it this way... Bronce was with me when I did some maternity shopping a few weeks ago and he remarked "Why do all those outfits look like they were made for a 45-year-old?" He's so right! Where are these strange homely middle-age pregnant ladies? Aren't most pregnant women in my exact (or even younger!) demographic? Why is it so hard to find affordable, cute pregnancy clothes? It's baffling.

The upside is that I know there's a little person growing and changing in me. I can feel the kicks more constantly now and I'm getting a sense of her (his?) sleep cycle and awake cycle (she's punching my internal organs as I type this!). One of the pregnancy trackers mentioned that the baby would get into more of a 12-14-hour sleep cycle and I think one of the big "awake" times is mid-afternoon. It's precious to be sitting in my classroom and feeling that life moving around. I wonder if the last jab was a hand? Or maybe a foot stretching out? Or is he turning around to get more comfy? Last time we got an ultrasound (at 21 weeks) she was in a breech position and I wonder if that's still true. It's a pretty incredible thing.
Sciatica or no, I'm grateful for the blessing. But there are moments I wish I could waddle my big butt back to my comfy teacher desk chair and put my feet up for the duration of class! Or take a nap. Oh... naps...

It’s Football Time in Tennessee!

I know, it’s the second game of the season, not the first… But we had company in town last weekend over Labor Day so for us, this is the first official home game.

UT’s first match ever with Oregon… unfortunately it had to be the year Oregon was ranked 7 and we hardly had a chance against them. It was bad. 48-to-13 bad. But we had fun.

About 10 minutes into the game the players left the field and the announcer informed the crowd that “inclement weather including lightening” was within 6 miles of the stadium. We tried to wait it out as the clouds formed overhead, but ultimately ended up escaping to the exit ramps for some shelter during the worst of the storm.

I snapped this picture of the stadium moments before we went into hiding from the rain.

This was Baby Rodgers first time at a UT football game. Normally in the early evening I feel lots of kicks and jabs, but tonight there was nothing. I remarked to my mother-in-law “I think she’s scared by all the noise!” The fans were incredibly loud and excited about the game and there was a great energy in the stadium, but it didn’t seem like the little kid wanted to participate just yet.

Here’s the four of us enjoying the game before the rain began falling.

 

Next week… UT vs Florida! Bring it, Gators!

21 weeks… already? Really?

Wow. It’s so hard to believe we’ve rounded the half-way point. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted and there are a number of reasons. I’ve had a lot of personal stuff going on and have been digesting some things God’s been doing in my life and heart. I’ve wanted to write about it but I haven’t figured out how to share some of those lessons without getting too personal. So. It’s been a while.

Ultrasound!

But, back to the baby! This morning we went in for our 21-week ultrasound. Most of our appointments are happening a little behind schedule since we waited till 8 weeks to get the first ultrasound done. Therefore, the big ultrasound normally done around 17-18 weeks was done today. We were with the tech for 20-25 minutes and she took a bunch of photos and measurements. We were very vocal about not wanting to know the gender of the baby so she was super careful not to reveal anything to us either on the screen or in her comments.

It was amazing to see the spine’s growth. The baby was chilling out – hand behind his (her?) head, crossed knees and feet – the tech kept jiggling my belly to get him to move around so she could get a look at some of the important organs. But? No movement for my kiddo. I really hope that chilled-out, laid-back attitude continues when she gets here – maybe I’ll get some sleep too!

The baby weighs about 12 ounces (how can they even tell that? I’m perplexed at that!). The tech observed that the femur lengths were rather long – perhaps we’ll have a baby following in his Uncle Jim and cousin Kathryn’s footsteps?

Pregnancy Symptoms

I’ve been having a great deal of pain in my right side. Strangely, I’ve read a lot about round ligament pain but hadn’t read an accurate analysis of what it actually feels like. Yet, after talking to lots of friends (and the NP at my doc’s office today) I confirmed the horrible ovarian-cyst-like pain in my right side is absolutely due to this mysterious ligament pain. Glad to have it diagnosed even if it does still hurt like heck!

I’ve been craving fruit lately. I bring tons of apples to work every day and love nectarines and plums right now while they’re nice and juicy. Grapes have been a big hit, too, but I’m trying to stick with organic for all these fruits and it’s hard to find grapes affordably. I get some yummy organic fruit strips from Target that I keep in my desk at work. My students have gotten used to me eating some crazy stuff while I’m teaching them Algebra. I often write on the board using one hand and hold a half-eaten yogurt cup in the other.

I will say, this baby may be chilled out, but when he does move around it’s usually by jamming an extremity directly into my bladder. I’m certainly running to the restroom every 90 minutes or so, which makes for a frustrating morning at work!

Nursery Preparations

Oh sheesh. We haven’t made much progress here. About 6 weeks ago Bronce spent a day scraping the popcorn off the nursery ceilings and they’re nicely smooth. We haven’t painted them back to white though. We did buy paint for the walls – a soft Driftwood gray out of the new Martha Stewart line at Home Depot. We’re in the process of updating a few different rooms – we’ve repainted the upstairs guest room and have new furniture (gifted from family) for that room. The den and kitchen will also be repainted soon (possibly this weekend?). So with those four rooms on the landscape we’re trying to plan for quite a few different styles and color schemes at one time – a little overwhelming. The common colors in all plans are orange and teal/turquoise.

Still no decisions on a crib… or a glider. I also have just barely begun to work on the dresser for that room. Ack! So much to do!…

16- and 17- weeks

So I’m a little behind on my blogging. Rather than making a 16-week post and throwing it up on my blog in the hopes that no one notices it wasn’t there a week ago, I’ve decided to combine them into two posts.

I got home from some professional development today, caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and though “woah, I look pregnant today!” so here’s a picture. For those of you who don’t see me regularly, here’s what I’m looking like these days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(17 weeks, 2 days)

(this picture is like a Where’s Waldo game… Can you find the… dead plant? picture frame still holding the fake-people-photo? I bet if I hadn’t pointed that out you’d never have seen that stuff!)

 

Pretty much just me… with a bit of a baby belly!

My weight is still on track. I originally lost 5 pounds (nausea and such), and I’ve gained it all back, putting my net weight gain at 0. Love that! I’ll probably stop posting weight updates sometime soon – haha!

Okay, so last Tuesday we hit the 16-week mark. Here are the details on that milestone:

How your baby's growing:

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

 

 

And now for week 17:

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now, and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

 

 

 

 

 

Okay hold the phone. An onion? I can go to my cabinet right now and find three onions that are drastically different sizes. In fact, I just did that and snapped a picture… but then I realized 2 of the onions had gone bad and I feel weird posting pictures of rotten onions (even if you couldn’t tell in the photo!). But you know what I’m saying, right? Onions vary considerably and I think that’s a crappy depiction of how big/small my baby is. Silly.

Cravings

Still loving coke Icees. :) Man, those things are good.

And vinegar.

No, not together. Ew!

I just like a nice basic salad with some olive oil and vinegar. Lots of vinegar. Then more salad. And more vinegar. And then a homemade marinated cucumber (in vinegar). And some garden tomatoes… with balsamic vinegar. (Hang on… I’m getting hungry… I need to go make a snack…)

Hair

I’ve heard from other new moms that a neat part of pregnancy happens to your hair. I’m not sure what it is with body changes, but similarly to hair-changes after chemo, many women experience changes in their hair during pregnancy. Some people get curly hair, some curls go straight, some people just get weird kinky waves. None of these have happened to me… yet.

I’ve recently been told that my hair would stop falling out. You know how you lose a few strands here and there, just general shedding? I was thrilled to find out this would stop and my hair would get even more luxurious and thick over the next few months. Unfortunately… this hasn’t really happened. Mine seems to be falling out more than ever which is somehow more bothersome than before. This might, however, be related to my next comment…

Another weird pregnancy fact is that no one is really sure what the impact of hair color is on a developing fetus. Rather than getting my usual highlights and all over base color I decided to scale back and just get a few highlights and a quick color wash. So a few weeks ago I made an appointment with my amazing stylist (the incredible Lauren at Belleza – I’d love her even if she wasn’t family!). Unfortunately, my hair has not gotten curly or straight(er), but rather has taken on some chemical changes. Within about five minutes of the bleach being strategically placed on my highlights, my whole head started burning… my hair was steaming… and the foils were so hot Lauren burned her finger. Weird! Needless to say we washed the color out as quickly as possible and will not be taking this approach until well after the baby arrives.

Baths

This may sound weird, but I miss taking a bath! That was one of my evening luxuries every now and then. I know some of you are thinking that I’m foolish to not just hop in, but with so many doctors in the family I’m erring on the side of caution. Most docs say baths are fine as long as they’re lukewarm or don’t get warmer than your body temp… but who wants to take a bath that cold? No way! I’m all about taking a bath that’s so hot I can only step in with one foot at a time (like the proverbial frog who adjusts to the rising temperature slowly and suddenly finds himself immersed in boiling water – that sounds heavenly!). So… no baths. I’ll just indulge in a pedicure (with the warm foot bath) every few weeks and try to use that as my pampering fix.

Birthing Plan

Bronce and I are still discussing the details of a birthing plan. I’m pushing for natural birth – he’s holding out until I provide him with more information and rationale for that decision. I think we’re a long way from making a decision about that. I got the name of a highly-recommended doula who works in the labor & delivery area at UT and we plan to talk to her soon about our options and her experience.

Well… school starts next week on the day I hit my 18-week mark. I hate to say that’s going to be a late post,  but unless I get it done the night before (unlikely!) it’s probably not going to be on time either. I know I have a few more pregnancy details I wanted to write about but they’re slipping my mind. Pregnancy brain has hit full force! I can barely remember my own cell number anymore…