Another whirlwind three weeks have past. It hardly seems possible that I'm more than 18 weeks pregnant now! The past three and a half weeks have been extremely busy at work. I've honestly been struggling to keep up some of the time. Alas, I think the craziness has past- at least for the most part- and I can start enjoying my life again. Well, now that I've said that, please, knock on wood for me!
My belly seems to grow exponentially every day which is both cool and scary at the same time. It's pretty amazing to be growing another human in my body, but I can't tell you how freaked I am about gaining this huge tummy... so many of my high school body image fears are resurfacing... I would never in a million years have guessed would emerge during pregnancy. Especially because I've wanted this baby for so long! So when I get weighed at the doctor's office, I turn around on the scale and ask them not to tell me unless it's something I need to know or something is wrong. They have clearly had this request before, which makes me feel slightly better about my neurosis.
Since my last post, we had another doctor visit. When we got there I told the doctor I thought the baby was going stir-crazy cooped up in my belly and has decided to bounce around on my bladder for fun. The doctor laughed and told me I was giving a lot of credit to a 15 and a half week old fetus. But when he took out his Doppler to search for the baby's heartbeat, he had to chase it across my belly, so in the end, the doctor conceded that at least, in fact, I was correct in that the baby moves around a lot. I pointed at David and said, "Have you met my husband?" David just grinned. All is well with baby Lopez - 152 beats per minute, and not shy about getting
his daily workout in just like
her daddy!
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| 16 Weeks Pregnant |
That weekend for work, we had a performance (
The Winterreise Project), so I mostly worked all weekend. However, we did get a chance after the Sunday matinee to go visit our friends Ed and Rebecca and their sweet one-year old twin girls to watch the Superbowl. Sadly, San Francisco lost (I still say west is best!) Poor Ed was recently in a terrible ski accident, and frankly, he's truly lucky to be alive, and even more lucky to be walking. He broke 4 vertebrae in his back. You should have seen the bruising! But, he's got a positive attitude and a strong desire to get moving again. I doubt he'll be running a marathon anytime soon, but he's bound and determined to keep up with all his girls. Rebecca took me all over the house to look at baby gear they no longer need or want, and if I had a Uhaul with me I would have accepted all her hand-me-downs right there and then. In the end I left with some maternity stuff and some baby books, and she's saving some awesome baby stuff for me like a swing and an infant car seat and a few other things, which is so awesome! Note to younger people reading this- there are perks to not being the first of your friends to have a baby! Thanks RB!
The week that followed was so busy I hardly remember it. We were preparing for our biggest fundraiser of the year at work, and I was in charge of the entire event. I can't remember the last time I was so stressed- luckily it was good stress, from a job I like rather than the other kind of stress- which I've had all too much of in previous years. Either way I was exhausted! Friday I worked from 9am to 9pm with a 2 hour break to get my hair done and eat. Saturday morning I was up working at 7am, at the office at 9am, and apart from a 45 minute break around 4pm (of which I had 15 minutes to put my feet up and rest) I worked straight until midnight. Thankfully, the event went really well. It was a lot of fun and I think everything went off without a hitch. We didn't raise quite as much money as the previous year, but we were in the ballpark, and the event went much more smoothly than any previous year according to the volunteer committee. When I got home that night, despite being exhausted, I was too buzzed to fall asleep immediately so I took my heels off my bruised feet, climbed into my PJs and watched some TV until my eyes started falling.
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| 17 Weeks Pregnant |
Sunday, the 10th of February, I was officially 17 weeks, and when I got up in the morning I suddenly knew for sure I was pregnant because while climbing out of bed, my belly hit the top of my thighs. It was like it blossomed overnight! And, even though I was more exhausted than I could imagine, at 8am I popped up and couldn't fall back asleep. So I cleaned the house. David had been at his annual boys weekend in McCall skiing since Thursday night, and when he got home we cuddled and watched a movie together, both exhausted... I was asleep by 8:30pm.
It's been mostly the same all week... I haven't been able to stay awake at night... If I make it to 9pm, I'm amazed! My body is still recovering. Plus on top of all of it, I've been having an Ulcerative Colitis flare up for about 3 or 4 weeks. I tried to pretend it wasn't a full flare at first, but when I started getting up 6 and 7 times in the night, I finally had to admit that I was in a flare again. I think my doctors are getting me under control as of this week, but the lack of sleep is really really really difficult to cope with. And then David gets woken up too, so we both end up grumpy. Some nights he goes and sleeps in the guest bed. I wish I could take a break from it like he does...
However, the one amazing thing about getting up at 3am this week was that I started to feel the baby really poke me. I've felt lots of flutters before, but on Valentine's Day at 3am I got up to go to the bathroom and when I climbed into bed I felt a very clear poking and prodding on my right side over and over- I'd say it was kicking, but the baby is so tiny it still feels like poking. I was so thrilled that it woke me up completely (and I was up for about two hours after that which didn't help my exhaustion... and if David hadn't been in the guest bed trying to get some zzz's I would have woken him up to feel it too). I've felt a similar feeling a few other times since, but this was by far the most clear. I can't wait until David finally gets to feel the baby move too!
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| The flowers David surprised me with on Valentine's Day! AMAZING!!! |
This week I'm also starting to feel like being more social again... slowly but surely. Although, I am finding that I'm not that interested in being around kids at all (which I have never experienced before!) David thinks it's just my psyche telling me to go have fun before I'm suddenly tied to the care of my own child for the rest of my life! Considering I started babysitting when I was 11, and as David says, I'm like "the pied piper" when kids are around, he could be right. The caretaker/parent's helper in me comes out the minute I'm around kids and I can't turn it off. Whatever it is, the revelation was both surprising to me and also a little startling... it's made me wonder how I will feel about my own child when I meet it. I'm sure this feeling will pass. But it does concern me a little. I also haven't been very excited about planning the baby's room or a baby shower or baby stuff or anything baby yet. Is that normal? Maybe when we find out the gender I'll get more interested in planning for baby's arrival... I hope so. I've wanted this for so long it seems strange not to be more into it.
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| 18 Weeks Pregnant |
The sun is out in Boise again and its finally getting back to a more reasonable temperature outside. Saturday we got up and David and I cleaned the house a bit, a friend came by to say hi whom I hadn't seen in a few weeks, and then David and I went out to lunch. When we got home I took the most delicious nap and read a book and then I went for a sunset hike with Linus. I came home and read some more and at one point I turned to David and said, "I haven't felt this relaxed and calm in weeks." And it was true! I feel rejuvenated... its amazing what a quiet weekend and a little rest will do for the soul!
Things at work are still pretty busy, but my Ulcerative Colitis flare-up is getting back under control. I only got up once in the night to use the bathroom! I can't tell you what a good mood that puts me in! May you all have a beautiful week!
