Coming up on 30 week mark

Only nine weeks left in my baby journey. I can't wait to see what she looks like and how she acts. I hope that she is healthy and can be happy living with me and that I don't change into some crazy person like my own mother. I suppose you can't stop that from happening. There is already a change in me. Things like germs and safety issues are starting to impact me greatly. And the wondering.... I just can't stop...

I'm thinking about what types of activities she might want to be involved in and how to encourage her to succeed in those things without pressuring her too much. I want her to have lots of experiences and be willing to try new things. I want her to have self confidence and know that she can make decisions for herself and feel confident that she is never stuck - she is always allowed to change her mind.

There's so much to think about, but I can't plan her life - I can't lay it out like clothes on the bed. She will have free will. All I can concern myself with now is what kind of diapers to use and what type of feeding schedule she will be on.

~ Green

I'm learning so much

As I'm approaching my due date (Jan. 11, 2010) I'm learning more and more things about pregnancy and nursing. I have to obtain special "nursing clothes"; nursing bras and nursing pajamas. I just found out about a product called "Milk Band" that helps you remember which breast you used to feed your baby from the last time. I had no idea I would need a system to remember this, seemingly vital, information. I'm a smart girl - I have a college degree, but I guess in a sleep deprived state I will require this type of reminder. Here is a quick list of some important information that I have acquired:

• Women cannot sell breastmilk. They can donate it to a milk bank and then the milk bank turns around and sells it to people for $3.00/ounce.
• You can, however, find buyers on the internet and illegally sell breastmilk online for whatever price you deem appropriate.
• interesting note - the largest consumer base for illegally sold breastmilk is men (this creeps me out).
• Nursing tops are confusing  - they have holes in strange places.
• Belly salves don't work in preventing stretch marks. Stretch marks are hereditary (in my case, I have them but my mom did not - lucky for me!)
• Baby Bjorns are not the same as baby slings and baby slings, being one piece of fabric sewed together to make a circle - are expensive.
• All baby accoutrements are expensive - maternity clothes are the worst. I just saw a pair of maternity jeans online for $198.00 - if I paid that much money, I better be able to fly when I wear those.
• Maternity tops are not made for women that have large breasts to begin with. This is counterintuitive thinking to me because, it would seem, that the women with the largest hooters would be more likely to get knocked up.
• Gestational diabetes sucks!!!! (see previous post)

There are so many new things to learn and so many ways that I can fail. If I failed before I only hurt myself - in a few months, I will fail that tiny creature that swishes around in my belly, too. I know she will forgive me (heck, she may not even notice), but I will know. I want to do this mothering-thing correctly. I want to be good at it.

Week 28 and Gestational Diabetes

So... I have it - I have the gestational diabetes. It's horrible. I have to test my blood four times a day, eat every three hours and eat foods that I wouldn't normally eat and give up my favorite things (coca-cola and milk). I'm just not a big bread/pasta/rice eater and now I have to eat carbs at every meal and snack. I'm only allowed one piece of fruit a day - fruit shouldn't be bad. I guess it's just counterintuitive than I would think. Nuts count as a carb??? What???
Anyway. Other than that everything is good. We just bought a restaurant kiosk thing in the mall and are starting to build our empire. Baby is swishing around and beating the hell out of me - that's gotta be a good thing. Work is fine, it's my busy time of year... conferences and trips for doctors so I'm staying out of trouble. Write more later...


~Green

Not much to say...

So... I'm at 26 weeks. Still sick. Not as sick, just different sick. I have lost the ability to eat meat. I'm now in, what my friend Anna calls, the white food phase - I'm living off of pasta, mashed potatoes, rice, yogurt, ice cream, cereal and peanut butter sandwiches. I do eat whole wheat bread, so really, that's brown, but it's still light, easy to digest, carb-loaded kinds of things.


I'm having trouble bending over and my depth perception is really off. I lose my balance often - oh wait, I've always been a klutz - yeah, that's nothing new.


But, the good parts are feeling her move around inside my belly. It is such a strange feeling. Usually, when you have movement in your body somewhere, your brain is controlling it, so even if you are not consciously trying to move, you know that you are doing the moving. But this is so different - I am not in control of the movement in the least. It is coming from that little creature inside me. Symbiotic relationships are very complex and not something I can ever experience again.


My husband said yesterday that pregnancy is like bootcamp. You don't really like it, and had you known what it was going to be like you may not have signed up, but having gone through it, you wouldn't change it.


~ Green




PS - I just got off the phone with the doctor's office. I have to do a three-hour blood glucose screening b/c my original glucose level was high. Now I have to worry about gestational diabetes. Wonderful!!!