Sleepytime pt. 2

More like "Restytime." This is possibly Kermit's favorite thing that we've ever gotten for him. He hasn't moved since I put the bed out a few hours ago.

Sleepytime pt. 1

She almost looks part pig, doesn't she?

Sonogram

We don't have a scanner, so I couldn't post pictures of the sonogram... UNTIL I remembered that they put the pictures up on a flat screen for the dad/partner/visitor to see clearly, and we took pictures with it. Please ignore the evil imp look on my face and focus on the sideways peanut with wings floating in the black pear. That would be Dr. Poopy Pants and my uterus. Clearly, he/she has my nose and Wade's eyes.

This bed was perfectly made five minutes before.

I guess when I told her to go to bed, I should've specified her bed.

Me at 10 weeks

We're taking pictures every two weeks to track the bump. Sadly, that little roundness to my belly is the result of eating six meals a day for the past two months, not because I'm showing. It's insulation, people!

Names

I think we've picked a girl's name! It's so good, I kind of hope the bean's a girl just so we can use this great name. Sorry folks, we're not telling anyone til sometime around June 26.

By the way, my sister has named the bean Dr. Poopy Pants for as long as it's in utero. I think it's great that 1) she went gender un-specific and 2) she knows the bean is smart enough already (even at 1.5 inches long!) to be a doctor.

Insomnia totally unrelated to pregnancy.

Hi to all from 3:04 a.m.! This is not a time I usually see, people. I chalk it up to ravenous hunger (mildly satisfied by the rice pudding and warm milk I just inhaled) and one thing in particular on the old noggin'. (BTW, this is probably not interesting to anyone but me, and that may not even be true in the morning. You've been warned.) To wit:

We have to get a new car. Zorro is at 105K, and is starting to make some weird choices noise-wise. Some "blubbety-blubs" and some "vroomity-vrooms" at inappropriate times. We could, of course, fix it, but on top of the weird noises, there's also the idea of leaning into a two-door coupe to latch and unlatch a car seat, get a baby, clean up spit, etc. My head already hurts from the inevitable bumping on the door jamb that would occur. The question is naturally then, what car to buy? Sigh. A bigger can of worms I could not have opened.

The natural choice (FOR ME) of course, is a Prius or Civic Hybrid. (I really don't think I'm an environmental nut; I just would like the bean to grow up in a world where the Appalachian Trail doesn't resemble the African savannah.) We don't do a ton of highway driving here, mostly just stop-and-start traffic driving. A hybrid works most efficiently in those kind of conditions (it uses gas mainly for ramping up and going). So, hybrid=yay, right? Right! Except....

LULU. Our decision to get a 175 lb. dog (who, don't get me wrong, I truly love like my child) has impacted our housing decisions (need a yard or in a walkable area; not too many stairs), our afterwork plans (no happy hour b/c she needs to be walked), our travel plans (surely having a child will be less complicated than finding a consistent solution to this dilemma), and now our car-buying decisions. Simply put, Lu and a car seat won't fit in the same row. She needs the full width of the car to fit. Amazingly, Zorro has worked out just fine. The two of us in the front, her in the back: snug as a three bugs in a rug. Now... even though the bean will only take up one seat, that's one third of a row, and I'm afraid that's simply too much. (And yes, we won't always be taking Lu with us on car trips, but even the few times we do, this will be an issue that I'd like to avoid. Plus, we like taking her to dog parks, and those are all driving distance now. We can't exactly leave Kermit to watch the bean. He'd meow and lick him/her to death.)

So... that means a station waggon (which they don't make hybrid versions of yet) or... an SUV (hybrid). What's that? Hmm? I didn't say anything. Nope, no mention of what you think I just said here.

Sigh.

OK fine. I said it. An SUV (again--HYBRID). The very thing I said I'd never drive. (ASIDE: SUVs are great for some people. Lord knows that my sorry ass has been helped by SUVs (and their drivers) a number of times. Lulu and Kermit would still be stuck in Texas right now and our furniture would still be at our old place across town without SUVs. They're. Just. Not. For. Me. I've rolled and totalled one, and as much fun as that was, I just don't like driving up that high.) Yes, we're only considering hybrid SUVs, namely the Ford Escape Hybrid. And I know that Wade is trying very hard to contain his giddyness at the thought of all that leg and head room (in Zorro, he really is like the very tall man in the very small car from the Simpsons). And yet...

And that's where I left off at 3:04 (now 3:32). Clearly I have issues. And I think my issues are more about the fact that I let this keep me up than about cars, mpg, and global warming (although, let's be frank, I definitely have issues about those too even if I think more people should have those issues).

OK, I think the milk is kicking in. Going to bed now(but first I'm going to finish this Daily Show that I tivoed). 'Night all.

Blogging is hard!

I mean, I thought I was doing all good, and then all of a sudden it's four days since I last posted! (This happens to me with calling people back too; I totally think I'm on top of things, and then I realize that so-and-so called me last Tuesday (which all of a sudden is not yesterday), and I've been remiss in returning that call (LACEY--I'M GOING TO CALL YOU BACK TODAY! PROMISE!)). But I digress.

As far as pregnancy goes, I've been dropping the p-bomb on people right and left. I (we) really intended to wait until 13 weeks to make it official, but it's just so fun to tell people and shock them with the news! Plus, the more people we (I) tell, the more real and normal it seems. I'm totally getting used to the idea now. I have to confess that W and I were more than shocked when we found out, and it's taken a bit to come around to. But NOW, now we're all about the "nursery" and "the bean" and "diaper service" and "trimesters." It's all much more normal now. But it's like I've said: New things are like an itchy sweater (and we all know how I feel about itchy sweaters--HATE THEM). When you first put the new thing/sweater on, it's awful, uncomfortable, and you want to rip it off and put on something old and comfy. But, if you don't take it off (or can't, as the case may be), you get used it it after a while. And then all of a sudden you don't notice the itchiness anymore. And eventually, the itchiness wears off and the new sweater becomes the comfy sweater. I'm at the point where I'm staring not to notice the "itchiness" of being pregnant.

Physically...

• The hunger is finally starting to wane. (Thanks be--I was going to eat us out of house and home.)
• The boobs are still sore and enormous, and I'm guess that they're only going to get more so...yay.
• Things are definitely starting to shift inside my abdomen. I'm still not showing really, unless you count the charming "baby" fat that I'm accumulating (since it's winter, I'll call it "insulation" for the bean), but I've definitely been feeling "twinges" and "pulls" as things start to shift about. My books say that it's ligaments and muscles shifting to make room for my growing uterus. Whatever. It feels funny.
• I've had a ton more energy lately--at least until the end of the day when I become a zombie--which is great.
• AND, last but not least, I seem to have lost my sensitivity to onion fumes. I can chop a whole onion without even blinking! Amazing. The miracle of procreation.

On another, non-pregnancy note, I'm completely obsessed with two shows lately: the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic channel and What Not To Wear on BBC America. They make me very happy. The gals on WNTW are especially hilarious. They say "tits" constantly and yank women's underwear off if a panty line is showing. I've started calling Lu a "bloody cow" and telling her that she's dressing "mumsy." And with the DW, I just soak up every little thing Cesar Milan says. I strive to constantly be in "calm, assertive" mode so that everyone around me (my pets, husband, friends, strangers) will then exist in a "calm, submissive" state.

More turkey, and then I crumbled.

We had Thanksgiving numero dos tonight at my mom's house. This way we got to do the really big, social family thing yesterday, and today we had my mom's traditional T-giving foods (sweet potatoes made with a touch of orange rind and little marshmallows melted on top, stuffing with apples and raisins, mashed potatoes with TWO bulbs of roasted garlic mashed in... arrghhhlllglll...) .

Anyhoo, my clothes (jeans specifically) have been getting a leeettle bit tight lately, so I wore a loose fitting dress over leggings tonight, thinking that would make me look less pregnant. More wrong I could not be (loose, baggy dress + enormous boobs = not fooling anyone). Apparently last night three separate people came up to my mom and asked if I was pregnant; tonight, a bunch more approached her about it, and a few started asking me point blank. My sister pointed out that if I was getting that kind of attention now, "the jig is going to be up way before the three month mark."

I had to come clean.

And it actually worked out really well. About half the extended fam was there, so I got to have all the hugs, etc. that come with the in-person tell, and then we just called everyone else and told them. No one was offended that I didn't tell them in person (apparently we were making a much bigger deal of that then it was), and no one demanded to know why we didn't just come out with it yesterday.

The diplomacy that surrounds the telling of friends and relatives is exhausting. Or maybe that's just my body making a person. Or the triptophan.

OHHHH. I'm stuffed.

Yesterday, like the rest of the country, I ate myself into oblivion. All the usual suspects were there: turkey, stuffing, potatoes, persian rice, etc., etc. The bean (aka, my tapeworm) was thrilled. Sadly, as full as I was last night (we didn't do T-giving until 7 or 8), I was actually hungry again when I went to bed. Insane!

We decided NOT to tell my extended family yesterday and to draw it the whole secret-thing out a bit more. For no other reason than I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the whole "being pregnant" thing lately, and keeping the number of people who knew to a minimum made me feel like I had some control in the process. Yes, I know. I have issues. Whatever, it made yesterday evening much more pleasant for me. We'll probably tell everyone around Christmas time, which, frankly, is better for two reasons: it's closer to when we'll tell Wade's family (and therefore more fair) and because it's near the end of my first triiiiimester. I may even have a bump by then (though, again, if I keep eating for ten the way I do, I'm going to have a bump a lot sooner than that).

I did, however, tell two people close to me yesterday: Christy and Neal. Actually, my mom sort of outed me to C's mom, and so I wanted her to hear it from me first (C--maybe you'll make it down here before 6/26 and we can have out lunch at the Grove, with the sun shining on our faces). Neal and Angela are due in March, and I sort of stumbled on their pregnancy when I went to stay with them and spotted their prenatal yoga DVD (at a time when they weren't telling people yet). So I texted Neal yesterday and asked if I could borrow Ang's DVD. It was a blast telling them, especially since Neal is most excited about the fact that his, ours, and Lora's baby will all be in the same grade of school. Nut.

One interesting thing is that both he and Angela immediately said it was going to be a boy. Wade and I have thought so since the beginning. Mimi, my mom's friend (who, two days after I found out I was pregnant, called my mom and told her she'd had a dream that told her I was pregnant (and, therefore, is not to be messed with on matters of intuition)) thinks I'm having a boy. BUT, Angela told me about this website, and it says that I'm having a girl. However, I looked at this chart to see if it would've predicted my, my sister's, or Wade's genders correctly, and I think all three would've been wrong. So basically, all that to say, I have no idea what I'm having.

Off to have T-giving #2 at Mom's...

Telling My Parents

We told Mom tonight. She was thrilled but pissed we waited so long to tell her. Ah well, it was a great night to tell her, regardless. It felt like my dad was there. We even found his shamrock. To explain -- Tom Bergin's, the bar we were at, was his favorite place in town. If you are a frequent enough customer (I'm talking years and years), they'll put your name on a shamrock and post the shamrock on the wall (or ceiling, now that the walls are full). Since they've been doing this since 1935, there are a ton of shamrocks, but we found my dad's, and it was like I got to tell him too. Very nice. And they served rockin' fish and chips, so Tenacious was happy.

As for whether or not we're going to find out if it's a girl or a boy... We're not sure. In some ways, I kind of want to do this the way that my ancestors have done it for thousands of years: not knowing, natural childbirth, surprises and pain all around. I have to admit though that it's tempting to be able to think of the bean as a real person, a real little boy or girl. I have some friends who would remind me that modern conveniences were invented for a reason: For CONVENIENCE. There is that too. One reason I don't care is that as far as decorating and clothes go, it will look the same regardless of if we have a boy or a girl. My friends Heidi and Aaron even made up some rules for how they would dress their kid. They wanted them to wear "NORMAL clothes, just in small sizes." I love most of their rules and am totally adopting (read: copying) them. Below, the sartorial rules that the bean will follow (as adapted (read: copied) from H&A's list):

• No ruffles (maybe a few if it's a girl, but I'm talking like one outfit)
• No elastic headbands to hold back the two strands of hair on the bean's head
• No teddy bears or hearts (regular grizzly or black bears or anatomically correct hearts are fine)
• No prominently displayed brand logos
• No silly sayings about daddy or mama or grandma (unless they're done in a funny and ironic fashion)
• No licensed characters
• No sports or sports numbers (This one is from H&A's list and I actually don't agree with it, but I had to include it to make the point that even though this is considered a "boy" thing to wear, if someone bought a little Spurs jersey for the bean, the bean WILL wear it even if she's a girl.)
• Animals are ok as long as they don't look babyish
• Colors are good -- the bean doesn't need all neutral

OK, now that I've written this, I have two things to say: #1, I reserve the right to break any of these rules myself or to change my mind about them at anytime. At this particular moment, however, they seem like a good idea. #2, By stating these rules, I am not passing judgment on anyone else's kids or taste. I love Bugs Bunny as much if not more than the next guy, I just don't want to outfit my kid in an outfit with his face on the belly. If you do, however, by all means, work that Bugs outfit.

Updates

This past weekend we told my father- and step-mother-in-law that I'm pregnant. So fun! Telling people is definitely the best part of this whole thing. Everyone's so happy! They gave us a baby name book (not sure where they found one in Vegas, but these are crafty people), with the express direction that we are not allowed to name our baby one of three names: one that I can't remember, Haywood (no worries there, Mike), and Joaquin. Hmmm... Joaquin you say? Sorry Mike, but you may have shot yourself in the foot with that one. As soon as he said it, Wade and I both nodded and said, "Yeah, Joaquin. That's a great name!" So Joaquin is on the list. (As far as names go, by the way, we're not going to tell anyone what we decide until after the bean comes out. That way we avoid any uncomfortable reactions to names that we love but that others don't. Plus, who's going to tell us that they don't like the name Jenkins when they're holding the little guy?) The baby name book is hilarious by the way. There is a whole section on lists of names -- yuppie names, trucker names, magician names, sitcom names, NASCAR names. Awesome.

As far as other pregnancy updates:

* Still so hungry all the time. It's almost like eating food just makes me more hungry. It's actually getting a little tiresome. There's only so much food that is interesting to me right now. I did a monster grocery trip yesterday and am planning on cooking all day today so that I have lots of options when the hunger monster attacks. The pregnancy books say to eat lots of small meals throughout the day, but if I did that, I would literally be eating nonstop. (I actually had to stop typing just now and go eat because all of a sudden I was STARVING. Again. This baby is going to be enormous.)

Also, weirdly, I have been craving skim milk like CRAZY. I discovered that I was lactose intolerant about a year ago and have only drank soy milk since, but these days, the soy is just not cutting it. Which is good, because apparently if you don't get enough calcium when you're pregnant, the baby just leeches it out of your bones. Thanks, ya little parasite. I'll remember that when you want to go to an out-of-state college.

* Pregnancy has made me quite stupid. I think I was operating on a bare minimum of brain cells as it was, but all the blood that is now rushing to my midsection has depleted some basic functions. Here are some various ways that I've been dumb(er than usual) in the last two months:
--Frequently have looked for my glasses when I'm wearing them.
--Got up from the couch to look for Lulu when I had actually been laying on her on the couch.
--Telling someone I'll call them right back and then putting the phone down and completely forgetting about it.
--Putting things away in random places -- like taking the water pitcher out, pouring a glass, and opening the cabinet under the sink to put it away.
--FREQUENTLY walking into a room and forgetting why.
--Going to pick Wade up from work and then going to the grocery store with him -- only to realize at the grocery store that I was wearing his shoes (I had put them on earlier in the day when I was just doing stuff around the house).

This is an awesome symptom, by the way, when one is moving and interviewing for jobs. Some days its all I can do to feed myself (the million times that Tenacious requires), much less be on the ball for anything.

* The incredibly afternoon tiredness has tapered off a bit. Now when I sit on the couch all afternoon, it's sheer laziness. Actually more of a combination of the two. Sort of a liredness or taziness.

So here I am. Hungry, dumb, and lired/tazy. Normally, that would bother me. But right now, its kind of funny because I HAVE AN EXCUSE!

My Science Project

So I'm starting a new blog. I had one for about five minutes here, but Vox is this nutty host that only lets other Vox members post comments. So if I wanted to hear what anyone wanted to say, they'd have to jump through many hoops to post. Pphhbthtt. The only reason I posted as much as I did on Vox (all four or five posts) is because I LOVED the background template. It so fits how I see LA. Whatevs. I'd rather hear from my friends and family. Sorry Vox.

OK. So this blog. It is a temporary thing (by me stating that it's temporary, I am ensuring that I will not freak out at the prospect of starting a never-ending project and will therefore not be paralyzed by the weight of said project and not finish it). I will try and post every few days (at least)until around July 1. Why July 1? Because I'm currently 8.5 weeks pregnant and due on June 26. July 1 gives me a bit of time to be late and--when the time comes--to let people know what grade I got on this science project I'm conducting in my womb.

We're not telling a ton of people yet, so if you're reading this, oooh, are you privileged! Currently, five people know: one set of my parents-in-law, my sister-in-law, and two of my best friends. We'll tell the other parents-in-law this weekend, my mom on Tuesday (the anniversary of my Dad's death; we wanted to turn a very sad day in to one of celebration), and my sister on Wednesday. Others will have to wait until the end of my first trimester (weird--that's the kind of word that has always applied to other people... triiiii-mester). Even though we're calling the bean "Tenacious D" for his/her tenacious hold on my uterus, you just never know about these things, and 8.5 weeks is still very early. (BTW, we've also been calling it "Poopette"--a diminutive of the ridiculous "Poopers" that Wade and I call each other).

Now for the point of all this typing: to provide friends and family who are not here in town with a super-fun peek all up in my business for the next seven months. If you can't be here in person for the mood swings and the water retention, then you can live it here! Want to know about my cravings? Log on! Curious if I'm having hemorrhoids? Read away! (Ain't technology grand?) Of course, I would never be that gross. Or if I am, I'll give you a NASTY PREGNANCY DETAIL alert and you can skip past it. Or maybe I won't and you, Jack (thus far the only man who knows), will just have to Lysol your eyeballs afterwards.

[Total aside: Am watching Oprah right now, with the cast of Grey's Anatomy. Just found out that Alex Karev (real name: Justin Somethingnotimportant) has five kids. F!I!V!E! I need to make sure I forget that before next Thursday's ep. Totally ruins him for me.]

So what is pregnancy like so far?

*I'm incredibly tired most of the time. Weirdly, today I was up at 5:45 a.m. and have been pretty chipper and productive most of the day. Of course, "productive" may be a relative term. I haven't worked in a while, and I've been so tired for the last month that maybe I've forgotten what actual productivity looks like.

*I go from fine to STARVING, FEED-ME-NOW-OR-I'LL-END-YOU in about 30 seconds. And then I get incredibly full. I need to be better about eating healthy. All that appeals to me though is junk food. Sigh. I need to remember that while mashed potatoes and hot chocolate for every meal may sound like a good idea, it probably won't help me produce a prima/o dancer for the Joffery. Fine. Tonight it's kale, white bean, and Italian sausage soup for dinner. Salty, a little fatty, but chock full of nutrients. Oh, and I've been a teeny bit nauseous, but I haven't had morning sickness too badly (yet).

*I am not showing yet, but I'm frequently gassy or bloated so I feel like I look about four months along. Or maybe I'm just in a chubby phase? At the doctor when they weighed me this last Monday, I was actually less than I've been for the last month, so I'm not really sure what's going on.

That's in for my first. I'll write again soon to give you the latest in my daily march towards hugeness.