Conspiracy

Leah and I also just decided that it's a conspiracy to keep us out and that we are going to write a book about it ... "Conspiracy: What "they" don't tell you when it comes to having a baby." (Leah actually came up with the full title).

Heidi Klum, Courtney Cox ... I know they won the gene pool lottery with their figures and their faces and what not, but I don't recall them ever mentioning their "bowl full of jelly" tummies or the lochia issues. I think "they" are keeping it from the rest of us. The rest of us being the "common folk".

I can't say that knowing this information would have stopped me from having a baby, but it definitely would have made the adjustment a little less shocking.

Welcome to the club

So, my friend Leah and I have been talking about this new "club" that we are about to enter. The mommyhood club, if you will. I can't wait to be a mother. I can't wait to meet this new person, this new family member, and welcome him into the world and into my life.

But, with that said, I have to say, I feel like I'm being hazed. Like I'm pledging a sorority. I know that the "secret" information is out there, but it's not anything that anyone talks about. I keep meeting the women that say that they "loved being pregnant" and I'm not saying I don't love the fact that I'm going to have a baby and have a new little person in life, but I can't say that I love being pregnant. Let me share with you some of the things that I didn't actually know about. Some are gross and maybe too graphic to share, but I'll do what I can.

1. Lochia - you can look this up on wikipedia if you are not a squeemish person.
2. The "shelf"
3. scraping out of the placenta
4. post-partum tummy
5. poo-poo potential during labor
6. tearing during labor (which I knew about, but I don't think anyone "really" knows until it happens)
7. Varge (which I won't explain becasue it's a) too embarrassing, and b) super gross!)

Again, I love that I"m going to be a mother. I love rubbing my tummy and feeling him kicking me and bouncing around. Love that he's a part of me and a part of Greg. I love planning his arrival and picking out toys and presents to start spoiling him with. I love that I'm going to watch him learn new things and experience new sights, sounds and tastes ... eating ice cream for the first time or standing in the rain for the first time or even standing for the first time! I'm excited for all of it ... but this hazing seems a bit much, don't you think.

Mango

We are now a mango! It's weird to go from a veggie back to a fruit, but BHR is growing and so is my tum-tum.

My mom found this dress that I had wanted ... I'll explain further. There's a picture of my mom and my brother, where she's pregnant with me and she's wearing this long dress and I've always loved the picture and the dress, so I asked her if she still had it. She's been looking for it forever and she finally found it on Monday.

I tried it on and I love the dress! Unfortunately, I was not blessed with my mom's tiny bones, so the dress won't zip up in the back, but I'm going to take it to the alteration lady, Irena, and see if she make it fit over my "strong" back:)

Rocks in my socks and giant turkey burgers...

I decided that I wanted to do a "hike" with Greg and Gary this weekend. The three of us packed all of our rain gear (Gary has a new raincoat) and we headed up to Auburn to do the Quarry Loop.

This is one of my favorite "loops" and it's funny because originally I called this a "trail run", but now that I'm pregnant, it's a "hike." If I was running short on time, I would say, "let's just do the quarry loop." It would take us around an hour to finish the whole loop and this time it took us over two hours.

It was rainy and beautiful and I was looking around saying to Greg, "I don't think I've ever seen this before." It was nice to see the course from a different perspective, and it reminded me that I should do that more ... although, it also reminded me that I can't wait to start running again!

We began climbing up the first major hill and I immediately felt out of breath and out of shape. How did I run this? I know we walked a lot of the uphills, but how did I do this before? The doctor said it would be normal for me to feel out of breath as the baby gets bigger, but honestly, it was as if I had never walked a mile in my life. I felt like I was starting from the beginning ...

I kept getting little rocks in my socks and would have to bend down to get them out, but it was hard! It's now hard to bend over because my belly has gotten so big. So now, I'm out of breath walking and out of breath bending over ... what's next?

Gary would walk next to me and look up at me and smile and then take off ... he sprinted back and forth and then check on me everytime I needed to stop and catch my breath. Greg walked behind me and didn't complain about how slow he had to go or having to stop. I could tell when he would get worried about me, or concerned because he would get quiet and stop chatting with me. Maybe he thought if he spoke less, the extra air would transfer to me or maybe watching me struggle up a mountain made him speechless, either way, he and Gary were very good cheerleaders.

The loop was 6 miles total and I felt so proud of myself for finishing ... different than what I feel after a running race. Satisfied that my body let me go that far and that I didn't stop. As we walked I thought about taking BHR on the loop and that motivated me to want to get back as soon as possible after he's born. I want to show him my favorite places and be able to say, "let's just run the quarry loop today." I know it's going to be a long time before I can take BHR running, but that doesn't mean I have to wait, right?

After our hike, the three of us went to Ikeda's and each ate the shi*t out of a giant turkey burger, well not Gary he mostly slept...It was a perfect day.

Out of gumballs, time for sandwich night

I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post ... we were very productive this weekend, or at least in theory we were productive. We started registering on Sunday. Greg, mom and I headed over to Goores to begin the process. I had done a bunch of stroller research and I felt like I was prepared. I had printed a check-list and had a manilla folder ... I even had registry hair and outfit. I was ready, I swear!

We walked in, sat down, they gave us two check-lists and I immediately began to feel overwhelmed. Did you know that there are systems for everything? Breast pump systems, bottle systems, stroller systems, travel systems ... everything has to be compatible with everything else.

We walked over to the clothing section, looked around, talked about how cute everything was and then got stressed out over the fact that we didn't know what a specific shirt was, so we moved on. We went over to the breast pump section which is also intimidating. This is something that I know I desperately need because I'll be using it for work and in between classes, but who knows what one should look for in a boob-juicer?! I certainly do not. Once you pick a breast pump, you then have to get a bottle system, but you don't want to get the "bad" bottles and poison your baby with the bad plastic, right?

We then moved over to the stroller systems ... we know the exact baby jogger we want (or the one that I want), the BOB revolution. So we picked a car seat that was compatible, but the regular stroller, that was another story. Greg and I both left that area feeling a bit overwhelmed and defeated. Why are they all so big?!? Who can lift all of that stuff? I consider myself to be a relatively strong person, but seriously, the thing was the size of me and I can't imagine loading it all into my car ... defeated, we moved on to bedding and then to slings.

We were relatively successful in both the bedding and the sling department, but by this point we had all lost our excitement. I felt worried about picking the wrong thing and possibly hurting little BHR. I'm a master shopper, how come I couldn't do this?

Mom was out of gum balls, and I was out of patience and a bit sad, so we left for mom's house for sandwich night.

That night, Greg and I both woke up at different times being stressed out about strollers. We woke up in the morning, determined to go back and find the right stroller for BHR, one that was compatible with the car seat, the BOB and most importantly our family. We found it! The Bugaboo Bee. We left feeling accomplished and satisfied. Who knew that buying a stroller could be so satisfying?

Now, we have to pick a bouncer, a pack-n-play and still to come, a bottle system:(

Training Group

I feel really lucky to have a friend that is pregnant at the same time as me. Leah is due August 2nd, so she's a bit farther along than I am. We have been walking and swimming together a lot. Leah and I are also running buddies and ran our last pre-baby marathon together in December 2007. Leah found out she was pregnant after she ran the race. No wonder I was able to keep up with her.

Leah is having a girl and I'm having a boy and I'm looking forward to pushing them both around on the bike trail!

Ode to my dog

I've been walking a lot more lately ... I feel a lot better than I did earlier in the pregnancy. Not just health wise, but about the entire experience. I'm finally really showing! Like there's a noticable baby growing in there, it's strange, but it comforts me a bit. This process has been slower than I thought it would but at the same time, if feels like time is just flying by. I'm getting excited about meeting BHR and introducing him to my world and having him introduce me to his. Maybe not his world entirely, but I'm excited to see my world through his eyes. What will he think of the house and family and wind and food and everything that happens around us?

I'm excited to introduce him to Gary. How anyone can not look at Gary and immediately smile is beyond me. I've been spending a lot of time with him lately, enjoying him as much as I can before I have to start summer school.

He's my walking partner and I hate leaving him in the mornings, but I love seeing him when I get home. He checks on me when we walk and leaps along side me. Sometimes I find myself getting irritated by how obnoxious he is on the leash, but then I look down and he's looking up at me with his goofy face and his tongue hanging out of his mouth and then I forget why I was upset ...

I know people keep saying that I won't love Gary the same way once BHR arrives, but I can't imagine that happening. I'm not completely dillusional. I know that BHR is a person and Gary is a dog and that my priorities will change, but I don't know different loves like that. Gary is part of my family and part of who I am and who I've become. I'm completely aware that he is a just a dog, but what's wrong with that? Dogs can teach you a lot about yourself and if we were all as happy as Gary I'm sure the world would be a much better place.

When people say "you won't love your dog the same way once the baby arrives" it only makes me want to work harder. It's like challenging me to something and if someone wants to challenge me to loving my dog, I'm fairly certain I'll succeed. Until then, Gary, BHR and I will keep up our walking and wait for BHR to officially join our family.