Are you ready?

So I just noticed our title is weird and has an extra picture of Ryan behind a bird...see what happens when I try to do something new? I didn't like the picture of Ethan and I (face was way too fat and it cannot be blamed on pregnancy) so I looked forever to find another picture of us, which is pretty impossible. I ended up on one from our Oregon trip-Aug, 2007. Now that I have it in place, I don't like it either. I totally needed makeup, though I don't think a lot of people wear makeup while they are climbing in caves...

Back to readiness. Ethan asked me last night if "we" were ready for the baby. I assume the "we" meant mostly me, and also any logistical things like oh, I don't know a carseat, crib, diapers, etc. I said no, I'm not ready. He said he wasn't ready. Comforting we are in the same place :) Then he went on and on about work and how he has a ton of deadlines for the end of March and he keeps reminding people he could be taking a week off at any time. This made me go into a tailspin of not-readiness and I started listing things we needed to do:

1) find infant carseat in garage and clean it
2) clean stroller (its very yucky and full of toddler grime and hasn't been used in months)
3) sterilize some bottles
4) buy nipples for said bottles (i did have to explain to ethan why i saved bottles and not the nipples...poor guy)
5) find breast pump and sterilize (we knew where it was at the old house but its disappeared)
6) pack my bag
7) buy a coming home outfit for baby
8) set up pak n play in family room for diaper changing and so i don't have to walk upstairs 100x a day
How come no one is doing this stuff? We do have size newborn and 1 diapers, probably even some 2s. My mom is the best diaper shopper ever! The crib is up but you really can't walk in there yet. I'm getting a small basinette from a friend for our room but there is nowhere to put it yet...add that to the list (clean my side of the bed floor). We also have one of those sleeper things that sits between the two pillows on the bed and the baby sleeps in it, its kinda like a box. Oh, wash the boppy cover...maybe buy some nursing bras...or wait...since sizing is going to be an issue. Clean out of the the baths we have because we have 2 plus a bath ring. Goodness! Find the Bjorn...I must stop.

We have diapers, some clothes and blankets washed, and will either have breastmilk or formula so we should be fine, right? We've done this before.

Um...gross

We all have colds over here which does not technically lead to a gross moment. Sure, the runny nose is gross (Ryan's--Ethan can deal with his own) but a cold is a cold. I am surprised we got them around the same time, since it seems we always have a week or two delay. Ryan woke up with a runny nose Monday, by Wednesday I had a scratchy throat, and Ethan too. I am always surprised how a virus effects people differently. Ethan and Ryan have noses that run like a river. Maybe it is because of their allergies, who knows. I on the other hand get the congestion and sinus pressure. Painful. I could spend anywhere from 3-10 days on the couch, while Ryan runs around like normal, maybe a smaller appetite and Ethan can still go to work. Weird. My OB said I could take Robitussin and Sudafed if needed. And because I am "all about" my diabetes I even got the sugar free type made for diabetics. If you think regular cough medicine is horrible DO NOT EVER BUY SUGAR FREE. EVER.

Anyway, Ryan stayed home from school Tuesday but went on Thursday because he seemed much better and hardly had a runny nose. For some reason today it is back with a vengance and a cough. Super fun. Ethan says he is feeling better. I am about the same. If I don't take tylenol for the sinus pain its awful. The sore throat is at least gone, but the congestion is still here. When Ethan went to the store to get Sudafed they didn't have any. Can you believe that? I've been making due with some decongestant spray that a pregnancy book said was safe. With that, the tylenol and some hot tea, I'm hangin in.

Onto gross. We put Ryan down for his nap around 1:30 (late as usual when daddy is here) and got busy putting up the border in the nursery. Around 2:30 Ryan is calling for me and it was that tone where you know as a mom you can't ignore it. I walk in and he says "remember how I pooped in my pull up? i pooped in my pullup." The bigger and better news is that he has been potty trained (except for nap and night) for almost 3 weeks!!! I told him accidents happen when we sleep and that is why we wear pullups for now. As I walked into the room the stench was almost unbearable. I pulled back the blankets and OMG. I cannot (and will not) describe. You would have thought he didn't have a pull up on at all. He started to freak out a little so I told him we were just gonna take his clothes off and put him in the bath. Ethan is useless in this kind of situation. I yelled to him that we had an emergency and I would be needing him in the bath. Ryan did not want to take a bath because baths are for when its dark.

After I finally got him in the bath and had Ethan supervising that, I had to clean up the mess. I could hardly do it. Remember the "poop up the back" of babyhood? Well, Ryan wasn't that kind of baby. I think we had 2 occasions...both for his daddy :) I can still remember Ethan screaming down the hall for help and just standing at the door and laughing. That is expected with babies. Ethan's mom tells the story of going to the grocery store, putting Ethan in the cart, and next thing she knows its running down his leg! My little niece just had a similar thing happen in her bumbo. The picture was hilarious! But again, baby. I told Ethan, "I didn't sign up for this." Not meaning messes or mommy stuff in general, just being sick, pregnant, and dealing with a poo mess all at once. And ofcourse I had it in the back of my mind that this was some new virus and there might be more of this coming my way...shudder.

Laundry is in progress. Let's hope I don't have to do another load in the middle of the night.

Heaven

After complaining about being bored with my food choices, the nurse suggested a "fun food"--ice cream. Heck ya! Now its only 1/2 a cup but after going over a week with nothing sweet it was delicious. That is a snack I won't mind repeating. The ice cream has to be plain, either chocolate or vanilla, and actually can't be "lite" since I need the fat content but I will take it and love it. Ryan was very excited to wake up from his nap and find chocolate ice cream for his afternoon snack. Who wouldn't be? Unfortunately I had a high number of 157 after breakfast. I am supposed to be between 100-130. It meant we had to layer up and take a walk outside. Exercise helps to bring down the blood sugar, along with a lot of water. I have never been that high and it was scary, especially since there are no symptoms, which is weird. Apparently eating an entire banana is not an option. I actually only meant to eat half and then bam, it was gone. Breakfasts are rough, especially if my night time fasting number is already high. There are SO many things I am not allowed in the morning, and now I basically have to add fruit to that. They really love me to eat eggs for the proetein but I wonder what that is doing to my cholesterol!

I was able to talk to my friend today who had the premature baby. She is finally off the preclampsia meds and feels more like herself. She said they made her loopy and she couldn't put together a coherent sentence. Now she can focus on recovering from the c-section so she can easily get to see the baby whenever she wants. She got to hold her which I assume means she isn't hooked up to a ton of things, but I didn't ask a lot of questions. I didn't want to upset her. I was thrilled she got to hold her baby. She gets to leave the hospital tomorrow or Friday and I know it is going to be so hard for her to leave here baby there. It is a fantastic NICU and I know miracles happen in those places, but please be thinking of her as she has to walk out of that hospital empty handed. At least 6 weeks in the hospital is the estimate right now before baby Chloe will be able to come home.

The world might be ending...

My friend's doctors decided they could not wait anymore and she had a c-section last night. Baby Chloe was 2 lb 1.3 oz and 13 inches long. Everyone is doing well and she has already been called feisty. I don't have any other details. I know that the struggles of last week evaporated when they saw their beautiful baby girl and I hope for a speedy recovery and good health all around.

As for the world ending: I bought diet soda today. OMG. I thought maybe diet cherry Pepsi would be OK. I am so sick of water and decaf hot tea that I had to at least try. I had some with lunch and it was eh. I think I could get used to it. The problem is that there is some caffeine so I need to watch it or I'll be up all night long. I also bought some diet rootbeer which has no caffeine. We'll see...but I am by no means a convert.

Prayers for a friend and our low key V-day

One of my best friend's from college was just diagnosed with preclampsia and is in the hospital. She is due approximately 4 weeks after me, but can have the baby at any time now. Her shower was supposed to be next weekend and I got the e-mail saying it was cancelled. My heart is breaking for her. A few weeks ago we were just talking about how she was born premature (can't remember how early) and wondered how her mom dealt with it, and now it is probably something she is going to have to face...at possibly 10 wks early. This is her first pregnancy and she was so sick in the beginning. Then they thought they found a marker during the blood tests for possible defects and they had an agonizing week before seeing a perinatologist and having a 4D scan to that showed nothing. At this point she is in the hospital to have her blood pressure monitored. When it gets to a point where they can't control it she'll have a c-section. Makes my GD seem like nothin. So think of her and send good thoughts and prayers her way. I'm waiting for her to let me know she wants visitors and then I'll be there ASAP.

As for Valentine's, we skipped the crowds on Saturday and decided to go out Sunday night. Ethan gets points for arranging a sitter, but then he kinda stalled due to my special diet. Apparently everything revolves around food for us--at least food we can consume at a real restaurant without a 3 yr old. We saw Paul Blart Mall Cop which was funny. It was the only movie we could agree on. I just can't handle his shoot 'em up movies, especially when I'm pregnant. I just need everyone to love eachother right now:) As it was, the baby did not like how noisy the movie was and did not stop moving the entire 1.5 hrs. Then we went to Chevys were I had a....drum roll please...salad. I did consume some chips and salsa first, and even with those my #s were good. Still...salad. UG. Today we were low on groceries and I accidentally missed my snack so I knew my #s were gonna be a mess, and I asked Ethan to go to Subway. High #s. Such a bummer. I'm running out of stuff to eat!

I got Ethan a gift certificate to an indoor wind tunnel type thing, kinda like skydiving but inside and MUCH safer! He has skydived before (against my wishes) but won't do it now that he is a daddy. But it was totally fine to do with a wife and no life insurance :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here are our Valentiny photos for Liz's bloggy friend thingy--I can' remember if we were supposed to post these earlier or not...I could totally be late. I made pink rice krispie treats (they were supposed to be red) for Ryan's preschool class, and our playgroup party. A few days ago Ryan made Valentine cookies with Grandma. I have a really cute Valentine wreath on our door and some decor on the mantle but you do not want to wait for me to walk downstairs, take the pictures, come back upstairs, upload them, etc. Hope everyone has a great ay!

GD update

After two days of being a GD diet rockstar, I'm having some issues. For example, I woke up with a really high sugar this morning before eating. No idea why. Then I eat the same breakfast I had yesterday and had fantastic numbers with, and am 20 pts higher...annoying. I really don't want to be on insulin but I know that is the next step if I can't control it with diet. I just hate that I'm following the program exactly and it might not work. I went to Ryan's playgroup Valentine's party today and DID NOT EAT ONE COOKIE OR CUPCAKE. I even brought my own lunch...I had a wheat tortilla with cheese and turkey, and some grapes. I even made 3 batches of pink rice krispie treats and did not eat a piece. Not even a taste. For all I know they could have tasted terrible :)

Its almost 2:30 and Ryan finally fell asleep--totally late. He was in his room singing some "i love you song" he learned at preschool. Unfortunately that means he is barely going to get an hour nap and he is going to be absolutely lovely this evening and I'm already tired...and hungry. Snack time 30 minutes!

Glad I'm not the only one with the Isla/Amy issue. I even went so far as to mock a TV announcer who said Isla was the star of the new Shopaholics movie. I laughed and waited to see how long it would take the network to correct it. LOL. Man, I've got an ego! For anyone who is interested, the Shopaholics series by Sophie Kinsella are hysterical. Light reading, total chic lit and a great way to jump back into books if you haven't read in a while. The movie clips seem a little over the top or too goofy but that could be just me. I'll be seeing it anyway.

Bring on the protein

I met with the nurse and dietician yesterday. They were very nice and didn't try to scare me into following the program. If I can manage this with diet then it shouldn't be a big deal at all. Ofcourse they have to mention all the things that "could" go wrong and that is scary. Anothing scary thing is they weighed me with shoes on...OMG. It was also so lovely to hear that I was overweight for my height before I got pregnant. Thanks again.

The diet is easy in the sense that they give you a sheet, tell you what food group to eat from and you just pick. The bad thing is that the list of stuff to avoid is about 20 miles long. I also feel a bit cheated because I'm not someone who drinks a lot of soda. Caffeine and I are not friends and it will keep me up til 4 in the morning. Even when I'm not pregnant, I usually only drink soda or iced tea when I'm out. But hey, on this program diet soda is free. I could have all I want. Too bad diet soda makes me want to puke...ug. Aspartame and splenda are dead to me. And since any type of juice is a big no-no I'm left with water...which is fine, but I do need a bit more variety. Milk counts as a carb so I tend to think why waste a carb on a small glass of milk, but thats just me. Right now I'm finishing up some hot tea (caffeine free) and its a free option...but man I would like a big glass of milk right now.

The other free items are proteins and veggies. Totally not my favs...which is why I was overweight when I got pregnant. I see the link...I see it. I don't like it, but I see it. Someone telling saying you can eat all the meat and veggies you want would sound delightful to someone like Ethan but for me, whose favorite food is a veggie burrito, not so much. I'm working on it.

Yesterday for my snack I had a light yogurt. For dinner I had 1/3 cup of pasta which is NOTHING, 1 piece of french bread, and 3 meatballs. I opted for bread instead of adding an extra 1/3 cup of the pasta. Oh, and I had green salad--gag. I just don't like lettuce. But with the salad and the 3 meatballs, I wasn't hungry after. When my night snack came around I had 6 crackers with peanut butter and a cheese stick. So, it seems like a lot of food, just spaced out.

For breakfast today I had a wheat english muffin w/ one egg and some cheese. They want you to eat starches in the morning and prefer you not to have cereal, plus ofcourse PROTEIN. For some reason women with GD do not handle cereal well in the AM. I am allowed to have it as a snack later...which is coming up in about 30 min.

So far my #s have been good, nothing over what they should be. My fasting or over night numbers are great.

Totally random: is it just me or does Isla Fischer from the new Shopaholics movie look like Amy Adams from Enchanted?

Apparently its not that big a deal after all

Today I saw my OB. I was dreading the GD lecture, and possibly a weight lecture, and whatever else she had to throw at me. I've been feeling pretty beat up about it, probably because Ethan thinks he is the sugar nazi. I on the other hand have decided to eat up and after Monday I'm hard core on the "Sweet Success" program. I'm not kidding...that is the name. Freakin ironic. So, I was in a "bring it on" kind of mood. I had done tons of research and was ready...

FOR....NOTHING. Turns out the doctor didn't even know. She asked me when I did the sugar test and I was trying to remember, and all I could say was "9 days before your office called and said I failed." Then I remembered it was a holiday Monday. So she starts telling me to do the 3 hr. Major confusion. I tell her I failed the 3 hr, she checks the file and its not in there because the info was faxed over to Sweet Success and they were awaiting my insurance authorization. I tell her I have an appointment with SS on Monday and that is the end of it.

I ask her if there are any delivery issues with GD, waiting for her to tell me she won't let me go past due, and she says not if I manage it correctly. I can go two ways: manage it with diet, or eat whatever and use insulin. I ofcourse do not want to give myself shots and tell her I'll manage the diet. She agrees but actually told me some women prefer to just use the insulin. No thanks. And that was it...except for noting my 4 lb weight gain and saying it had been 3 weeks when it had been 4 wks since my last visit...but whatever. I was well within my range at this point. And now, at 31 wks I get to start the every 3 wk appointments, and Ryan goes off track the 19th so I'll have to get a sitter for that because heck no am I bringing him with me. I also have to get insurance info about possibly doing a circ and if they cover it, and who has to do it since our ped doesn't affiliate with that hospital. Cuz, like, I'm having a baby soon.

natural

I got an interesting comment this morning. It was almost a compliment, or started out that way, I'm just not sure. Yesterday I was at our local outlet mall (don't be excited, it kinda sucks) buying more gigantic bras at the "special" store. Ofcourse I went over to Carters and OshKosh because I"m looking for a coming home outfit for the baby. Do not even get me started on how Ethan thinks that is lame, or how he wouldn't spend $30 on the cutest outfit ever at BRU. Whatever. I'll be getting it next week :) And, for those of you that think $30 is a lot, I tend to agree, but I also had Ryan's 1 month picture taken in his outfit so it was worn twice...and now has a special place in a shadow box with the hat from the hospital, his bracelets etc.

**note: i have the shadow box but said items are not technically in there yet...its the thought people :)

So, while on the other end of the mall I saw the Tuesday Mornings was going to open today at 8am. I drop Ryan off at 8:30 so I thought I would head over there to see what they have. We are still in search of an area rug for under our dining room table, and possibly a small kitchenette table (if I can convince Ethan). Turns out there was nothing really of interest. One possible rug but it tended more toward the blues and I wasn't sure that was the direction I was heading in.

Anyway, I'm in the toy and baby aisle and this women says to me "you look really_______" i can't remember exactly if she said good, nice, beautiful or what. I automatically knew it was "you're pregnant and you look ok" kind of a comment because I was not dressed super nice or anything like that. Just jeans, a long sleeved white shirt w/ a turquoise tee over that. Nothing fancy. I said thank you, that I didn't feel that way, but appreciated her comment. Then she starts going on and how how women need to be told they look good, especially when pregnant, which almost made me think it was a pity comment. And then she dropped the bomb: i can't remember the exact quote but it was along the lines of: "women need to know they can look good and be NATURAL." That was me, no make up, hair not done...pretty darn natural. I don't know, it just rubbed me the wrong way.

Off to do a zillion loads of laundry!