2 Mommies and a Baby

work is frustrating. i keep thinking i should have stuck with teaching high school. at least that was more rewarding.

my other frustration right now is with Microsoft and their stupid Internet Explorer. when you look at this blog from firefox, the format is fine. when you use internet explorer, something crazy happens to the entire right side of it. what the %$#%? i don't have the patience for this...

i put the expectnet.com link on the right instead of my own little icon that I created. not sure what i will keep, jury is still out. but when i looked at my blog and saw all the stuff i am starting to stick up everywhere, i feel like i am going a little overboard.

well, most of the formatting stuff was done the one week that work was slow. doubt i'll ever have that chance again...

...what a strange rambling entry of nothingness...i need to leave work now, my brain has become jello.

Poor Lois. I spoke too soon when I said she had a couple good days. Aside from going to Costco, she spent the majority of the day watching Lifetime movies (I never understand the point of those)

But she needs to get over the guilt feeling of being slumpy (is that a word?). I keep telling her that growing a healthy baby is more important that being her usual social butterfly self.

She has apologized to me 147 times for not throwing me a big party for my 30th birthday. This weekend is her parents' 40th wedding anniversary. We totally dropped the ball for throwing a party, even though we talked about doing something months ago. Hey, we're giving them another grandchild, that's better, right?

Keep growing that baby, Lo. You can't do everything all the time.

As I said before, the m/s is back too. Yesterday, the actual nutritional content of what she was able to keep down was comparative to the snack appetite of a 6 year old. (Watermelon, gummy bears and ice cream). Hey, whatever works.

BTW - our friend Rose bought Lois ginger tablets Friday night and I've now become a ginger tab pusher. Will keep the readers updated on if this works better than the acupuncture, motion sickness bracelets, ginger ale, peach tea, pepcid ac, yadda yadda yadda remedies that we've tried.

and, last but not least, here's a shameless shout out....

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY JESSICA RENSNER!!! YOU'RE AS OLD AS ME NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We’re at 11 weeks!




From BabyCenter.com

How your baby's growing: Your fig-sized baby is now fully formed — measuring 1 1/2 inches long and weighing in at a quarter of an ounce. His skin is still transparent, allowing many of his blood vessels to show through. Some of his bones are beginning to harden, and tiny toothbuds are starting to appear under his gums. His fingers and toes have separated, and he may soon be able to open and close his fists. He's already busy kicking and stretching, and his tiny movements are so fluid they look like water ballet. These movements will increase as his body grows and becomes more developed and functional. As his diaphragm develops, your tiny tenant may also start to get the hiccups. Because he's still so small, though, you won't feel any of his workouts or intrauterine gulps until sometime between weeks 16 and 20.

Not sure what a fig is, but I looked it up. How wonderful is the internet.

I am happy to report that Lois had 3 pretty good days in a row!

On both Saturday and Sunday, she ate 2 meals and kept everything down! Sunday, we even went to the mall for a little while with Suz and baby Kaden, and Lois worked in the garden for a little while.
Yesterday, she felt “like her normal self” all day, ate a sandwich for lunch, threw up before dinner, and had a real home cooked meal for dinner!

In other news, we got a phone call from the OB’s office yesterday with the results from the blood tests. Lois has all negative results for the Cystic Fibrosis and Fragile X tests which is great news!

On August 7th, she has a regular OB appointment and August 8th is some ultrasound that is done at another facility. It’s a first trimester screening usually recommended for high risk pregnancies and was recommended by our OB since Lois is over 35 and already had a miscarriage.

For right now, things are looking good and I am anxious to get through a few more weeks before I relax a little.

I am still amazed at how different Lois is this time around as far as being much more in touch with the baby and really feeling that this is the child we are going to raise. Like I said before, the last pregnancy, she never felt that way.

I know it's lame, but I posted the exact same thing on myspace.

Tomorrow is my 30th birthday.
I don’t consider it a big deal, but I found humor in a little google search about turning 30.

Here’s an excerpt from an article at Handbag.com:

Some magazines suggest that by your 30th birthday you should have experienced one or all of the following: parachuting, threesomes, living in a foreign country, abseiling, bondage, motorcycling, shagging on your office desk, singing karaoke and lesbian sex.

Parachuting, singing karaoke, motorcycling and lesbian sex, I have done. The others, not so much.

Others advocate a mortgage, a ring on your finger, a successful career (preferably one that is unlikely to involve any desk-shagging), six weeks paid holiday each year, a profitable pension plan and a baby on the way.

I have a career. Successful? Hmmm…hopefully on its way to successful. I do have a ring on my finger despite what President thinks is a real marriage. I have a mortgage, holy mother of god, do I have a mortgage. And a baby on the way.
The six weeks paid holiday each year is a joke, right? And a profitable pension plan? I think I have $342.00 in my retirement savings so far. Is that good?

So, then I read a financial article about turning 30.

From Kiplinger.com, Eight Things to do Before Turning 30.

1. Identify your goals
2. Start an emergency fund
3. Pay off credit cards
4. Start investing
5. Establish credit
6. Set up a strategy to pay off student loans
7. Take calculated risks
8. Travel

1. My goal is to stay afloat.
2. My emergency fund is currently the $3.00 in my car ashtray for a when a dunkin donuts iced coffee itch hits me (I loved the toasted almond flavored)
3. I paid off my credit cards with my wife’s since she had better credit. Guess what, the balances still exist.
4. investing with what?
5. I have ok credit now. I was able to get my 2000 Hyundai Elantra with my own credit.
6. my strategy to pay off student loans is to pay them off before I am 60. (hello, law school is expensive)
7. The explanation for this also correlates to having some $ in that #2 emergency fund. My definition of a calculated risk is only bringing $50 into the casino and leaving the ATM card at home.
8. I have traveled, not so much with the wife. But, now we have a kid on the way. I’ll travel more when I’m in my fifties and sixties and my kids are supporting me.

So, I don’t have that ideal grasp on turning 30 but I am doing okay.

The only thing that has really bothered me about turning 30 is that I am in the worst shape of my life. Most of my friends are in their 40s and they are in much better physical condition. Hopefully, turning 30 will be the catalyst to getting my butt in gear.

The Federal Marriage Amendment was defeated in the House yesterday. You can visit the HRC website and see how your Representatives voted.
It’s the number of Yes! votes that scare me.

For now, our government has rejected writing discrimination into the Constitution, but this will not just go away. It’s like dodging one bullet knowing that the gun is fully loaded.

Are we crazy to be raising a child in a world where so many smart, educated people can be so ready to discount and disclaim the rights of individuals and couples in the “Land of the Free”? Where our family is not considered to be a legal family according to our own federal government?

Enough with the tirade. If you want, check out the votes and contact your congressman or congresswoman to tell them what you think of their vote.

Chubby is 10 weeks today!

From Pregnancy.org…
· Baby is now called a fetus in "medical terms". You, however, may have chosen the name "peanut," "angel," "jumping bean" or simply "miracle."
· The most critical part of your infant's development is complete. Now you are headed into a period of rapid growth.
· While a bit strange to envision, your baby's head is now about half its length - Soon the rest of the body's growth will catch up but this area is prepared to keep up with the rapid brain development!
· Eyelids fuse shut and irises begin to develop - Eye color is also determined by this point.
· Placenta begins to function this week or next - The placenta is the organ responsible for both the provision of nutrients along with the removal of waste to keep your baby growing strong!
· Your baby will be about 1.22 inch long (3.1cm) and weigh 0.14 ounce (4gm) at the end of this week

I think I have read close to 95% of articles on the web about morning sickness (okay, maybe that’s exaggerating). There are ideas everywhere. Here’s some suggestions that I have found, compared to our results.

Acupuncture = Lois has done twice and feel good for 24 hours after both times. Maybe need to do this every day for the next 7 months.

Motion sickness bracelets = unsure about result. Lois hasn’t worn them for a prolonged period of time since it is uncomfortable. I figure my nagging her about wearing it isn’t helping.

Eat small meals all day = Lois doesn’t want to eat anything. All day or ever. Nothing.

Eat crackers, bread or major carb products = see entry dated July 13

Sour candies, preggie pops, etc. = Lois is not a big sour candy fan, like the lemon, lime and orange flavors that everything seems to come in. She has been working on a bag of regular Lifesavers, but I think that’s more for her sweet tooth than for curing any morning sickness.

Vitamin B6 and Unisom = We did get some B6 and I think it has helped a little, but some websites recommend a maximum of 100 mg/day and the prenatals pretty much cover that. As for the Unisom part of it, we haven’t tried it. Sleep is not a problem. If Lois took Unisom right now, she would become Mrs. Rip Van Winkle.

Pepcid AC = I have read that this can work for heartburn but also reflux. Apparently, if you are throwing up and are not hungry afterwards, chew on a Pepcid AC tablet and it will open whatever needs opening up, allowing you to put food into your belly risk-free. We have not tried this yet. I am a little skeptical.

Rolaids = for the heartburn. At the beginning of the morning sickness period, we were in Southern California and had several meals of Mexican food. Lois was fine with eating it, only heartburn persisted, surprise, surprise. Rolaids, in Lois own words, “suck,” and don’t do a damn thing. That, of course, is only one person’s observations.

Stay away from greasy, fried or fatty foods = I’m sorry, but we are in the “whatever she can eat or is willing to eat” stage of the pregnancy. About 1 out of 20 ideas for meals that I toss out to Lois are acceptable to her to consider. Recently, foods that she has been willing to eat and that have stayed down include: chicken nuggets, Dutchess chicken sandwich, chicken parm grinder, tacos/enchiladas, etc. If it’s breaded and fried or covered in cheese, it’s working for now.

Cucumbers = I can’t remember where I read it, but one woman said that sucking on cucumbers soaked in water helped the nausea. We tried this once in vacation and everyone thought I was nuts. I point out that it eased Lois’ nausea, but I can’t say it was a popular plan.

Ginger = This, we have not tried yet. I will be going to the store tonight to find ginger snaps, or ginger root supplements, whatever. (I’ll probably pick up some Pepcid AC while I’m there as well). Can’t say Lois is the biggest fan of ginger, but it might be getting to that stage of “it might work, try it.” Plus, we are running out of foods that she liked pre-pregnancy that she won’t eat now, so might as well try something that she previously didn’t like, maybe now she’ll love it??!?

Liquids, tea, etc./no coffee = She hasn’t been doing coffee lately, which is good. And she has been doing some peach tea now and then, but I think that hasn’t been a huge success either. About the only two things that work right now are water and ginger ale. Right now, I’m wondering why I don’t own any stock in Schweppes.

Gatorade = some nausea could be an electrolyte imbalance problem?!?! Plus, plain water gets boring to pregnant women, so many like watered down Gatorade. This, we have yet to try. (Maybe I’ll buy some tonight when I get ginger stuff and Pepcid AC)

Products = there are things such as “Morning Sickness Magic” and other products that sound promising, but I haven’t tried them. One motion sickness band was $80 (I am borrowing one from a co-worker). There’s CDs that are supposed to help through Sound Relief. Again, I am skeptical. Before we go crazy trying the $50-$100 ideas, we will try the $2 ideas.

Smoking a Doobie = one article actually referenced medical marijuana and its ability to ease severe morning sickness. I’m not kidding, here’s actually an article on it!. Don’t worry, friends and family, we will not be trying this one.

I think we have heard everything…
“Don’t lie down right after eating.”
“Don’t drink fluids during meals.”
Yadda
Yadda
Yadda


If anyone has any suggestions that we haven’t tried, feel free to share. Maybe this list will give those suffering from morning sickness some ideas, I don’t know.

Poor Lois has spent the entire weekend rotating from the couch to the bed, bed to the couch.
I actually had an eventful day yesterday spending 3 hours on the lake in my kayak with Billy, then playing tennis for an hour (it was 98 degrees) and having lunch with my mom . When I got home, Lois was on the couch.
Today, same story.
We went out for 5 minutes since I convinced her that getting some air would make her feel better. Apparently, 100 degree air is not helpful and we are back home, on the couch.
My boss gave me tickets for Bonnie Raitt tonight for my birthday and I plan on leaving the house at 5:45 pm. It's now 5:26 pm and Lois is on the couch.
Q: Do I drag her butt with me or leave her on the couch?

I got paid today and Lois is going out to dinner a few towns over with some old (former) co-worker friends.
I really want to go by Babies R Us or Burlington Coat Factory just to browse....

This is an actual conversation that occurred in our house this morning.

L: “I feel like crap.”
H: “You really need to eat something right when you wake up to cut down the acid in your tummy.”
L: “Really? Is that what it is?”
H: “I’ve been telling you that for weeks. You have to eat something.”
L: “Like What?”
H: “…ummmm…”
L (cutting me off): “If you say ‘a f---ing cracker,’ I will shove it up you’re a--!”

I know she meant it completely lovingly.
BTW - I was going to say "an apple."

last pregnancy, we referred to the baby as "ziggy" - short for zygote. lame, i know.
this time around, we let the girls decide what we would call the baby to be.
"chubby" was the result.

today....chubby is 9 weeks. only 31 weeks to go!

the acupuncture helped lois a lot yesterday and she has kept down meals for almost 24 hours. I am keeping my fingers crossed that things are looking up on the morning sickness front.

I am working on the page a little here and there.
Please remember, I am a lawyer, not a website designer.
I added a bunch of blogs that I have been introduced too. I have lurked on the web checking out the writings of other GLBT families and want to share them.
I think it is so awesome that families across the globe can share their experiences through blogs, so I am adding to the mix.
Please check out some when you have time!

A due date is really just a guess and both the midwife and the OB we like pegged Lois for a 2/14/07 due date. The doctor who is not as good gave us 2/15/07.
Since we think 2/14 is cooler, because it's Valentine's Day, we're sticking with that. Does it really matter anyway?

Poor Lois is a hard hit victim of morning sickness. In our entire time together, I can't remember her ever throwing up from being sick, now it's a very common occurrence and I am helpless to make her feel better.

Right now, I am pushing the crackers like they are crack and making her drink ginger ale. But the regular nutrition stuff is lacking since she can't seem to keep anything down (including the prenatal vitamins!).

I got some Sea-Band motion sickess bracelets for her to start trying tonight and she is seeing Jody for acupuncture today. I've heard everything from eating sour candies to sucking on cucumbers soaked in water (?!?!?).

If anyone out there has any suggestions, we are game!

I just wish I could get her to eat real food! I am almost considering Mexican tonight, even though it gives her heartburn, she has been able to eat it so far. Everyone says you need to find that food that you can eat and keep plenty of it around. We have not, however, discovered such a magical food yet.

 
I know it's just a fuzzy blob right now, but it looked a little more like a gummy bear when we were looking at the screen.
At least we know that something is there! 

The first ultrasound was yesterday and our new due date is 2/15/07.

We saw the heartbeat (164) and little a little fuzzy being that I had to keep telling Lois which end was up.

"That is the ass, not the head" but at this point, you can probably tell people anything while holding it upside down, and they would believe you. LOL

Like I said before, I am still a little nervous since the miscarriage. But the u/s experience was different for her this time around. Last year, not long before the miscarriage, Lois told me that she just wasn't connecting with the baby and she didn't think it was "going to be the child we were going to raise." When we had our 8 wk ultrasound last time, she wasn't really moved by it.

Yesterday, she was ecstatic. During the u/s, she looked at me and said "this is the one!" and when we got in the car, when I thought she was going to say it didn't look like anything yet, she said "when I saw those little arm buds, I kept thinking, those are the little arms and hands that are going to hold our fingers!"

It was cute. I hope a mother's intuition is right and that this is the one!

As soon as I find myself a scanner, I will post the u/s pic. I know, it's time to invest in one.

Ok, so when can I start buying stuff?!?!?!?

We are back on the East Coast!
California was great, but it is nice to be home. (more on the trip later)

It’s the 4th of July and I am at work. :-(
But I am taking 5 minutes to write a little update!

Lois is feeling the blahs here and there. She discovered that sometimes, you need to give in to the feeling to puke. Poor thing.
She does feel better, however, when she has something to eat. All the time.
This might not work well for me as I am hoping to lose 30 lbs during this pregnancy. If we are taking trips to McDonald’s together, I have absolutely no willpower to order a fruit salad and watch her eat a Big Mac.

Thursday is the first ultrasound! I can’t wait!

I don’t care what fit hits the shan, I am leaving work on time to be there!