Baby Sweater
Hi Everyone! Happy Tuesday!
Here's a picture of the sweater I recently finished for our boy. It's from a pattern in a book called Essential Baby, except with their sweater, the weave is much tighter/smaller...I'm not that experienced a knitter and by the time I figured out I wasn't making it "right" it was too late to turn back.
I like how it turned out, though, although it definitely looks handmade. My husband calls the things I make that don't look perfect "made with love," as in: "That pie you made tastes awesome, but as far as looks...well, let's just say it was made with love." This sweater definitely falls into that category, but I am totally OK with that.
I'm making an identical sweater in bubble gum pink for our girl. They'll be part of their going-home outfits...can't wait. :)
XOXO
Pregnancy: Week 30
Hi Everyone!
I'm 31 weeks pregnant today! Feeling so excited and happy and like actually having babies is sooooooo close!
Here's how the past week has been:
- Early in the week my back hurt really bad...a visit to the chiropractor helped tremendously, though
- Sleep is sometimes still an issue...some nights I sleep fine, but some nights I'm up all night...it's about half and half at this point...
- Forgot to weigh myself this morning, but I'm willing to bet I've lost more weight. BUT, my mom, who was away on a trip for the past few weeks, has offered to make me snacks, which I think is really going to help with food intake/weight gain (I find it hard to come up with 3 snacks a day, but if someone else has put them in my fridge, I know I'll eat them). My mom is the BEST! Thanks, Mom! :)
- Had my out-of-town baby shower on Saturday over in Denver (4 hours from where we live) and it was absolutely AMAZING. My friends threw the most beautiful and special party, and so many people came...it was just incredible. Something I'll remember my whole life. Will do a post with pictures sometime this week...
- I was on my feet for four or five hours at my shower (in retrospect, not smart, but I was having so much fun walking around talking with everyone). Because of it, my ankles swelled up HUGE. I haven't had any trouble with that up until this point. Trying to lay down a lot now and elevate my feet...about half the swelling has gone away, but there's still a lot there...anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to make it go down?
- Babies are moving like crazy lately...seems like more and more every week. I LOVE feeling them. So far, it hasn't hurt at all
- I was a tad bit worried that something might happen over in Denver and I'd end up stuck in the hospital over there, but everything was fine and now I'm home for the duration of my pregnancy, which feels good
So aside from the normal (for me anyway) discomforts, everything is going spectacularly.
Busy week this week with my mother-in-law coming for a visit Thursday and a second, local baby shower on Saturday. After that it's finish the nursery, rest up as much as possible and wait for the babies to come. I'm also trying to work right up until delivery if possible, since I can work from home. My due date is April 11, but I know the twins will probably come early and I have March 21 in my head for some reason which is only 6 weeks away...
Hope everyone is doing well and has a lovely week!
XOXO
Henry James Says: "Feel"
Hi Everyone! Happy Thursday!
So I'm reading a book right now called Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, and something I read last night has really stuck with me, mostly because I am always being accused of feeling too much, of being overly emotional about everything, taking on everyone's pain as my own. (My husband calls this personality trait "being fuzzy"...his nickname for me is "fuzz.")
I'm not very accepting of this (being so emotional and feeling everything so deeply), and the people closest to me aren't really generally very happy about it, either. I am a lot of times trying to fight it, but sometimes I think fighting it is wrong and what I REALLY need to be doing is accepting myself the way I am.
That's why it was so nice to read this passage in the book last night. The author (Nafisi) is quoting from a letter Henry James wrote to a friend whose husband had been killed in WWI. James says:
"I am incapable of telling you not to repine and rebel, because I have so, to my cost, the imagination of all things, and because I am incapable of telling you not to feel. Feel, feel, I say--feel for all you're worth, even if it half kills you, for that is the only way to live, especially to live at this terrible pressure, and the only way to honour and celebrate these admirable beings who are our pride and inspiration."
Nafisi adds: "In letters to friends, again and again he [James] urges them to feel. Feeling would stir up empathy and would remind them that life was worth living."
In other words, it's OK to be fuzzy. I'm not feeling bad about being fuzzy today...
XOXO
BTW, going to Denver early in the morning, so won't be posting again until Monday. Hope everyone has a great weekend! And congrats to all the newly born babies and confirmed pregnancies out there...there are a lot this week...so very happy for all of you!!!
XOXO
Randomness
Hi Everyone!
I don't know why, but my mind is ALL OVER THE PLACE right now. Instead of trying to write something focused and coherent, I'm just going to go with it:
- An out-of-town friend I LOVE to snowboard with is going to be in Crested Butte, which is my absolute favorite ski area, in March. I've been so good all winter about being OK with not snowboarding, but having to miss this trip is SUCH a disappointment. I'm not sure I can even drive up and meet him for dinner, as it won't be that far from my due date...
- And, another ridiculous complaint because I am so incredibly happy to be pregnant: I have my baby shower this Saturday and just cannot put together an outfit that I really like. Shopping in general (and especially shopping for maternity clothes) in this town is soooooooo hard. I know it's vapid and vain, but is it too much to ask that I have something fabulous to wear to my own baby shower?!?
- My husband's in Salt Lake City for the night...we're only apart for one day, but it's killing me to be away from him. I guess that's a good thing, right?
- Snow Thursday/Friday, which may make traveling to Denver (where my shower is) a challenge. Ugh...do not need that stress...
- I am SO EXCITED about my baby shower! And seeing my BFF, who's flying in from Seattle and who I haven't seen since summer. Words can't even describe...
- Got a mani/pedi and took myself out for Vietnamese food this evening...nice
- Work's been really different lately...normally I just go to meetings, come up with the creative "big ideas", and write stuff...but lately there's this whole new computerized workflow thing I and everyone else am trying to learn...plus I'm training a new employee, which I like doing, but it makes the flow of my day different...
- I still haven't written my thank you notes from Christmas. And for the baby gifts that have started to arrive (loving baby gifts...our friends and family...so sweet and generous). Maybe I should run and do that now...
- Warm baths are my new favorite thing. Probably going to happen every night for the rest of my pregnancy...
- And, all of a sudden, it doesn't feel like ages and ages until the babies get here...it actually feels like it's happening soon! Yay! (And I'm freaking out a little!)
Thanks for indulging my stream of consciousness. Hope everyone's having a great week!
XO
Pregnancy: Week 29
Hi Everyone! Happy Monday!
Today's a big milestone...30 weeks pregnant, and all is well. :)
Here's how the last week has been:
- Had an OB appointment last Friday and my doctor is pleased with how I'm doing. She says I'm measuring what a woman with one baby is at 40 weeks. Talked with me about contractions...I'm having the occasional what feels like menstrual cramps, and she said if I have more than six of those in an hour to call her
- Losing a little weight, which my doctor is not at all worried about but I am a little. My twins pregnancy book says I should be gaining about a pound a week right now (instead I'm losing about a pound a week), but that's so hard with the diabetes diet. Even when I'm hungry I can't eat as much as I'd like because I have to keep my blood sugars low. It's frustrating
- Craving red meat like crazy lately. And grapefruit still...
- Babies still moving a lot...it's great
- Having a weird little symptom I've never heard of before...at the end of the day, my left foot inside the arch looks all bruised/black-and-blue. But there's no swelling and it goes away in the morning (after I've been off my feet all night). My OB said not to worry about it...
- Things overall are starting to get HARD. I am tired ALL THE TIME. And out of breath after every little thing. Exercise is pretty much out at this point...trying to keep going with light housework/errands/trips up and down the stairs. I also think maybe me not being able to eat all I want is perhaps contributing to the exhaustion
- Sleep is totally erratic...some nights, I'm fine, others I'm up all night long, usually with some combination of my back/belly/right hip/knee (which I think is sciatica...one of the babies laying on the nerve...) being in pain. Last night I tried everything...massage, hot shower, warm bath, Tylenol, a glass of milk at 4 AM. A hot water bottle seemed to finally do the trick, but it's hard being up practically all night like that (for the second night in a row, no less). Plus, during the day I'm fine, but lying awake at night I start to get scared about how I'm going to make it through approximately two more months of this. And the thought of how our lives are going to change forever with two new babies...I want this more than anything, but it's still a little overwhelming when I'm awake and alone in the wee hours of the morning. (My husband has taken to sleeping in the guest room. He can't deal with the up-all-night bit that's been going on far too regularly. And truth be told, it's easier for me to fall asleep when I'm alone. But I can't wait until all this is over and we can sleep together again...)
- Lots of baby-related stuff I still want to do, but need to be mindful of my pretty much nonexistent energy level. I'm so thankful my husband pushed to get the nursery set up early...now we just have a few little things to do to be ready, which is so great. I did finish a baby sweater for our boy this past weekend (pictures to come)...my priority right now is a sweater for our girl...I certainly don't want one baby to have something I made for them and not the other...talk about getting off on the wrong foot :)
- We're having a baby shower in Denver (4-hour drive) this coming weekend and I am sooooooooo excited! Also a little worried about my lack of energy/exhaustion/sleeping difficulties...but I'm going to take it really easy this week so hopefully I have some reserves. This will be our last trip before the babies are born
Hope everyone has a lovely week!
XOXO
Reincarnation
Hi Everyone! Happy Friday!
So I'm going to get a little weird and "new-agey" on you today...back to regularly scheduled programming next week, I promise...
I know this woman who lost her firstborn, a full-term baby, at birth, and then went on to have another healthy baby. We talked one day about reincarnation, about how she, during her second pregnancy, wondered if the baby she lost would come back to her as the new baby. She told me it was something she thought about a lot, and was open to the possibility of it happening. And then she had the new baby. And she knew right away that it wasn't the same soul or whatever you want to call it...that this new baby had no connection to the first.
This is something I've been thinking about, mostly in relation to my brother who died.
Someone claiming psychic abilities told me once years ago that he (my brother) would come back to me as my child, that he would once again take care of me. (Part of why it was so hard to lose my brother was that when he died we were living together and were each other's major support system...it's been awful having that gone from my life.)
So there is the question: Will one of these babies be my brother reincarnated? Or, for that matter, the baby girl we lost last spring? I don't need it to be, and I certainly don't expect it, but I do think it's a possibility.
And based on what my friend who lost her baby said, I think I'll know...
I feel so weird talking about this...but it's been on my mind, so...
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend. Thanks for spending some time here this week. :)
XOXO
Gestational Diabetes: Do the Fingersticks Have to Hurt?
My health care has been really great with my pregnancy...the exception being when I got gestational diabetes about a month ago, I wasn't taught how to do the blood glucose testing. (Well, I was, but by someone who'd never done it before, let alone taught someone how to do it, which honestly I'm seeing now was way worse than not being shown at all.)
I use this little device called the OneTouch Delica to prick my finger...and figuring it out on my own, I had to turn the dial to the highest setting (the higher the setting, the deeper the needle stick) to make it work and still I was having to poke myself multiple times for each reading and every time it HURT.
My mom had found an article for me when this whole diabetes thing first started that said testing was virtually pain free these days, and so I was left wondering, why did it hurt me so much? Was I that much of a wimp?
Well, kind of by accident, I've figured out over the past couple days that if I place the top on the device a certain way and put the device hard against my fingertip I can 1) not only get blood every time, but 2) I have also been able to dial back the needle depth from 7 (highest setting) to 1 (lowest). AND it doesn't hurt really AT ALL anymore. I am soooooo happy about this. Just wish it hadn't taken me a month of pain 4 times a day to figure this out.
So my advice to anyone who wants/needs it: Get trained. And if it hurts to do your blood sugars, you're doing something wrong. I felt like I just had to grin and bear it, but I'm seeing now that if it's done right it really doesn't have to hurt.
XOXO
Grace in Small Things, January 24, 2012
Wrting this week about living in an apartment such as these, Russian Hill, San Francisco. Good times.
1. Had an 8 AM conference call this morning, but then promptly went back to sleep for another hour...love, love, love working from home, especially while I'm pregnant
2. So many people from out-of-town are flying into Denver next week for my baby shower! (I've lived all over the place, and subsequently have friends all over the place.) Makes me feel so loved. :)
3. I'm in a really good writing groove right now, with stories I'm working on about San Francisco. I figure I won't have any time to write for a while once the babies are born, so trying to get some work done now. (While balancing that desire with my need to take it a lot easier these days...)
4. Snow this morning when I woke up. I love snow. Even though I can't snowboard right now...it makes me happy to think of the people who got a nice powder day today up on the slopes
5. Symphony tonight with a girlfriend...fun to get a little dressed up and get out of the house (and I'm just up from a couple hours worth of napping, so it shouldn't be too tiring)
Happy Tuesday, Everyone!
XOXO
Image credit: nicolas.boullosa.
Pregnancy: Week 28
Hi Everyone! Happy Monday!
So, 29 weeks today...yay! Here's how the last week has been:
- Lots and lots of movement from the babies, which is by far the coolest part of being pregnant
- The whole gestational diabetes thing is still going OK. Eating VERY carefully and my blood sugars pretty much always test in range. I did lose a pound this week, instead of gaining a pound like I'm supposed to. I'm also getting really bored with food. Dinners are OK because we cook a variety of things, but breakfast and lunch and snacks are becoming pretty monotonous. I'm also finding it hard to get in three snacks a day (two's not a problem)...must be better about that
- We had our all-day birthing class at the hospital on Saturday, which went really well. Lots and lots of good information. Still not all that scared about labor & delivery...it all still seems so abstract and far away...
- The usual insomnia (not every night, but bad when it happens), back ache, joints aching, still some nausea although nothing like it was before
- I took a bath for the first time since I got pregnant! I love REALLY hot baths, and those are not allowed, so I've been kind of pouty about it and not had any baths at all. But this weekend I ran a 100-degree bath and it was pretty nice. Not as good as scalding hot, but definitely better than nothing. I also ***horror of horrors*** had a decaf espresso on Saturday (I've been really weird about caffeine of any kind during my pregnancy, and decaf has a little). It was super yummy and the world did not end because I drank it :)
- Getting big, big, big, and slowing down a lot (which I talked about here last week). Really tired a lot of the time. Spent yesterday on self-imposed bed rest trying to get some energy back and, ladies who have had to do that (or are doing it now), I'm so impressed because it is HARD. After one day of reading and watching TV and knitting and not much else, never getting out of my pajamas, I was pretty stir crazy. But we all do what we have to do, right? I'm sure if I had to do bed rest for real I could do it
Hope everyone has a lovely week!
XOXO
The Third Trimester: Two Pieces of Advice I Needed to Hear
Hi Everyone!
So this has been kind of a tumultuous week as far as being pregnant. Nothing bad's happened, I just feel like I'm moving into a different phase, maybe it's all in my head as this week is the official start of the third trimester, or maybe there's more of a physical basis for it, I don't know. But I've been VERY tired and feeling like it's harder to move around and definitely harder to get anything done, from sleeping to errands to exercise to work...I feel in some ways like I'm hitting a wall. And I talked about this earlier in the week, how I want to make the most of these last weeks of my pregnancy--meaning, I don't know, enjoy it, keep things as safe and healthy for the babies as possible, etc.--but I'm not really sure how to do it.
Two things in the past 24 hours have helped:
1. I read this post from the lovely blog Dear Baby last night, and have been thinking a lot about it. Specifically, how the author talks about being in the moment and appreciating it, even if it's hard (eg, for her, her infant son screaming all hours of the night).
I've been thinking about how at night, unable to sleep, I sometimes get so frustrated with how incredibly uncomfortable this pregnancy has been. But last night I tried thinking, "My babies need to be inside my body right now, this is the best place for them, and yeah, I sure don't feel that great physically because of it but this is how things are today, this is what they need now and I'm so grateful to be able to provide this for them." It feels good to be thinking that. I know it's kind of Pollyana-ish and whatever, but it beats being stressed out over something (insomia and the fact it's pretty much impossible to get comfortable at this point) I have no control over.
2. I talked with a woman I know casually through work today...she has 8-year-old twins and her advice to me for the third trimester of my pregnancy was to slow down, spend more time in bed, quit trying to exercise, get rid of my TO DO list to as much of an extent as possible. She said she had gestational diabetes too and found that it was an extra drain. (I've just been acting like it's no big deal, like it's not affecting me at all...of course I have made no allowances for the fact that it might be maiking things harder.)
And I'm sure this hasn't been everyone's experience, but she was saying that the last couple months of being pregnant were harder for her than after the babies were born. I've been assuming the exact opposite, that I need to get everything done NOW, because after the babies are born life will be so much harder.
Even before talking with this woman, I've been thinking a lot about needing to rest more. My Type A personality has been fighting it (besides the fact I already feel like I'm taking it pretty easy), but maybe it's time to take a step back and really, really acknowldege the fact that I'm pregnant and I can't do everything, I need to rest, I need to stop having 30 things I'm trying to get done every single day, I need to ask my husband to help more (and he totally will, I've just been trying to do more than my fair share knowing the day is coming when he's going to have to do more than his).
So:
Being really present, even though it's hard.
Resting more and accomplishing less.
These are my strategies for third trimester.
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend. Thanks for spending some time here this week.
XOXO
Grapefruit vs Chocolate
Hi Everyone!
So I know I've mentioned my crazy grapefruit cravings before, but have to laugh at what happened last night.
For my late-night snack, my husband was going to make me a small bowl of chocolate pudding. (I can have sweets on the diabetic diet, just in VERY small portion sizes, eg 1/4 cup of pudding.) Anyway, I told him I didn't want chocolate pudding, I would rather have a grapefruit, thank you very much. (And this is not AT ALL about me trying to be "good" or healthy, it's about what I truly want.)
Seriously, who passes over an offer of chocolate for grapefruit?
Pregnancy is so weird...
Oh and PS, I am also craving pickles, lol...
Image Credit: Lady Miss Scarlett.
Two Things I'm Scared About
There are two things I'm scared about surrounding the birth of these babies (aside from the question of, "Will they be born healthy?" I just have to assume that is going to be the case or I will drive myself mad.)
- Post-partum depression. I have LOTS of risk factors for it, including previous trouble with depression, IVF, twins, gestational diabetes, etc. Don't know what to do other than keep it on my radar (and everyone else's) and get help if I need it. Hopefully if it happens it won't be too bad...and maybe it won't happen at all...
- Breastfeeding. Everything I hear and read is about how hard it is, how it doesn't go well, how to expect it to be painful and not work etc., etc., etc. But again, I don't know what to do about this other than read and learn all I can beforehand, be really committed to it, and to get help along the way if I need it
Weirdly, I'm not worried about labor & delivery at all at this point...maybe because I've been avoiding too graphic of descriptions...but we have our birthing class on Saturday so that could change.
Those of you who are pregnant/have had children...were you scared about these things? Did they happen? How did you handle it?
XOXO
Grace in Small Things, January 17, 2012
1. I had a little mini-meltdown today...I know it's ridiculous, but I was so tired from not sleeping last night and all of a sudden it's really hard to breathe (babies are squishing my lungs, I'm assuming) and I'm feeling so huge and a lot of my maternity clothes don't fit anymore and I feel like I just look fat and exhausted...I AM fat and exhausted...and don't get me wrong, these are GREAT problems to have, I know, but I'm tired of feeling so frumpy and isolated because I never have energy to do anything plus I can't do any of my normal athletic stuff.
But I called my friend Betsy, who laughed at me (which didn't bother me at all, I'm laughing at myself too, through the tears, mind you), and she said I needed a cup cake (no can do, I told her, because of the diabetes) and some retail therapy (which I think is true...I've been trying not to spend money on maternity stuff but a few new things will make me feel better...plus I have nothing to wear for my baby showers). I'm so lucky to have friends I can call...
I also feel like I need a plan to make these last weeks a little more...I don't know what the word is...comfortable? Enjoyable? I don't want to just be counting the days until the babies are born...I want to appreciate each day as much as possible...
2. Talking with my husband today about how he was ready to give up on having kids and live child-free like three procedures ago...so grateful that he was OK with trying again (and again, and again), because he knew how much it meant to me...
3. My biggest client is implementing this big new workflow thing...part of salesforce.com and I normally hate, hate, hate these kinds of initiatives, but so far, this one looks like it's a) not going to be too bad to learn...a lot more user-friendly than other things I've seen come and go, and b) may actually make everyone's life easier (which is what these things are supposed to do, but that doesn't tend to end up being the case in my experience). Fingers crossed...
4. I got my husband a Nespresso machine for X-mas...we first saw these when we were in Europe last winter on our honeymoon...and I'm not drinking ANY coffee until my pregnancy is over but the smell of the coffee he's making is just divine...can't wait to have a cup...plus it takes me right back to Amsterdam when we first got off the plane, snowing like crazy and our hotel had a lovely little lobby with couches around a fireplace and we sank down into the cushions they said, "Would you like an espresso?" and we said, "Yes, please," and they made us each one and it was the best thing ever...
5. My husband's starting school again tomorrow. His last semester, I'm so thankful. We are both SO ready for him to be done...
XOXO
Pregnancy: Week 27
Hi Everyone! Happy Monday!
I'm 28 weeks pregnant today, which is a big milestone in that a) I am now in my third trimester! and b) the babies' survival is a much surer thing if they were born now than it has been the past few week.
Here's how the last week has been:
- The whole gestational diabetes thing is going pretty OK. I'm finding it pretty easy to stick to the diet and testing my glucose 4 times/day hurts, but I just don't think about it too much and it isn't that big a deal. The only thing I'm having a little trouble with is when I'm eating out sometimes my blood sugar is higher than it should be. Like one night I had a patty melt and a salad and that was bad, bad, bad. I was thinking, a hamburgur and 2 pieces of bread and veggies, that should be a good meal, but the diabetes educator I met with Friday said the restaurant had probably put sugar in the carmalized onions, and the thousand island dressing had sugar, and the ranch dressing I put on my salad had sugar. Anyway, lesson learned. I need to be VERY careful when not preparing meals at home
- OB appointment on Friday and everything looks great. The babies are 2 lb 11 oz and 2 lb 13 oz, which my OB said was great and Dr. Google says are on the large side for 27 weeks...don't know if that's because of the diabetes or the fact my husband is 6' 6". Anyway, my OB seems pleased so I am happy. The babies are both also head down, and my OB says we can try for a natural delivery as long as the first baby is head down. Glad to hear that
- The fears I had last week about something going wrong have lessened, thank goodness. Today feeling very serene and confident that everything is going to go well from this point forward
- Still some discomfort from a variety of sources. Nausea continues to be bothersome although it's nothing like it was earlier in the pregnancy. My sleep is still off but not as bad as it's been. I've found that if I wake in the middle of the night a hot shower and one Tylenol can help me get back to sleep (if I wake it's usually because my back and/or right hip/knee [old sports injury] are aching)
- Feeling a bit more fatigue. Naps in the afternoons sometimes are a good thing
- Still walking some, but my whole belly area tends to feel uncomfortable/crampy after, so really minimizing exercise...maybe twice a week at this point
- Today I weighed in at +35 lbs from my transfer date--right where I should be. From this point forward I'm supposed to gain about a pound a week for the rest of the pregnancy, which is what I gained on the diabetes diet last week so I'm pretty confident this can happen
- Working on baby quilts with my mom and baby sweaters on my own...I'm so happy I'm able to make so many things for the babies...means a lot to me
Hope everyone has a lovely week!
XO
The Nursery, Episode #4: Curtains
Hi Everyone! Happy Friday!
So a few weeks ago, my mom and I made curtains for the nursery. Very simple, just hemmed rectangles...we're using metal clips up top to hang...and I didn't want to line them as I've heard you want to get the babies used to day and night, so no blacked out rooms during that day.
As I've mentioned, this room (the nursery) was already painted gray and we've decided not to change it, so I'm working within that parameter. I love the fabric here, though...felt like it helps to lighten the gray up and make the room more fun and child-like. What do you all think?
Will be showing pictures of the entire nursery in February, once we're finished. I have to say, it's been really nice to put it together little by little, especially since we're making a number of things.
Hope everyone has a great weekend! Thanks for spending some time here this week. :)
XOXO
Fabric source: Hobby Lobby.
The Nursery, Episode 3: Wall Art
Salt Lake City?
Hi Everyone!
So my husband has another job interview (yay!), this one in Salt Lake City.
I could do Salt Lake City, and here's why:
- It's not that far from where my parents live...a 4 hour or so drive...definitely doable for long weekends
- Snowboarding! And hiking! And Utah in general has got so much great outdoor stuff...
- I've been to SLC, and parts of it seem pretty cool
- Housing is affordable (this is always on my mind, as our general plan is for me to be responsible for the mortgage and my husband for everything else...smaller mortgage = less hours worked = more time with our babies!)
The big disadvantage is I don't know anyone there, which is kind of a bummer. But I've moved around a lot. I know how to make friends. It's supposed to be easier with kids, anyway...
We won't know anything until February, so just need to sit tight until then...
Image Credit: hunterandsmile via Etsy.
Grace in Small Things, January 11, 2012
1. Pillows everywhere in the bed this morning (as is the case every morning these days. "What are you trying to do, build a pillow fort?" my husband asked me when he came to bed the other night.) Pillows...and my husband curled up on one side of me, my dog Newton on the other. Ahhh...bliss...did not want to get out of bed this morning...
2. Reading a great book called The Elephant's Journey by Jose Saramago. So nice to really, really enjoy reading something. (I'm the queen of starting a book and putting it down because I'm not really engaged.) And lest you think I'm all highbrow from my reading choices, I should also tell you that I'm sooooo psyched that The Bachelor is back on TV. Are any of you Bachelor fans? Do you like any of the girls yet? I'm finding them all pretty annoying at this point...
3. As long as I do it the right way (right time of day, right amount), I can still have grapefruit juice on my diabetic diet. Which is huge, because that is what I'm craving morning, noon and night. (And even though I can't drink as much as I want, I'm grateful I can still drink some)
4. Work's starting to get busier again, which is good. December was sooooooo slow for me, which was nice, but doesn't do good things for our bank account
5. And on a related note, paid our quarterly taxes today (I freelance so have to pay in four times a year). Gosh, it's a lot of money going to the government, but it means I'm working and getting paid, for which I'm always grateful, especially in these economic times...
XOXO
Maternity Photos! :)
Hi Everyone!
So I went back-and-forth about having maternity photos taken...on the one hand it seems kind of frivolous; on the other, I really wanted some nice pictures of me pregnant...this pregnancy means so much to me...also, I'm really good at denying myself things I want and am trying to be better about that...
And then the woman who does my hair showed me her engagement photos and I thought they were so beautiful...the photographer she (and I) used does such great things with natural light...is really affordable, as well...
So I had pictures done last Friday, and I'm soooooo glad I did...love how they came out! :)
Here are my favorites (and here's a link to the photographer's website, in case anyone reading lives in Western Colorado and is interested):
Pregnancy: Week 26
Hi Everyone! Happy Monday!
I'm 27 weeks pregnant today...the last week of the second trimester...yay! And I don't have a picture for you today because honestly, I haven't been able to make it out of my PJs. But I had some maternity photos taken last week that I'll share tomorrow to make up for it! :)
Here's how the past week has been:
- Gestational diabetes has been the big news (you can read about it here and here and here). I'm doing pretty OK with it, fingersticks and all. My blood glucose levels have all been within the normal range, except for last night after Thai food. Probably no more Thai food for me for a while, which is OK because the Thai food in this town sucks
- Felt a lot of stretching this week, and now I feel like there is baby everywhere, way up high in my abdomen (like right up under my breasts), my sides feel like they are growing out, way down low. My belly button's still in and no stretch marks yet...
- Sleep has been OK most nights, horrible a couple nights. I'm wondering if my blood glucose levels have something to do with it, because last night was a bad night and the only time since I started testing that my levels have been elevated. Or maybe it's just a coincidence, I don't know
- Getting harder to breath. A lot more heartburn. A little nausea still, but not too bad. My back's OK generally, sometimes it hurts though
- Lots of movement from the babies
- Did lots of little baby prep things this past week. Had our hospital tour/paperwork appointment so we're all ready to go with labor and delivery. Dealt with the whole diabetes thing. Had maternity photos taken. Started on the quilts my mom and I are making for the babies, and I started on the sweaters I want to have as part of the babies' going-home outfits. Got and framed a few pictures for the babies' room. Made a list of what we have left to do (I want to be totally done by the end of February). Just doing a little each week we'll get it all done
- I've been a little fearful this week, I think a combination of the fall I took last week and the whole gestational diabetes thing. While the diabetes is not in and of itself something to be overly concerned about, I guess it's just kind of reminded me that things can and do go wrong...even thought I've been feeling a lot of movement and have been growing, I've still been feeling a little bit afraid that something--who knows what--is wrong with one or both of the babies. I'm also worried about pre-term labor...every little twinge I wonder if it's something I should call my doctor about...I haven't called about anything yet, but I don't want to look back and say, I wish I'd taken that thing seriously. Ugh...I'm really hoping these bouts of fear go away once the babies are born...and I think they will...it's just so hard for me to trust that things going bad during a pregnancy is the exception, not the norm. Stupid infertility and IVF and chemical pregnancies and miscarriage...it makes me sad I'm not just a blissed out pregnant woman, oblivious to anything that could go wrong. I do have an OB appointment on Friday...will feel better once I get to see the babies and hear that they're doing OK...
Hope everyone has a lovely week!
XO
Gestational Diabetes--Good Things That Have Come Out of This Situation
1. My parents have been so sweet and supportive...love that
2. And my husband, God, he is the best. Telling me over and over that it's OK that this happened, and we'll tackle it together, everything is going to be fine, even offering to change his diet too if that will help me. And doing the fingersticks for me when I'm too scared to do them myself--that's been huge. He's so great...
3. I was eating carefully before this, but this is making me be even MORE careful and MORE aware, so the twins will be getting even better nutrition now through the end of my pregnancy
4. And, miracle of miracles...I have actually done fingersticks on myself!!!! I really did not think this was possible, I am so afraid of needles...but I was laying awake for a couple hours early this morning just dreading my fasting blood glucose that needed to be drawn and then by 5 AM was nauseous and really needed to eat something...and my husband said I could wake him but that just felt silly so I went downstairs, got everythig ready, held my breath and did it. (Did it twice, actually, because the first time I didn't have the needle dialed all the way up and apparently the lower [less painful] settings are just not going to work on me.) A small victory, I know, but I am so proud of myself! I did my post-breakfast one, too (again 2 sticks to get enough blood...hopefully it'll get easier), so I know I can do it again.
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend. Thanks so much for spending some time here this week!
XOXO