Notes from Away

For more than a few months, we noticed the baby would respond to certain sounds and noises. Early on, she would start moving at the sound of David Byrne/Brian Eno’s Strange Overtones or Wall-E’s chirping. As the months have progressed, she grew her music taste to include Roxy Music, The Jam, The Clash, Style Council, Michael Franti and the Spearheads and a couple other bands. Toolbox is very happy with her music taste.

I’ve also noticed she enjoys the theme song from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Of course, I admit it is one of my all time favorite movies and has been playing on either TMC or AMC pretty darn regularly.  Since getting pregnant, I have seen portions of the film at least once a month.  I am sure her Grampy will happily introduce her to western films. 

The baby is still as active as ever. Her new game is to move to where ever a hand or finger has been placed on my stomach. If you push the lump she makes, she moves. Then she does a wiggle dance, which makes my stomach look like jello. She definitely seems to be able to entertain herself but enjoys playing.  

As the weeks go by, I am amazed by how her awareness to the outside world grows. It definitely seems we are in for one heck of a ride due to her activity level. This should be fun.

My oldest brother and my sister-in-law are expecting their first child (a boy) at the end of this week. My husband and I are excited to become Uncle and Aunt officially. I am also happy the children will be close in age so they will always have each other to play (and torment) with at family events. 

I am now 30 weeks pregnant. It is hard to believe in ten weeks, our little girl will be here.  My husband and I suspect this one will arrive either early or on her due date. She just seems impatient to get out and really stretch.

On the topic of registry, we are registered at Target but also are happily accepting used items from our friends. The baby has plenty of clothes through 6 months, thanks to great sales at Target, Old Navy and Baby Gap. 

And on the topic of Oscars, we didn’t watch much of the broadcast. Admittedly, we had only see Wall-E and Slumdog Millionaire, so we had our favorites.  I am happy Slumdog Millionaire won as it is the best film I have seen in a couple years.

After the roller coaster of a week, this morning was a welcome change. It seems that third trimester nesting means a strong desire to bake and cook. My husband isn’t complaining as I have been making muffins, brownies and cupcakes. Today we also made spaghetti sauce and meatballs.  

My husband is a bit of a picky eater so we are working on expanding his food palate by having him cook with me. He is learning that we can always make changes to recipes to minimize the things he doesn’t like. As a result of today’s experiment, we know we need to find a more bitter sauce recipe. 

We also are reviewing the recipes in some of the magazines I read. Toolbox is excited about the pork tenderloin recipe, while I am looking forward to the shepard pie. Our ultimate goal is to raise children who are not picky eaters, so we feel like we are on our way.

Both Toolbox and I work in the auto industry for suppliers. The good news is we don’t work for any of the Big Three or an US supplier. The bad news is that it is starting to not matter. Our foreign-owned companies have developed contingency plans to deal with the situation, but there are concerns about job security.

With the baby coming soon, we are working out plans to weather the storm. The worry level goes higher every day as it seems the bottom hasn’t been hit yet and may be far off. 

Cross your fingers and please pray…

Yesterday was my husband’s and my first Valentine’s Day as a married couple. We spent it in different states. He returns home today from a week long business trip - yea!

I went to see the film He’s just not that into you with a friend. It is an okay movie but I felt it was a bit insulting to marriage. The only marriages featured during the majority of the movie were bad ones with infidelity and selfish-ness. The wedding at the end felt insincere as the proposal included the statement that the guy was proposing because marriage would make her happy. Oh well, I can’t love all the movies.

Now it is time to do my laundry so I have clothes for work tomorrow. I should also scrounge up some breakfast.

Pregnancy requires avoiding certain foods and activities, which I am starting to miss. 

I miss..

• coffee (I usually drink two travel mugs a day)
• hot dogs (no clue why but recent craving)
• a glass of wine with dinner
• a beer with the hubby
• playing in the snow
• playing soccer
• long, butt-numbing bike rides
• hanging out at the bar with friends (our usual haunts are smoky)

My husband did ask me what the first thing post-labor was. Right now I am requesting a large cup of coffee or a peppermint mocha latte. Mmmm.. coffee..

We are enjoying a spring weather tease this weekend with temperatures of 50 degrees. It so balmy for us!  My husband and I didn’t get to enjoy the weather much yesterday as we attended a family wake. Today, I am not returning to the wake, so I am preparing for a nice walk around the neighborhood. It is just too nice to go walk on a treadmill at the gym. I can use the fresh air and sunshine.

My mother-in-law is here to attend the funeral tomorrow. This morning we stopped by Ikea and picked up a couple items for the baby. The store has so many colorful and whimsical children’s items, you almost wish to be a kid again. 

I will say the baby is getting even more active every day. The books say she is now on a regular napping pattern, but we can’t figure it out. It honestly seems like she is dancing around all day long. Maybe she kicks in her sleep like I do, but she seems very restless. Even my doctor was a bit surprised when I mentioned how active she is and has been. I guess this means we should prepare for a hyper child - I’m sure both mothers would agree it is suitable payback for all the mischief both my husband and I got into when we were little.  

Let’s just hope she doesn’t inherit our mutual accident-proneness.

There is irony in the fact that this time last year, my husband and I were on a diet and working hard to lose weight. This year, my weight is seemingly out of my control. Since I found out I was expecting, I’ve maintained my usual diet with the addition of regular breakfast, accounting for the extra calories needed. Yet according to the scales, I’ve gained more weight than I wanted to by now. 

The weight seems to mainly be in the stomach, but my chest, hips and rear have some extra padding. I swear I woke up this morning with a much larger stomach than yesterday.  That could be somewhat due to a very active little one. With a few napping breaks, she spends most of her day dancing and kicking to her heart’s delight.

Every day I struggle with the weight gain. Although my friends and husband say it doesn’t look like I have gained much weight besides the stomach, I feel huge. I also can’t wrap my head around the concept of “good fat”. Regardless of the benefit, I still feel fat. I am trying hard to feel better about my body’s changes, but it is a struggle. 

No matter how you think you’ll deal with pregnancy, the reality is so much more complicated.

We are almost 27 weeks pregnant, which is a nice feeling.  I suspect some of my negative feelings towards pregnancy has to do with the amazing winter we are having and that I barely get to enjoy. No skiing, no sledding and not even any shoveling. Walking around the neighborhood is fun, but we keep finding very icy sidewalks. Grrr. 

Plus I think we are both more than anxious to meet our child. She already demonstrates quite a bit of attitude so I can guarantee she’ll keep us busy.