Sewing dreams
Friday, January 15, 2010
19 weeks, 5 days preggofied
I have been so distracted at work lately. I swear, I should already be on maternity leave, because my mind is racing NONSTOP with BABIES and NURSERIES and NAMES and BABY STUFF and OH-MY-GOD-I-MUST-GO-HOME-AND-SEW-BIBS!
When I go home, I’m glued to the Singer — sewing bibs and burp clothes and going through as much flannel as I have in the house. When I’m at work, I’m in research mode (in between, you know, working).
I keep surfing sewing websites, looking up projects to make for Little Baby. One thing I haven’t really thought of is clothes!
Sure, I made that yellow sundress like, a million years ago, but that’s it — not to mention that it won’t work if Little Baby is of the male persuasion.
Here’s a quick list of clothing projects I definitely want to tackle:
- A ruffled sun hat. After all, Little Baby is coming in May or June. I was a summer baby, and there are about 8,000 photos of me in a sun hat. Oh, while sitting in a kiddie pool. Must buy kiddie pool.
- A newborn nightgown. These are recommended for the newborn stage — girls and boys, ahem — because it makes it very easy for change their diapers. Plus, they’re nice and light for summer.
- A sleep sack. These will be perfect for the colder fall/winter nights. I always see them for sale in the baby stores. I might buy one, and use it to copy.
- A miniature version of Darling Husband’s uniform. I already saved the logo from one of his worn-out shirts, so this will be fun. Perfect for the first workplace visit!
- Jumpers! If Little Baby happens to be a girl, I’ll be bursting to create gorgeous jumpers (like this pattern from Smile and Wave). I love how Rebecca at Girl’s Gone Child sewed beautiful dresses when she was pregnant with Fable.
My Husband Rocks
Thursday, January 14, 2010
19 weeks, 4 days pregnant
Gotta love a husband who stops by your office unexpectedly with:
- A hot chocolate
- A doughnut
- Prescription heartburn meds
Pink or blue? I’m going crazy wondering!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
19 weeks, 4 days pregnant
This morning, Darling Husband was telling me how his friends at work were asking about me yesterday. He told me how he explained all about the appointment, the heartbeat, etc.
And then he added …
“Oh, and one of my friends thinks it’s a girl. You know, because the heartbeat was 156.”
I almost choked on my orange juice! He knew the heartbeat??? Why hadn’t I … Oh, right. I think I may have been too busy basking in my “so much smaller” compliments to listen to everything the nurse was saying. Right.
Darling Husband continued to explain that his colleague has a boy and a girl. When his wife was pregnant with the boy, his heartbeat was around the 140 mark. When she was pregnant with the girl, it was in the 150s.
OH. MY GOD.
INFORMATION OVERLOAD.
So of course, the minute I scrambled into the office, I was Googling like a madwoman. I found that, indeed, a higher heart-rate can indicate a girl.
So here is the “guesstimate” results so far …
- Chinese gender prediction test. Result = GIRL
- Is Baby’s heart beat faster than 140 beats per minute (bpm)? It’s a girl. Less than 130 bpm? It’s a boy. Result = GIRL
- Hang a needle from a thread over your belly. If the ring circles, it’s girl; if it swings back and forth, it’s a boy. Result = BOY
- If you carry low, it’s a boy; high, it’s a girl. Result = GIRL
- If you carry in front, it’s a boy; if you’re wide at the middle, it’s a girl. Result = BOY (I think)
- If morning sickness lingers all day, it’s a girl. Result = Wasn’t technically ever sick, but felt like crap all day. So … GIRL?
Looks like girl is in the lead, but I’m not naive — I know these tests only have a 50/50 chance of being right!
Soooo curious if we will be able to tell in Monday’s ultrasound. If not, 18 days until the 3D ultrasound, where we’ll get the answer for sure!
Protein in your pee
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
19 weeks, 3 days preggo
I left a part out of my earlier doctor’s appointment re-cap, because I wanted to research something first. So here goes:
During this appointment (and my previous appointment), I had to pee in a cup and then dip a paper stick into it — then hand the stick to the waiting nurse. I knew it was something to do with sugar levels, but no one ever told me the “results” last time, so I figured all was good.
Today, though, I was curious about what exactly it was testing — and how I did last time. After I handed the stick to the nurse, I mentioned that I’d never heard any results.
She told me that the test measures sugar and protein in your urine, and that this time I was negative for both. She said at my last appointment, I had “trace amounts” of protein, but it wasn’t anything to worry about. She said they only worry if you have higher amounts (like +1, +2, +3).
Friendly Nurse confirmed the same thing when I asked her — basically, don’t even think about it, you’re negative now.
So of course, I was instantly dying to Google it.
Once I got to a computer, I learned that the presence of protein in your urine has to do with how your kidneys are working. Low amounts — like my previous test — are common, and might mean your kidneys are working harder than before pregnancy. It could also mean your body may be fighting a minor infection, like a UTI.
If you have more protein present during your next test, it could mean you are developing pre-eclampsia — yup, the same thing that caused the newest Duggar baby to arrive prematurely.
Pre-eclampsia can be serious for preggos and their babes. It’s important to look for a combination of these symptoms:
- Raised blood pressure
- Increased protein in urine
- Sudden swelling of the hands, feet and face
- Headache
- Blurry vision
- Pain just below your ribs
- Vomiting
It’s really for the best that I didn’t know about those “trace amounts” last time. Pre-eclampsia is scary stuff, and I feel much better knowing I had no protein this time around.
Breaking news: someone called me small today!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
19 weeks, 3 days pregnant
No, hell did not freeze over. But someone did call me small. Well, sort of. Let me start at the beginning.
I was at the OBGYN for my third appointment with Dr. L. After the usual waiting around, I did the pee thing and the weight thing, then some more waiting.
This time, though, when Friendly Nurse came into the room, she had a medical student with her. I said I didn’t mind — she was a nice-looking girl, not a creeper guy or anything — and they both proceeded to take my blood pressure (124/68).
Then it was time for my favourite part — hearing Little Baby’s heartbeat! I yanked down my leggings and pulled up my dress, and watched while Friendly Nurse explained the procedure to Medical Student. She started pressing down my me, and telling her how to feel for the top of the uterus, etc.
And then …
Friendly Nurse told Medical Student it was so much easier to feel everything on me, because I was “so much smaller” than the previous patient. Medical Student began feeling me up as well, and agreed that it was much easier.
Smaller! I’ll take it!
Then Friendly Nurse took out the heartbeat machine, and explained to Medical Student that it can take some time to find in Week 20, because the baby “could be anywhere in there!” She also said as soon as the baby feels the cold machine, they tend to run and hide. It made me wonder if the baby squirms when I put on my freezing-cold cream at night.
But as soon as she pressed the heartbeat machine against me, we heard it loud and clear! Aww, good morning, Little Baby!
And again, Friendly Nurse commented on how it was so easy to find it (compared to the last patient), because of my “smaller size.” Hee hee.
Then for fun (fun?) she pressed down harder with the machine and sort of “chased” the baby, and we actually heard Little Baby’s heartbeat speed up a bit! Poor thing. What a way to wake up!
In the end, three very important things were accomplished at this third OBGYN appointment:
- We got the maternal blood screening results. Those two blood tests were totally worth it. We found out that Little Baby has an extremely low risk of having any birth defects. Huge relief!
- We found out the prenatal classes are back on! The H1N1 plague forced them to be cancelled for the last few months, but they’re back on starting at the end of January. I called immediately and left a message to get us booked in.
- I got a prescription for Zantac (totally safe in pregnancy) to help combat my killer heartburn. I cannot get to a drugstore soon enough.
Oh, wait — four things:
- For two seconds, I did not feel like I weight 4,000 pounds — I was small (well, by association), bitches!
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