Pregnancy Brain

So there is an often mentioned side effect of growing your own baby known as “pregnancy brain.” While I have noticed it here and there over the last 7 months, mostly in ways that make me sound like Mrs. Malaprop from The Rivals (see malapropisms - http://www.fun-with-words.com/mala_explain.html) or George W. Bush, recently I feel as though I am walking around in a fog! It is hard to get through life when I can’t ever seem to remember what I am doing. Most of the time, aside from my misspoken comments, I am pretty good at concealing my new absentmindedness, but lately it has gotten a little ridiculous!

Yesterday I got up and got ready for my Doctor’s appointment. I remembered that my gas tank was nearly empty and drove by a filling station on the way. Much better than last time, I thought to myself. Last time I was driving down Greenbriar, almost to the Med Center, when I looked down to check my speed and saw (and remembered I’d noticed it the day before) that my gas gauge was BELOW the E. Yipes! Lucky for me there is a Valero on the corner of Kirby and Sunset and I still made my appointment on time.

So anyway, so proud of myself for starting off the day remembering instead of forgetting things, I pulled into the parking garage and spiraled up, up, up before I found a spot. As I was going down in the garage elevator I realized that I did not have a clue which floor I’d actually parked on – except that it wasn’t 3, because the elevator made another stop there. Great. I had visions of being the pregnant lady roaming the parking garage looking for her car.

So I signed in at the office, got called back, got the usual spiel from the nurse, and went into the usual bathroom and grabbed a cup to give the requisite sample. Suddenly it dawned on me that in her spiel, the nurse generally either tells me which exam room is ready for me or if I need to go to the waiting room, and I had no clue what she said. So I didn’t know where my car was or where I was supposed to go after I finished with the cup. Not so great. Then I realized that through all of this thinking, I’d finished, but there was nothing in my cup! As I had marveled over my inability to pay attention to fairly important details, I’d completely forgotten to provide my sample! Brilliant, because then I had to explain to the nurse that I did not know where I needed to go and that I didn’t leave a sample, despite having come out of the restroom. Luckily, I drink a lot of water and was able to supply what they needed before I left – but not before being asked where it was at least 3 more times. It’s amazing to me that all 9 prenatal visits have been essentially the same, and I managed to look like I still have no clue what is going on.

My luck got a little better, though, and I picked the right garage floor, finding my car without any difficulty, despite my fears. The rest of my day however, continued in much the same fog, but with less embarrassment.

Are We There, Yet?

32 Weeks, 5 Days

So I was doing my hair the other day and noticed how ROUND my belly is getting (not many mirrors in the house)! Baby Sanchez must be really growing growing growing, and we are running out of time. In prep for the baby's arrival, Fred and I are reading and reading and reading! Mostly books about what to expect, good slelep habits, swaddling and much more. I'm pretty sure it will all go out the window though, once the baby is here, screaming, and not giving me a chance to reread the soothing technique on page 68...

The nursery is by no means done, but Fred and I put together the crib on Monday (okay, mostly Fred, since I was having a lot of braxton-hicks contractions and trying relax to get them to stop) . It feels great to at least have that done. We don't have any bedding or anything for it yet; since we are being blessed with baby showers in July, I will see what we still need after that. Everything is going to be a pretty sage green though, to accomodate a boy or a girl :-).

In other exciting developments, I got my first kick in the ribs! Mostly the baby keeps his little feet way off to my side, where I periodically see a little lump emerge from my mostly round belly. A couple of days ago, he must have shifted position for a minute, because I definitely felt it in my ribs. (Ha, its like he must know I'm writing about him, because right now I'm getting a little flurry of activity!) This kid has long legs!

I've read that the first trimester is much like the third, with the second being a nice break in between and now I know why! The major difference is everything smells normal and I'm not nearly so nauseated. I am back to eating about the same amount as before though, because my tummy does get upset when I try to fill it too full - there just isn't enough space in there for digesting food! The weight gain seems to have slowed to about 1/2 a lb a week, if that. Thank goodness, or I would have gained 50 lbs by the time this was all over! Mostly I am just tired again, almost the same as the first trimester. I am usually zonked by 10 pm, sleep as long as I possibly can, and take a nap whenever possible :-). Lately, at bedtime, Fred pulls out his hymns and sings to my belly, which seems to have the effect of waking the baby up and putting me right to sleep...which is where I'm headed right now!

Baby soothing technique

Oh my gosh! Not only am I shocked that this works, I think I'm more suprised that my in-laws didn't teach me this.

Childbirth Class

I actually enjoyed the class at the Motherhood Center, but I just wanted to share one story about it.



Elizabeth will occasionally watch videos on the internet of women giving birth. She will call me to take a look at the computer and say, "See, this is the miracle of life." Shortly after that, I run out of the room and scream like a little girl. Those of you that read this blog will remember that I think videos of babies coming into this world as reverse snuff films.



Well, one of the videos we had to watch in our childbirth class was a woman giving birth. Looking at the milky, white head crowing out of its mother was enough to make me queasy. Even the lady giving birth to this baby said in disbelief, "That doesn't look like a baby!" It really didn't look like a kid until it was laid in its mothers arms. I give mad props to women who give their bodies to these little creatures.



After the video was over, we took a break from the class. I looked over to a guy sitting next to me and said, "Man, that's video was interesting." His reply , "Well, that's one word for it." made me feel better that I wasn't the only one disturbed by watching the video.



I don't think I'll feel that way when Baby Sanchez is born because he/she is my kid and it'll be one of the happiest days of my life.

Happy Father's Day!

31 Weeks, 5 Days

We are getting closer! I am so happy to be on the home stretch - even if the baby decides to show up early, even though we aren't ready, chances are that everything will work out better. My belly is really getting bigger! Suddenly everyone is noticing my belly again and asking when I am due. I have even had a few people say I look like I'm about to go any day. Unfortunately, I know the truth, and that is the belly and the baby have more growing to do before Baby Sanchez makes his entrance.

Yesterday Fred and I went to our childbirth class at The Motherhood Center. It was a pretty good class. I've done a ton of reading up to this point, so a lot of the information about the stages of labor and what to expect wasn't totally new information, but I did learn many new things from the teacher's (a L&D nurse and mom) experiences. Crazy though, some of the women there looked a little unprepared for what is about to happen to all of us! We did learn some new things and had a chance to practice different breathing and focusing techniques that Fred and I are going to continue to practice here at home. We used ice to help us learn how to use movement, breathing, and focusing during contractions. Fred would put the ice bag in my hand for the length of a contraction (60-85 seconds), and I had to use any of the methods we learned to keep my mind off of the fact that my hand was FREEZING. We need to practice more so we can better work as a team. We got to use exercise balls too as labor aids, and now I want one for early labor here at home - AND for working on getting my abs back after the baby comes! I plan on getting an epidural, but want to hold off on having one as long as possible since that can slow down labor.

You're Pregnant!

So on Wednesday at work one of the guys who works for another division, but on my floor, walked out of his office and looked at me and said, "You're Pregnant!" with a look of shock on his face. I guess I have gotten a lot bigger since I last worked with him, about a month ago, seeing that he didn't notice I was pregnant then. It seems that the sudden blooming of my belly has everyone's attention these days (but still no stretch marks!). Even the PA at my doctor's office commented on how much bigger I've gotten, and I saw her two weeks ago.

So everything was pretty good at the Dr. today, noting that my platelet count was on the low end of normal so they are going to run another blood test at 36 weeks. If my numbers come back lower (platelet levels drop towards the end of pregnancy anyway) I could have Thrombocytopenia, which is just a scary name for reduced platelets. This would just mean they would have to induce and take the baby early. My base platelet count wasn't very high in December, meaning my count hasn't dropped too drastically, and chances are this is just what is normal for me.

But all of the talk today of inducing me (IE: low platelets or impending hurricane near my due date), exercising regularly to be prepared for labor, and of finding a pediatrician gave me a mini panic attack! This baby is really coming and going to be here before we know it! We have a childbirth class tomorrow, so hopefully that will help with my new found nerves about labor (why wasn't I nervous about it before today?!). Still anxious about finding a pediatrician that I like, on our plan, and nearby.

Anything else I should worry about!? I guess parents always worry, and so it begins now... :-)

Third Trimester Traveling Lessons

So I also decided that the next time I’m pregnant (whenever that may be), I will be done traveling by the time I reach the third trimester. While I consider myself a pretty happy pregnant person (its funny because I really think there is some kind of chemical happiness feeling I get a lot that I can’t really describe), 3rd trimester traveling takes a little adjusting.

Things I’ve learned:

By the 3rd trimester I’m really tired of watching everyone else drink margaritas.

Airplanes can get hot and stuffy during takeoff and landing, not fun when I’ve given up much of my lung capacity to make room for a growing baby.

Pregnant women are not allowed to get on jet skis, go horseback riding on the beach, go scuba diving, or much else beyond relax on a lounge chair and drink virgin daiquiris.

In the summer in Mexico, it is too hot to do anything between the hours of 10:30 and 4 pm.

By the time it is cool enough to go out and see the town, there is a good chance I’ll already be thinking about dinner and bedtime.

Beaches only accessible by stairs consisting of 166 steps (give or take) should be avoided (same thing about the lungs!).

Public restrooms are not designed with pregnant women in mind.

The above includes airplane lavatories.

Don’t go deep sea fishing. Don't even try.

Let Fred go out and play even when I can’t.

There isn’t a good way to sunbathe without a lounge chair with a big hole in the middle for my belly. Unfortunately, I don’t think those have been invented.

A massage is a very, very good idea.

Water, water, water, water.

Ice cream every day (its vacation, people!)

I love the Mexican people, who all seem to think I’m only 4 or 5 months along instead of almost 7 (therefore can't look like a complete cow!), and that we are having a boy.

Cool, breezy nights rock.

Hot tubs turned on and set to 93 degrees (not too hot for baby!) are great things on cool, breezy nights, even if everyone else is enjoying tequila.

Despite it all, have fun anyway :-).

Just an Update

Sorry for the brief post last night, but we didn’t get in until 10, and I was t-i-r-e-d! Excuses, Excuses, I know!

We are just about to the 31 week mark – just 9 weeks left until I start going a little crazier each day if the baby isn’t here yet! In fact, I might start getting a little crazier each day from here on out. This baby is growing so fast! It is funny because I not only know the baby is growing fast because my belly keeps growing by leaps and bounds, but also because the baby feels so much bigger. I can now feel our baby’s little bottom just under my ribcage, and his little kicking feet and legs all the way off to my right side. That probably explains why breathing isn’t getting any easier.

I keep having crazy dreams about this baby. Sometimes we have a baby boy, and sometimes a baby girl. Last night I dreamed that a Dr. I know, PhD and NOT MD, was feeling my belly and telling me that the baby is breach and we’d have to have a c-section to pull her out. “Don’t we have 9 more weeks to wait for her to flip over?” and “Where is MY doctor!?” were my panicked responses. A few nights ago I dreamed that our beautiful baby boy had finally arrived, but couldn’t find any clothes for him to wear, not even a diaper! I was running around my parents’ house with a naked baby and could only find toddler clothes that were too big for a newborn and ended up swaddling him in a bandana, but not until after he’d made a mess on the carpet (which was green in the dream, for those of you who remember the colored carpet my parents used to have).

All in all, I really just can’t wait for this little baby to get here! It’s funny how the first trimester our baby was an abstract little being, a blob on the ultrasound screen that made me smile, and now seems to have his or her own fiery personality already, squirming, kicking, stretching, and flipping in my belly. We are just crazy in love with this little bean – now we just want to meet him!

Back from Cabo, Mexico

30 Weeks, 5 Days

Sorry for the lack of posting last week, but Fred and I were in sunny Cabo, Mexico! It was our last trip before the baby comes, since I'm not supposed to travel after 32 weeks. It was a great trip! But traveling in the 3rd trimester was a little harder than I anticipated. The walking in the heat was hard, and let's just face it - this girl gets tired way earlier these days.

I'll post more pics and details about the trip later, but right now it is way past baby's bed time!