Nesting

For the most part, I have been the one who has been making lists of to-dos, and worrying about how to get everything ready in time for the baby.  All the while, Dennis just looked at me like I was crazy and just seemed oh so relaxed like we had all the time in the world.  Well, now the tables have turned. Just the other day, Dennis called me at work and almost sounded frantic and told me "we have a long list of things to do before the baby comes and we are running out of time."  I just laughed and said, okay.  The whole time, I'm thinking, I'm good. I don't really think we have that much to do.  Then I just got an email from him with the list of to-dos. It's almost comical how relaxed I feel right now. I feel no sense of urgency to get anything done on the list. This is not to say I'm not planning on doing these tasks, I just know that, maybe with the exception of my hospital bag, these tasks don't absolutely need to be completed before baby comes.  All the stuff that needed to be completed before the baby comes is complete. So now I will sit back and relax, and wait for Baby Fowler's arrival while Dennis frantically nests.

Lopsided Belly

Baby Girl Fowler has favored the right side of my uterus throughout my entire pregnancy.  Occassionally, she gets her butt to the left side, but mostly she's all right side.  This means she only kicks me on the right side and it's always in the same place. This isn't to say I don't get movement all throughout my belly, but she does go for one spot on my right side all the time. Now that she's getting bigger, my stomach is lopsided. It's subtle, but definitely noticeable. I have my maternity pictures coming up this weekend, and all I can think is I'm going to have a lopsided stomach.  

All We Need is a Baby

This past week, my Mom came to visit and we got a lot accomplished.  Prior to her arrival, however, she threw me a shower in Maryland without my knowledge and without my presence.  She invited friends and family who brought unwrapped gifts so that everyone could see all the cute baby stuff. They then wrapped all of their gifts at the shower, so my Mom could pack them in a suitcase and bring them out to me.  In fact, that was my surprise when I got home from work the day my Mom arrived. She had put some of the shower decorations throughout the nursery and the suitcase was there filled to the brim with lovely gifts.  She also had a photo album of the shower.  I can't thank my Mom, her friends and my family enough for all the gifts they showered Dennis and me with.  It was a very sweet surprise. 

My friend Jessica threw me a shower this past weekend, which was equally as lovely. My favorite was the cake with the little baby's butt on top.  Friends and co-workers attended and once again I was showered with wonderful gifts for the baby.  The next day, my Mom and I want to Babies R Us and purchased all the remaining items we needed for Baby Fowler.  We then washed everything and put all of the stuff in its respective places.  When my Mom came, all I had was a painted nursery, one side table, a chair and a crib with no matress.  By the time she left, the nursery was fully furnished with a re-finished dresser, a mattress with sheets and all in the crib and all clothes, burp cloths, blankets, sheets, diapers, bibs, pacifiers, hats, socks and whatever else neatly put away in the dresser or closet.  Dennis also hung the curtains.   We officially have a nursery that is complete and fully stocked.  All we need now is a baby. 

Kidney Stones and Contractions

Since my last post a lot has happened.  I entered my third trimester, got a kidney stone which required hosptilization and started experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions.  We'll start with the first event. Four weeks ago, I started my third trimester. If you're doing your math that means I'm entering month eight and have only two more months to go until baby arrives.  So far, my third trimester has been kind to me.  I haven't had any side effects, and knock on wood, haven't felt uncomfortable.  I do have pain in my hips and back when I sleep, but other than that I can't really complain.  That is if you don't consider the kidney stone.  I have never had a kidney stone before and there's no telling what caused it, but based on Dennis' research, increase in calcium from prenatal vitamins may be linked to kidney stones.  All I know is I suffered for 20 hours because I thought I had a UTI, and my stupid doctor's office was telling me I had to wait until the antiobiotic kicked in.  In reality, I did not have a UTI and at 4:30 a.m. when I was bent over the toilet with nausea from the pain, I told Dennis to get my doctor on the phone and get me to the hospital. By the time I was placed in a bed and hooked up to an IV, the pain had subsided to a dull pain that I could handle, so I opted to wait on the pain meds. I was also afraid of getting sick from the pain meds.  So it wasn't until about 9 a.m. that I finally took some pain meds. The first dose did nothing for the pain. By the time I was ready for the second dose, I had been diagnosed with having a kidney stone measuring 8 mm in my right kidney.  I took the second dose of pain meds, and finally got some relief. When I woke up at 2 p.m., I had no more pain.  The doctor, the nurse and Dennis were all pushing me to be admitted to the hospital. I just wanted to go home, but I stayed and I hated every minute of being there. Luckily, I never experienced anymore pain and by 9 a.m. the next morning, my doctor discharged me. To this day, I don't know where the stone is. It may have dissolved or it's sitting in my bladder waiting to cause me pain the next time I pee.  For a while my guard was up everytime I took a pee. I was just waiting for that terrible pain. Now my guard is down.  My luck, I'll pass it in a public restroom and my screams will be heard by all.

After my lovely experience with the kidney stone, I also started to experience Braxton Hicks contractions. Luckily they were not painful, but it's scary to have contractions when you know the timer is not up on that baby of yours who is still cooking everyday.  It's also stressful counting them to make sure you aren't having too many in one hour.  Other than one day where I was having a lot of them, they have subsided. And that makes me very happy.  Here's hoping for no more kidney stones and no more contractions (that is not until week 40).

Planning and more planning.

One of the things I'm looking forward to most about having my child is the planning for the child will be over. When baby Fowler arrives, I will just be. I'll just be in the moment, and whatever was planned or was not planned won't matter anymore. 
I know some of the planning I have brought on myself.  My Type A personality just won't allow it any other way.  I know my baby doesn't need the perfectly decorated nursery, but I want to have it for her.  I know organizing the kitchen to make room for her stuff probably isn't all that imperative, but again it's still on my to do list.  Then again, some of the planning is necessary.  I do have to plan a way to pay the mortage and all the other bills while I'm out of work on leave.  I do have to arrange daycare because there are no if ands or buts about it, I have to return to work on a date certain.  And I do have to plan for certain work on my cases to be completed or at the very least arrange for someone to cover these tasks while I'm on leave because I have no desire to commit malpractice. But while most of my planning is a necessary evil, it has certainly added stress in my life that I just want to end. 
This is not to say that when I have the baby I think my life will all of sudden become easier.  I know it's going to be hard caring for the baby and losing sleep and managing all the other pitfalls that come with having a newborn, but I still can't wait for that day when I can just be in the moment; whatever that moment may bring me.

Baby Registry

Family and friends, we are registered at Babies R Us. 

Hello Third Trimester!

We are three short days from entering the third trimester.  Now we have to see the doctor every two weeks.  Sort of annoying, but also comforting to know that baby will be monitored so closely these last three months.  At our doctor's appointment last night the reality of how close we are to having a baby hit home. The doctor was talking about pre-registering at the hospital, cord blood and limiting travel because technically speaking I could go into labor now.  Of course I know we still have some time, but I couldn't help but feeling like we were going to have a baby any minutue after we left our appointment.