Monday, July 25, 2011
Announcing Kidlet
Kidlet was successfully launched at 08:49 EDT, 23 July 2011. The 52 cm., 3.6 kg. (20.5", 7 lb. 14 oz.) payload was within optimal operational specifications and is functioning normally. The delivery vehicle was recovered in the nominal drop zone without incident and is being refurbished for the continuing mission.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Waiting
I'm officially in the waiting period now and I have to admit, it's a little boring.
My due date is now three days away. No signs of labor yet and based on my last appointment and the fact that statistically first babies are often late there's a good chance I'm going to see my due date still pregnant, though I'm still hoping I won't. The reason is we were told a while ago that due to my "advanced maternal age" (their term, not mine!) there's a higher risk of the placenta deteriorating and becoming less efficient faster once the due date passes, so they probably won't let me go more than a few days past my due date before inducing me. At first I thought this was a fine idea, but now I've become a little less enthused with the idea of being induced—especially if it's starting out cold turkey with no natural signs of labor at all—and I'd much rather start things out naturally if I possibly can. As always no one has asked me, though, and there's not much I can do other than my main conversation with kidlet now being, "Out, out, out!"
On the bright side I am very glad to have been able to do things on my terms up until now. I stopped working two weeks before my due date and was able to complete things at work on my schedule without any complications (pregnancy-related or otherwise), which besides making things easier on me made things much easier on the people taking over for me as well. And while it doesn't always feel like it, I know overall I've had a relatively uncomplicated pregnancy compared to some, and I'm very thankful for that. (Dealing with acid reflux every night and having hugely swollen legs and feet for the past four months doesn't always feel particularly uncomplicated—nor did getting sick every two months for the first six months of the pregnancy—but so far everything I've dealt with has only affected me, not kidlet, which I guess is relatively uncomplicated in pregnancy terms.)
So, I wait. I know it's getting closer with every passing day by definition; I'm trying to find comfort in that. I'm definitely enjoying having an empty calendar right now, being able to rest and take naps and watch TV whenever I want to (mainly a few afternoon Food Network programs I like), and not having any schedule or real responsibilities right now. I had a lot I wanted to get done last week and since kidlet didn't come then I had time to do it, so now I really have nothing pressing on my plate that I feel I have to do; not a bad place to be in when I do eventually get to this labor/delivery thing. I hear it can start suddenly on its own at any time... I'm waiting!
My due date is now three days away. No signs of labor yet and based on my last appointment and the fact that statistically first babies are often late there's a good chance I'm going to see my due date still pregnant, though I'm still hoping I won't. The reason is we were told a while ago that due to my "advanced maternal age" (their term, not mine!) there's a higher risk of the placenta deteriorating and becoming less efficient faster once the due date passes, so they probably won't let me go more than a few days past my due date before inducing me. At first I thought this was a fine idea, but now I've become a little less enthused with the idea of being induced—especially if it's starting out cold turkey with no natural signs of labor at all—and I'd much rather start things out naturally if I possibly can. As always no one has asked me, though, and there's not much I can do other than my main conversation with kidlet now being, "Out, out, out!"
On the bright side I am very glad to have been able to do things on my terms up until now. I stopped working two weeks before my due date and was able to complete things at work on my schedule without any complications (pregnancy-related or otherwise), which besides making things easier on me made things much easier on the people taking over for me as well. And while it doesn't always feel like it, I know overall I've had a relatively uncomplicated pregnancy compared to some, and I'm very thankful for that. (Dealing with acid reflux every night and having hugely swollen legs and feet for the past four months doesn't always feel particularly uncomplicated—nor did getting sick every two months for the first six months of the pregnancy—but so far everything I've dealt with has only affected me, not kidlet, which I guess is relatively uncomplicated in pregnancy terms.)
So, I wait. I know it's getting closer with every passing day by definition; I'm trying to find comfort in that. I'm definitely enjoying having an empty calendar right now, being able to rest and take naps and watch TV whenever I want to (mainly a few afternoon Food Network programs I like), and not having any schedule or real responsibilities right now. I had a lot I wanted to get done last week and since kidlet didn't come then I had time to do it, so now I really have nothing pressing on my plate that I feel I have to do; not a bad place to be in when I do eventually get to this labor/delivery thing. I hear it can start suddenly on its own at any time... I'm waiting!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
A Pre-Existing Condition
I hate medical insurance.
Don't get me wrong, I like having medical insurance, I just hate dealing with it. Recently I had to change insurance plans and switch to my hubby's plan. This happened to coincide with my last day of work though it didn't actually have anything to do with my job (other than my not having an employer's plan to switch to), it had to do with my extended student benefits ending. Since I'm getting ready to pop a kid out any day now it's kind of important that I have medical insurance when that happens. I've dealt with changing plans before so I worked with hubby and got him (and his HR person) the necessary paperwork to prove I was losing coverage on my existing plan, otherwise known in the medical insurance world as a qualifying event. In another twist of coincidence the timing coincided with hubby's plan's open enrollment period, but the qualifying event ensured that didn't matter and I could go on it regardless of the plan's regularly scheduled enrollment period.
The other thing tied to a qualifying event is continuous coverage, which is required to keep new insurance plans from slapping a "pre-existing condition waiting period" on you. In case you hadn't heard pregnancy is a pre-existing condition from an insurance company's point-of-view, and taking on a new member and immediately having to pay for a delivery isn't something insurance companies particularly want to do. I knew this and tried VERY HARD to supply the paperwork to hubby's HR person to make sure the pre-existing condition period would get waived... And sure enough today we received a letter from the insurance company saying based on their records I have a one-year waiting period for pre-existing conditions. SIGH. Hubby talked to his HR person and it appears somehow somewhere lines got crossed and the paperwork he gave her was just to get me on the plan, now we have to submit separate paperwork to the insurance company to deal with the pre-existing condition mess. Thankfully I know enough about medical insurance to keep any piece of paper I ever receive that says "Certificate of Insurance" on it, so I put everything together and tomorrow proof that I've had continuous coverage for the past 3 years will be going out in the mail. (Technically I only need to prove continuous coverage for 1 year but I'm going for overkill just because.) Even though we're dealing with it, based on the timing of everything I'd bet you real money that the paperwork won't be processed in time (since insurance companies aren't exactly known for lightning fast reflexes when it comes to processing paperwork), claims will be denied and we'll have to call everyone everywhere and tell them to resubmit claims and process everything again. I can't wait.
Don't get me wrong, I like having medical insurance, I just hate dealing with it. Recently I had to change insurance plans and switch to my hubby's plan. This happened to coincide with my last day of work though it didn't actually have anything to do with my job (other than my not having an employer's plan to switch to), it had to do with my extended student benefits ending. Since I'm getting ready to pop a kid out any day now it's kind of important that I have medical insurance when that happens. I've dealt with changing plans before so I worked with hubby and got him (and his HR person) the necessary paperwork to prove I was losing coverage on my existing plan, otherwise known in the medical insurance world as a qualifying event. In another twist of coincidence the timing coincided with hubby's plan's open enrollment period, but the qualifying event ensured that didn't matter and I could go on it regardless of the plan's regularly scheduled enrollment period.
The other thing tied to a qualifying event is continuous coverage, which is required to keep new insurance plans from slapping a "pre-existing condition waiting period" on you. In case you hadn't heard pregnancy is a pre-existing condition from an insurance company's point-of-view, and taking on a new member and immediately having to pay for a delivery isn't something insurance companies particularly want to do. I knew this and tried VERY HARD to supply the paperwork to hubby's HR person to make sure the pre-existing condition period would get waived... And sure enough today we received a letter from the insurance company saying based on their records I have a one-year waiting period for pre-existing conditions. SIGH. Hubby talked to his HR person and it appears somehow somewhere lines got crossed and the paperwork he gave her was just to get me on the plan, now we have to submit separate paperwork to the insurance company to deal with the pre-existing condition mess. Thankfully I know enough about medical insurance to keep any piece of paper I ever receive that says "Certificate of Insurance" on it, so I put everything together and tomorrow proof that I've had continuous coverage for the past 3 years will be going out in the mail. (Technically I only need to prove continuous coverage for 1 year but I'm going for overkill just because.) Even though we're dealing with it, based on the timing of everything I'd bet you real money that the paperwork won't be processed in time (since insurance companies aren't exactly known for lightning fast reflexes when it comes to processing paperwork), claims will be denied and we'll have to call everyone everywhere and tell them to resubmit claims and process everything again. I can't wait.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Oh, Come On!
Hubby and I started our day at 7:00 this morning visiting a couple of garage sales in our neighborhood. I got an email on our neighborhood list yesterday about some multi-family sales with baby stuff going on today around the corner from us, and since hubby had to leave before 7:30 for a work-related training thing today that meant hitting them when they started, which isn't a bad thing for garage sales, anyway. The last time there were garage sales hubby ended up bringing home a bunch of great stuff for only a few dollars (things like toys and a diaper pail and a toilet trainer, which we'll need eventually), so we wanted to take the opportunity to try again. We got some more toys, a grocery cart cover for Kidlet to sit in, and a couple books, which the woman said to just take. When we thanked her I pointed to my stomach and said, "He thanks you, too." She said, "Oh, I hadn't noticed!" I'm 3 weeks away from my due date now so her comment elicited the title of this post from me: "Oh, come on!" I know I haven't shown much through the entire pregnancy—at 7 months I was standing in front of someone at work and mentioned something about being pregnant and he said, "What, you're pregnant?"—but come on, surely I look pregnant and not just fat by now! Sigh.
For those of you who aren't aware being 3 weeks from my due date means I am now considered full-term—or will be as of tomorrow, to be exact. That's a HUGE milestone and a huge relief: It means if anything happened now I could be induced without having to worry about having a preterm baby, and it means I could safely go into labor naturally myself at any time. Not that anyone has asked me and I know I have no control over it whatsoever, but it'd be really nice if Kidlet decided to be born naturally between 39 and 40 weeks, that'd be perfect. Again, not that anyone is asking me, but his coming before 38 weeks would be very inconvenient: That'd be next week, which is my last week of work (yay!) and hubby is on closing shift through the July 4th weekend at the park so he could be a little harder to reach if I really need him. (I plan to have the park superintendent's home phone number with me over the holiday weekend in case I can't reach him, just in case anyone is wondering.) It'd also be nice to have a real week off from everything after I'm done with work, so if Kidlet waits until a little closer to my due date that'd be nice. As the doctor we saw yesterday said, at this point everything is going well so we'll just see what happens.
For those of you who aren't aware being 3 weeks from my due date means I am now considered full-term—or will be as of tomorrow, to be exact. That's a HUGE milestone and a huge relief: It means if anything happened now I could be induced without having to worry about having a preterm baby, and it means I could safely go into labor naturally myself at any time. Not that anyone has asked me and I know I have no control over it whatsoever, but it'd be really nice if Kidlet decided to be born naturally between 39 and 40 weeks, that'd be perfect. Again, not that anyone is asking me, but his coming before 38 weeks would be very inconvenient: That'd be next week, which is my last week of work (yay!) and hubby is on closing shift through the July 4th weekend at the park so he could be a little harder to reach if I really need him. (I plan to have the park superintendent's home phone number with me over the holiday weekend in case I can't reach him, just in case anyone is wondering.) It'd also be nice to have a real week off from everything after I'm done with work, so if Kidlet waits until a little closer to my due date that'd be nice. As the doctor we saw yesterday said, at this point everything is going well so we'll just see what happens.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Hose
I know, I've done a horrible job of keeping up with this blog lately. Oh well. To summarize: I'm 8-months pregnant now (35 weeks) and doing fine, heading down the home stretch and looking forward to having kidlet on the outside rather than on the inside. I have three weeks of work left and then I'll be on maternity leave. That about sums it up.
So let's talk about hose. No, not the garden variety, I'm talking about maternity support hose—you haven't lived until you've worn them. One thing I've dealt with for about half the pregnancy is very swollen ankles and feet. The technical term is edema, otherwise known that-which-makes-your-feet-look-like-tubers. I was advised by my doctor a while ago to start wearing support hose to help with it, and she suggested I just wear knee-highs since that's all I really needed. Unfortunately, the knee-highs made my knees look like grapefruits because they were tight right below my knees. At my appointment today the doctor suggested I switch to full maternity support hose since the knee-highs may have been doing more bad than good. Support hose are actually a medical item worthy of a prescription, which is a good thing since maternity support hose in particular cost a small fortune. ($92 per pair, if anyone is interested.) Thankfully, my insurance covers them so we paid much less than that at the medical supply store where we got them.
I'm not a huge fan of pantyhose, anyway, and rarely wear them except occasionally in the winter with a nice dress for church. Support hose are a whole different matter: Regular pantyhose stretch; support hose don't. I'd been having a hard time getting the knee-highs on lately but I usually managed on my own. When we got home with the full maternity hose today there was no way I could get them on by myself, and it still took 20 minutes with hubby's help. Not fun at all. I don't know if I'd be able to get them on by myself without being 8-months pregnant and now I'm thinking it's probably never going to be an option. I'm supposed to wear them all day every day until delivery, so that means on days hubby works opening shift we may both have to get up extra early so he can help me get them on. (I don't have to sleep in them, thankfully.) And did I mention they itch? Yeah, not surprisingly they itch some.
I'm thankful I only have to wear them for a few weeks at this point and not a few months, but that's as close to the bright side of things I'm gonna get. And, in reality, I am thankful that this is really just another pregnancy annoyance I have to deal with and not something ultimately significant that affects the baby. God willing it'll stay that way for the remainder of the pregnancy and we'll have a healthy baby boy in due time.
So let's talk about hose. No, not the garden variety, I'm talking about maternity support hose—you haven't lived until you've worn them. One thing I've dealt with for about half the pregnancy is very swollen ankles and feet. The technical term is edema, otherwise known that-which-makes-your-feet-look-like-tubers. I was advised by my doctor a while ago to start wearing support hose to help with it, and she suggested I just wear knee-highs since that's all I really needed. Unfortunately, the knee-highs made my knees look like grapefruits because they were tight right below my knees. At my appointment today the doctor suggested I switch to full maternity support hose since the knee-highs may have been doing more bad than good. Support hose are actually a medical item worthy of a prescription, which is a good thing since maternity support hose in particular cost a small fortune. ($92 per pair, if anyone is interested.) Thankfully, my insurance covers them so we paid much less than that at the medical supply store where we got them.
I'm not a huge fan of pantyhose, anyway, and rarely wear them except occasionally in the winter with a nice dress for church. Support hose are a whole different matter: Regular pantyhose stretch; support hose don't. I'd been having a hard time getting the knee-highs on lately but I usually managed on my own. When we got home with the full maternity hose today there was no way I could get them on by myself, and it still took 20 minutes with hubby's help. Not fun at all. I don't know if I'd be able to get them on by myself without being 8-months pregnant and now I'm thinking it's probably never going to be an option. I'm supposed to wear them all day every day until delivery, so that means on days hubby works opening shift we may both have to get up extra early so he can help me get them on. (I don't have to sleep in them, thankfully.) And did I mention they itch? Yeah, not surprisingly they itch some.
I'm thankful I only have to wear them for a few weeks at this point and not a few months, but that's as close to the bright side of things I'm gonna get. And, in reality, I am thankful that this is really just another pregnancy annoyance I have to deal with and not something ultimately significant that affects the baby. God willing it'll stay that way for the remainder of the pregnancy and we'll have a healthy baby boy in due time.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
A New Toy
We have a new toy:
We've talked about getting a canoe for a while. Last week we went on a "babymoon" and spent a couple days at a Bed & Breakfast at a state park. The B&B has a private lake and a few boats guests can take out at their leisure, so the afternoon we got there we took a canoe out on the lake. Hubby sat in the stern and paddled while I sat in the bow and enjoyed the ride; it was wonderful. So I said okay, we could get a canoe. Hubby had actually already seen this one on Craigslist and when we got home it was still available, so he called the seller and made arrangements to check it out, and on Friday morning he came home with it. (He also prepared to get it by getting a paddle and a car kit to carry the canoe on his car's roof rack, since a 14-ft. canoe isn't something you can just throw in the back seat.) One thing hubby particular liked about this canoe is its paint job: In case you can't tell from the picture it's camouflaged, and hubby plans to use it for duck hunting. (Apparently the seller's son did the paint job, he used some stencils and it came out really well.) It also came with an attachment for an outboard motor, which hubby may get someday down the road. (UPDATE: Hubby read my post and said it's an attachment for a trolling motor, not an outboard motor. Whatever.)
So we now own a boat, and I agree that we'll undoubtedly have a lot of fun with it, especially once kidlet gets big enough to enjoy it, too. Someday we'll probably even get a second paddle for me to use. (I have paddled in a canoe before, it's just been a while.) I told hubby that its first use is going to be him taking me out to putter around the lake at the park where he works—as soon as we both have the same day off and have time to do it. Right now that's looking like next Saturday afternoon, after I get home from a baby shower for someone at church who is having her first child (also a boy) five weeks ahead of me. So far it looks like the weather next weekend should be nice so it should be a good time for an afternoon canoe ride on the lake. It sounds lovely.
We've talked about getting a canoe for a while. Last week we went on a "babymoon" and spent a couple days at a Bed & Breakfast at a state park. The B&B has a private lake and a few boats guests can take out at their leisure, so the afternoon we got there we took a canoe out on the lake. Hubby sat in the stern and paddled while I sat in the bow and enjoyed the ride; it was wonderful. So I said okay, we could get a canoe. Hubby had actually already seen this one on Craigslist and when we got home it was still available, so he called the seller and made arrangements to check it out, and on Friday morning he came home with it. (He also prepared to get it by getting a paddle and a car kit to carry the canoe on his car's roof rack, since a 14-ft. canoe isn't something you can just throw in the back seat.) One thing hubby particular liked about this canoe is its paint job: In case you can't tell from the picture it's camouflaged, and hubby plans to use it for duck hunting. (Apparently the seller's son did the paint job, he used some stencils and it came out really well.) It also came with an attachment for an outboard motor, which hubby may get someday down the road. (UPDATE: Hubby read my post and said it's an attachment for a trolling motor, not an outboard motor. Whatever.)
So we now own a boat, and I agree that we'll undoubtedly have a lot of fun with it, especially once kidlet gets big enough to enjoy it, too. Someday we'll probably even get a second paddle for me to use. (I have paddled in a canoe before, it's just been a while.) I told hubby that its first use is going to be him taking me out to putter around the lake at the park where he works—as soon as we both have the same day off and have time to do it. Right now that's looking like next Saturday afternoon, after I get home from a baby shower for someone at church who is having her first child (also a boy) five weeks ahead of me. So far it looks like the weather next weekend should be nice so it should be a good time for an afternoon canoe ride on the lake. It sounds lovely.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Lizard Season and Other Stuff
Forget about pregnancy—hubby thinks I should talk about lizards on my blog.
This little guy showed up on our porch recently:
He hasn't been there the past couple days but as the weather gets warmer I imagine he'll be back. Hubby looks for him all the time.
We also have a finch nest in a tree right in front of our porch, the nest is right at eye height so we have a good view of the babies. Hubby says he thinks there are four babies in the nest; when we got home from church this morning we looked at them and I saw at least three fuzzy heads, and two pairs of eyes and little beaks looking at us. They're really cute. (Sorry, no picture yet, maybe later.)
In other news, I'm still getting over the cold I talked about in my last post. It's been two weeks now and I've developed quite a cough, which I think is actually getting worse. I can barely breathe without coughing now and I'm barely sleeping at night. (I have to sleep on three pillows now to help with acid reflux, too, and sleeping on three pillows just isn't comfortable, I've found. I don't sleep deeply and I wake up a lot.) My cough is so bad I called the doctor (ob office) when we got home from church this morning and the midwife on-call called me back. She said it sounds like I might have a respiratory infection and could need an antibiotic. She suggested I call the office for an appointment first thing tomorrow morning. At the very least if my lungs are clear and I don't need an antibiotic they might be able to give me something for my cough, which I assure you isn't pleasant.
Last but not least, if you live in the south you probably experienced it and if you don't you probably heard about the storms that came through here over the past few days. I was at an all-day training session and hubby was at work when the storms came through our area; thankfully, the brunt of the storm seemed to go around our particular area, but not by much. I haven't seen it, but it's strange to read about the devastation that happened when tornadoes touched down only 20 miles or so from us. I was concerned since doggie was home alone during the storms, but hubby left her in the house when he went to work and she usually isn't too bothered by weather so we thought she'd be okay. And she was: She was very happy to see me when I got home but that was probably more because she'd been alone for several hours rather than her being bothered by the storm. Doggie isn't a fan of being by herself for more than a couple of hours, she prefers company.
This little guy showed up on our porch recently:
He hasn't been there the past couple days but as the weather gets warmer I imagine he'll be back. Hubby looks for him all the time.
We also have a finch nest in a tree right in front of our porch, the nest is right at eye height so we have a good view of the babies. Hubby says he thinks there are four babies in the nest; when we got home from church this morning we looked at them and I saw at least three fuzzy heads, and two pairs of eyes and little beaks looking at us. They're really cute. (Sorry, no picture yet, maybe later.)
In other news, I'm still getting over the cold I talked about in my last post. It's been two weeks now and I've developed quite a cough, which I think is actually getting worse. I can barely breathe without coughing now and I'm barely sleeping at night. (I have to sleep on three pillows now to help with acid reflux, too, and sleeping on three pillows just isn't comfortable, I've found. I don't sleep deeply and I wake up a lot.) My cough is so bad I called the doctor (ob office) when we got home from church this morning and the midwife on-call called me back. She said it sounds like I might have a respiratory infection and could need an antibiotic. She suggested I call the office for an appointment first thing tomorrow morning. At the very least if my lungs are clear and I don't need an antibiotic they might be able to give me something for my cough, which I assure you isn't pleasant.
Last but not least, if you live in the south you probably experienced it and if you don't you probably heard about the storms that came through here over the past few days. I was at an all-day training session and hubby was at work when the storms came through our area; thankfully, the brunt of the storm seemed to go around our particular area, but not by much. I haven't seen it, but it's strange to read about the devastation that happened when tornadoes touched down only 20 miles or so from us. I was concerned since doggie was home alone during the storms, but hubby left her in the house when he went to work and she usually isn't too bothered by weather so we thought she'd be okay. And she was: She was very happy to see me when I got home but that was probably more because she'd been alone for several hours rather than her being bothered by the storm. Doggie isn't a fan of being by herself for more than a couple of hours, she prefers company.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Not Again
I am getting a cold. Again.
I've talked before about how often I've gotten sick this year. Not just morning sickness (which I didn't mention at the time) but the flu and then colds. I don't know if pregnancy has made it worse (if that's even possible) but I have the immune system of a slug. When I'm around people I get sick. Last week I was at an awards banquet for an organization I'm part of; maybe that did it. Or on Sunday I was in the nursery at church and there was a baby there with a runny nose. I washed my hands every time I touched him and his runny nose was clear (the woman with me said that probably meant he was okay, maybe he was just stuffed up from all the pollen around here right now) but maybe that's not enough for me. I was fine yesterday but then last night I started having a sore throat. My throat still hurts a lot today and I'm starting to get congested, which is the usual way a cold progresses for me. I'd bet you real money I'll be worse by tonight and tomorrow, and if it's like my other colds it'll take me 5-7 days to really get over it. Sigh.
On the bright (if there is a bright) side of things yesterday was my normal day in the office and I'll be working at home the rest of the week, so at least I don't have to deal with trying to go to work. I do need to feel well enough to work, though: I discovered yesterday a couple deadlines I thought I had in May are in April instead, so I really don't have time right now to actually be "out sick." It is easier to take it easy while working at home, though, and I don't have any major extracurricular activities on my calendar this week (other than cleaning the house, which I REALLY need to do someday), so hopefully that will help.
And if this sore throat does progress into the coughing/sneezing mess I usually get at least I'm prepared: I've got about a dozen boxes of Kleenex in the closet. I usually empty about two boxes per cold so that should hold me for this round.
I've talked before about how often I've gotten sick this year. Not just morning sickness (which I didn't mention at the time) but the flu and then colds. I don't know if pregnancy has made it worse (if that's even possible) but I have the immune system of a slug. When I'm around people I get sick. Last week I was at an awards banquet for an organization I'm part of; maybe that did it. Or on Sunday I was in the nursery at church and there was a baby there with a runny nose. I washed my hands every time I touched him and his runny nose was clear (the woman with me said that probably meant he was okay, maybe he was just stuffed up from all the pollen around here right now) but maybe that's not enough for me. I was fine yesterday but then last night I started having a sore throat. My throat still hurts a lot today and I'm starting to get congested, which is the usual way a cold progresses for me. I'd bet you real money I'll be worse by tonight and tomorrow, and if it's like my other colds it'll take me 5-7 days to really get over it. Sigh.
On the bright (if there is a bright) side of things yesterday was my normal day in the office and I'll be working at home the rest of the week, so at least I don't have to deal with trying to go to work. I do need to feel well enough to work, though: I discovered yesterday a couple deadlines I thought I had in May are in April instead, so I really don't have time right now to actually be "out sick." It is easier to take it easy while working at home, though, and I don't have any major extracurricular activities on my calendar this week (other than cleaning the house, which I REALLY need to do someday), so hopefully that will help.
And if this sore throat does progress into the coughing/sneezing mess I usually get at least I'm prepared: I've got about a dozen boxes of Kleenex in the closet. I usually empty about two boxes per cold so that should hold me for this round.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Pregnancy
Okay, let's talk about pregnancy.
I know there are some women out there who love being pregnant. They'd be pregnant all the time if they could. I knew about two weeks into it that I was not one of those women. Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful to be pregnant and it's definitely better than the alternative (i.e. not being pregnant), but it hasn't exactly been a bed of roses for me (unless you count the thorns—who came up with that phrase, anyway?) and I imagine once will be enough for me.
I'm 24 weeks along now (about 5.5 months) and we found out we're having a boy. So we've started gathering cute boy stuff together. I admit I'm going to miss dressing up a little girl in frilly dresses and all the other cute girl stuff out there, but God is giving us a boy so I'm learning to turn away from the girl stuff. Hubby is still a bit worried when we're around a baby stuff in a store and I oooh and ahhh at all the little girl stuff, but I'll manage.
Here are a few random thoughts I have about this pregnancy thing:
Morning sickness. I'd really like to meet whoever came up with this term—and have a stern talking with them. There is nothing exclusively "morning" about it, it's all-day sickness, period. I spent the first 14 weeks nauseous most of the time, it wasn't fun. (I didn't throw up all the time, thankfully, but I was almost always nauseous.) Thankfully, my OB believes in drugs (medicine, that is) and I've been on anti-nausea medicine since week 7, which helped me at least get through the day. (Kind of important when I was trying to start a new job and finish up school while dealing with this pregnancy thing.) I'm happy to report I'm much better now and get sick much less often, though I still have the medicine and take it occasionally to ward off nausea. Apparently I'm going to be one of those people who deals with being sick off and on throughout the pregnancy—another reason I'm thinking once will be enough.
Maternity clothes. Ugh. I know, they're so much better and more stylish than they used to be, but they're so expensive and it takes so long to find things that fit. I managed to find a few pairs of pants that fit early on, thankfully (or they fit once my mother shortened them for me), but tops are still a struggle. Even at 24 weeks I'm still not showing a whole lot, so while my regular tops are too small I don't fill out maternity tops yet and they look ridiculous. For now I've gotten a few shirts that are a size larger than I normally wear and that seems to be working, particularly as the weather gets warmer so I don't have to wear sweaters and turtlenecks all the time anymore. Some days it's quite a challenge getting dressed and finding clothes that are comfortable and work.
Seatbelts. Not designed for pregnant women. Yes, you wear them anyway. 'Nuff said.
Sleeping. How do pregnant women sleep? I did okay the first trimester (I slept a lot more due to that first-trimester-always-exhausted thing), but now I never sleep very well. I am feeling kidlet moving during the day but not particularly at night (he's not big enough yet to do the jabbing and kicking I've heard about), but I am dealing with heartburn or acid reflux or whatever it is like there's no tomorrow, and it isn't fun. Taking antacids before I go to bed seems to help (yes, approved by the doctor), but I still only sleep for a few hours at a time, it seems, and I wake up a lot during the night and always wake up early in the morning. As long as I go to bed early enough I seem to be mostly okay and can manage my days, but never feeling like I sleep very well is really annoying.
Swelling. I may not be looking very pregnant yet but my ankles are HUGE! Hubby has noticed, too. I know it's normal and all, it's just weird. I can still get my shoes on (my feet are swollen some, too) but I'm definitely looking forward to summer when I can live in flip-flops. Closely related to swelling is also leg cramps, including painful charley horse cramps in your calves. I have to be very careful how I turn and stretch in bed to avoid getting those. Ouch.
Heat. This one is just speculation on my part. From what I've read pregnant women are hot all the time and can't cool down, even in the winter. I'm still waiting on this one so I'm still cold all the time, like always.
Bathroom. No discussion on pregnancy would be complete without a word on how often pregnant women have to go to the bathroom. Even at this early stage, before kidlet is huge and hitting your bladder (and squashing all your other organs, too, from what I've read). You always hear about how you're eating for two, but it doesn't come up as often that you're peeing (eliminating wastes) for two, too!
Those are my thoughts. For those of you who have been pregnant before, what are yours?
I know there are some women out there who love being pregnant. They'd be pregnant all the time if they could. I knew about two weeks into it that I was not one of those women. Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful to be pregnant and it's definitely better than the alternative (i.e. not being pregnant), but it hasn't exactly been a bed of roses for me (unless you count the thorns—who came up with that phrase, anyway?) and I imagine once will be enough for me.
I'm 24 weeks along now (about 5.5 months) and we found out we're having a boy. So we've started gathering cute boy stuff together. I admit I'm going to miss dressing up a little girl in frilly dresses and all the other cute girl stuff out there, but God is giving us a boy so I'm learning to turn away from the girl stuff. Hubby is still a bit worried when we're around a baby stuff in a store and I oooh and ahhh at all the little girl stuff, but I'll manage.
Here are a few random thoughts I have about this pregnancy thing:
Morning sickness. I'd really like to meet whoever came up with this term—and have a stern talking with them. There is nothing exclusively "morning" about it, it's all-day sickness, period. I spent the first 14 weeks nauseous most of the time, it wasn't fun. (I didn't throw up all the time, thankfully, but I was almost always nauseous.) Thankfully, my OB believes in drugs (medicine, that is) and I've been on anti-nausea medicine since week 7, which helped me at least get through the day. (Kind of important when I was trying to start a new job and finish up school while dealing with this pregnancy thing.) I'm happy to report I'm much better now and get sick much less often, though I still have the medicine and take it occasionally to ward off nausea. Apparently I'm going to be one of those people who deals with being sick off and on throughout the pregnancy—another reason I'm thinking once will be enough.
Maternity clothes. Ugh. I know, they're so much better and more stylish than they used to be, but they're so expensive and it takes so long to find things that fit. I managed to find a few pairs of pants that fit early on, thankfully (or they fit once my mother shortened them for me), but tops are still a struggle. Even at 24 weeks I'm still not showing a whole lot, so while my regular tops are too small I don't fill out maternity tops yet and they look ridiculous. For now I've gotten a few shirts that are a size larger than I normally wear and that seems to be working, particularly as the weather gets warmer so I don't have to wear sweaters and turtlenecks all the time anymore. Some days it's quite a challenge getting dressed and finding clothes that are comfortable and work.
Seatbelts. Not designed for pregnant women. Yes, you wear them anyway. 'Nuff said.
Sleeping. How do pregnant women sleep? I did okay the first trimester (I slept a lot more due to that first-trimester-always-exhausted thing), but now I never sleep very well. I am feeling kidlet moving during the day but not particularly at night (he's not big enough yet to do the jabbing and kicking I've heard about), but I am dealing with heartburn or acid reflux or whatever it is like there's no tomorrow, and it isn't fun. Taking antacids before I go to bed seems to help (yes, approved by the doctor), but I still only sleep for a few hours at a time, it seems, and I wake up a lot during the night and always wake up early in the morning. As long as I go to bed early enough I seem to be mostly okay and can manage my days, but never feeling like I sleep very well is really annoying.
Swelling. I may not be looking very pregnant yet but my ankles are HUGE! Hubby has noticed, too. I know it's normal and all, it's just weird. I can still get my shoes on (my feet are swollen some, too) but I'm definitely looking forward to summer when I can live in flip-flops. Closely related to swelling is also leg cramps, including painful charley horse cramps in your calves. I have to be very careful how I turn and stretch in bed to avoid getting those. Ouch.
Heat. This one is just speculation on my part. From what I've read pregnant women are hot all the time and can't cool down, even in the winter. I'm still waiting on this one so I'm still cold all the time, like always.
Bathroom. No discussion on pregnancy would be complete without a word on how often pregnant women have to go to the bathroom. Even at this early stage, before kidlet is huge and hitting your bladder (and squashing all your other organs, too, from what I've read). You always hear about how you're eating for two, but it doesn't come up as often that you're peeing (eliminating wastes) for two, too!
Those are my thoughts. For those of you who have been pregnant before, what are yours?
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Saying Goodbye
I know it's been a while since I posted our big news and I know I should talk about this pregnancy thing (I will soon, I promise!), but right now I need to talk about something else: I said goodbye to a friend today. We knew each other for 20 years and went through a lot together. I remember when we first met: On the drive home I patted the dash and said, "You're going to last me the rest of my life." Oh, did I mention I'm talking about my car? ;-)
I've owned two cars in my driving life: A 1988 Toyota Tercel and a 1991 Toyota 4Runner, both bought new. The 4Runner was an investment I planned to last me a while; guess I called things right there. In 1991 the SUV was a relatively new concept and there were only three comparable ones on the market: The Toyota 4Runner, the Ford Explorer, and the Jeep Cherokee. I first learned about the 4Runner when I worked as an intern at a wildlife refuge in Alaska: my supervisor there had one. (Probably a 1989 or 1990 model.) When my mother came to visit me I told her we were going car shopping; she thought I was crazy but sure enough that's what we did, and she ended up agreeing it wasn't a bad idea. I remember test driving a Jeep Cherokee that was kind of stripped down; the salesman kept saying all kinds of things were available on it, he just didn't have one in stock for me to test drive. (For the record that's a bad way to sell a car. You should always have a customer test drive one with everything on it so they can't imagine buying one without all the bells and whistles they test drove.) Jeeps are also designed for taller people, I found (which I'm not), and I think I had a hard time reaching the pedals. (I don't remember exactly but I'm guessing the Jeep—like my 4Runner—was a stick shift.) When we went to the Toyota dealer and I test drove the 4Runner the salesman there had me test drive a car that was completely decked out, so his pitch was various things were optional and I could get the car without them if I wanted to. Smart man. Japanese-made Toyotas (back then) were also made for smaller people and I had a much easier time reaching the pedals (particularly the clutch) while still being able to drive comfortably. Last but not least my parents had owned Toyotas for most of my life so it just seemed natural that I would own another Toyota. I decided it was the car for me.
So I chose the car while in Alaska, then sent my mother home to CA with the specs I wanted so she and my dad could find it before I came home. You see, I was only going to be home for a week or two before I left for my summer job in NH that year, driving across the country to get there. So if I was going to get a new car I had to get it in that window or I'd have to go ahead and take the Tercel to NH again. (I'd gone to NH the summer before, too, and the Tercel made the drive then.) When my dad first heard my plans he thought I was crazy, too, but like my mom he came around, particularly when they went to a dealer to look at the car and he test drove it to see what it was all about. The way Toyota did things then was you ordered the car with the particular features you wanted, and if the particular dealer didn't have one that fit your specs they found it at another dealer somewhere and traded one of their cars for it. In this case, I was buying the car from a dealer in Ontario, CA, and my car (with the features I wanted) was at a dealer in Palm Springs. I got the car but it was a close call: The car the Ontario dealership was trading for my car was worth more than mine, I think it was, so money also had to be involved between the dealers, and I remember something about Toyota headquarters in Sacramento being involved. All of this happened over Memorial Day weekend so the holiday threw a loop into things, too. I remember a lot of phone calls back and forth with the salesman we were working with (he knew my situation, of course, that if I couldn't get the car in time the deal would be off), and the second he got the go-ahead he called us that he was on his way to Palm Springs to pick up my car. The next day I took off for NH. I remember being told that you shouldn't drive new cars over a certain speed for the first 500 miles or so to break them in. My 4Runner hit 500 miles on the first day.
Since then the 4Runner and I have been all over the United States and into Canada (I lived in Canada for two summers in my younger days), but as I got older and settled down it admittedly got to be a little less convenient to drive sometimes. Driving a stick shift car in city traffic is a pain, and you don't use 4WD much in those circumstances. I almost got a new car in 2004: I'd test drove a Nissan Pathfinder and Honda Pilot and was saving the car I thought I probably wanted—a new 4Runner—for last. But I never test drove the 4Runner: In the midst of looking at new cars I met a certain guy, and I ended up changing my car plans and getting a husband that year instead.
Once I got married I stopped driving the 4Runner as much since my husband's car gets better mileage and he usually drives when we go places. And I was getting a little tired of driving a stick and thought I wouldn't mind finally having an automatic transmission car. Then I got pregnant, and we started talking about getting a new car for me at some point since the 4Runner doesn't have airbags. (I don't know about 4Runners today but a 1991 4Runner isn't a car, it's a truck, and back then they weren't putting airbags on trucks.) Things worked out that we were able to get a new car a little sooner than we'd planned, and a few weeks ago I started driving my "new" 2001 Mazda Tribute. Most people would probably call that an old car, too (which is kind of nice for registration and insurance purposes) but at 10 years younger than the 4Runner it's definitely "new" to me! (Newer than hubby's car, too, which is a 1998. We finally own a car made in this century!)
So all of this brings me to today, and saying goodbye to the 4Runner. When hubby took it for its annual inspection last September the mechanic who inspected it happened to say out-of-the-blue that if we ever thought about selling it he might be interested in buying it. I wasn't pregnant and we had no plans to sell it at the time, but now that we did he was the first person hubby called. Sure enough the guy wanted it, and today we signed the paperwork and gave him the car (in exchange for a fair amount of money). I know I should have taken a picture of it to post here but it all happened so fast I didn't think about it until later. Suffice it to say it's a gray 1991 Toyota 4Runner and it's gone on to its new owner now, only the second owner of its life. I have a feeling he'll treat it well and have fun with it.
I know the 4Runner is just a car and I'm definitely fine with getting rid of it, but it is kind of nice to sit back and think about it for a moment; 20 years is a long time with a car, especially one you bought new. When I lived in Oregon it went back and forth to California with me and my cat. When I got my dog the car was perfect for her: A big car for a big dog. And of course having a big car was always nice since I could carry lots of stuff (something I often did), which is particularly helpful when you're moving back and forth across the country. I should mention that my parents, who both initially thought I was crazy for wanting a SUV, ended up with SUVs themselves 10 years later. I was a trendsetter.
I'm sorry our kidlet won't get to know the 4Runner but I admit the Mazda (which is an automatic) is easier to drive now that I'm pregnant, and it'll be easier to get him in and out of his car seat since it's lower to the ground than the 4Runner is. And the Mazda is still big enough for the dog, though we'll have to see how she does with a car seat taking up half of the back seat.
Now it's onto a new era (hubby's word, not mine): An automatic transmission car and a soon-to-be kid to put in it. At least the Mazda is still an SUV so I didn't have to give up that.
Bye, 4Runner!
I've owned two cars in my driving life: A 1988 Toyota Tercel and a 1991 Toyota 4Runner, both bought new. The 4Runner was an investment I planned to last me a while; guess I called things right there. In 1991 the SUV was a relatively new concept and there were only three comparable ones on the market: The Toyota 4Runner, the Ford Explorer, and the Jeep Cherokee. I first learned about the 4Runner when I worked as an intern at a wildlife refuge in Alaska: my supervisor there had one. (Probably a 1989 or 1990 model.) When my mother came to visit me I told her we were going car shopping; she thought I was crazy but sure enough that's what we did, and she ended up agreeing it wasn't a bad idea. I remember test driving a Jeep Cherokee that was kind of stripped down; the salesman kept saying all kinds of things were available on it, he just didn't have one in stock for me to test drive. (For the record that's a bad way to sell a car. You should always have a customer test drive one with everything on it so they can't imagine buying one without all the bells and whistles they test drove.) Jeeps are also designed for taller people, I found (which I'm not), and I think I had a hard time reaching the pedals. (I don't remember exactly but I'm guessing the Jeep—like my 4Runner—was a stick shift.) When we went to the Toyota dealer and I test drove the 4Runner the salesman there had me test drive a car that was completely decked out, so his pitch was various things were optional and I could get the car without them if I wanted to. Smart man. Japanese-made Toyotas (back then) were also made for smaller people and I had a much easier time reaching the pedals (particularly the clutch) while still being able to drive comfortably. Last but not least my parents had owned Toyotas for most of my life so it just seemed natural that I would own another Toyota. I decided it was the car for me.
So I chose the car while in Alaska, then sent my mother home to CA with the specs I wanted so she and my dad could find it before I came home. You see, I was only going to be home for a week or two before I left for my summer job in NH that year, driving across the country to get there. So if I was going to get a new car I had to get it in that window or I'd have to go ahead and take the Tercel to NH again. (I'd gone to NH the summer before, too, and the Tercel made the drive then.) When my dad first heard my plans he thought I was crazy, too, but like my mom he came around, particularly when they went to a dealer to look at the car and he test drove it to see what it was all about. The way Toyota did things then was you ordered the car with the particular features you wanted, and if the particular dealer didn't have one that fit your specs they found it at another dealer somewhere and traded one of their cars for it. In this case, I was buying the car from a dealer in Ontario, CA, and my car (with the features I wanted) was at a dealer in Palm Springs. I got the car but it was a close call: The car the Ontario dealership was trading for my car was worth more than mine, I think it was, so money also had to be involved between the dealers, and I remember something about Toyota headquarters in Sacramento being involved. All of this happened over Memorial Day weekend so the holiday threw a loop into things, too. I remember a lot of phone calls back and forth with the salesman we were working with (he knew my situation, of course, that if I couldn't get the car in time the deal would be off), and the second he got the go-ahead he called us that he was on his way to Palm Springs to pick up my car. The next day I took off for NH. I remember being told that you shouldn't drive new cars over a certain speed for the first 500 miles or so to break them in. My 4Runner hit 500 miles on the first day.
Since then the 4Runner and I have been all over the United States and into Canada (I lived in Canada for two summers in my younger days), but as I got older and settled down it admittedly got to be a little less convenient to drive sometimes. Driving a stick shift car in city traffic is a pain, and you don't use 4WD much in those circumstances. I almost got a new car in 2004: I'd test drove a Nissan Pathfinder and Honda Pilot and was saving the car I thought I probably wanted—a new 4Runner—for last. But I never test drove the 4Runner: In the midst of looking at new cars I met a certain guy, and I ended up changing my car plans and getting a husband that year instead.
Once I got married I stopped driving the 4Runner as much since my husband's car gets better mileage and he usually drives when we go places. And I was getting a little tired of driving a stick and thought I wouldn't mind finally having an automatic transmission car. Then I got pregnant, and we started talking about getting a new car for me at some point since the 4Runner doesn't have airbags. (I don't know about 4Runners today but a 1991 4Runner isn't a car, it's a truck, and back then they weren't putting airbags on trucks.) Things worked out that we were able to get a new car a little sooner than we'd planned, and a few weeks ago I started driving my "new" 2001 Mazda Tribute. Most people would probably call that an old car, too (which is kind of nice for registration and insurance purposes) but at 10 years younger than the 4Runner it's definitely "new" to me! (Newer than hubby's car, too, which is a 1998. We finally own a car made in this century!)
So all of this brings me to today, and saying goodbye to the 4Runner. When hubby took it for its annual inspection last September the mechanic who inspected it happened to say out-of-the-blue that if we ever thought about selling it he might be interested in buying it. I wasn't pregnant and we had no plans to sell it at the time, but now that we did he was the first person hubby called. Sure enough the guy wanted it, and today we signed the paperwork and gave him the car (in exchange for a fair amount of money). I know I should have taken a picture of it to post here but it all happened so fast I didn't think about it until later. Suffice it to say it's a gray 1991 Toyota 4Runner and it's gone on to its new owner now, only the second owner of its life. I have a feeling he'll treat it well and have fun with it.
I know the 4Runner is just a car and I'm definitely fine with getting rid of it, but it is kind of nice to sit back and think about it for a moment; 20 years is a long time with a car, especially one you bought new. When I lived in Oregon it went back and forth to California with me and my cat. When I got my dog the car was perfect for her: A big car for a big dog. And of course having a big car was always nice since I could carry lots of stuff (something I often did), which is particularly helpful when you're moving back and forth across the country. I should mention that my parents, who both initially thought I was crazy for wanting a SUV, ended up with SUVs themselves 10 years later. I was a trendsetter.
I'm sorry our kidlet won't get to know the 4Runner but I admit the Mazda (which is an automatic) is easier to drive now that I'm pregnant, and it'll be easier to get him in and out of his car seat since it's lower to the ground than the 4Runner is. And the Mazda is still big enough for the dog, though we'll have to see how she does with a car seat taking up half of the back seat.
Now it's onto a new era (hubby's word, not mine): An automatic transmission car and a soon-to-be kid to put in it. At least the Mazda is still an SUV so I didn't have to give up that.
Bye, 4Runner!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
I'm Sick of It
Some people start out the new year running, full of big plans to lose weight, exercise, organize their house, or accomplish something else productive. I gave up making New Year's resolutions a long time ago, but I seem to have started off this year on a different foot: With no immune system. I'm sick of being sick.
It started off with hubby being sick over Christmas. And by "sick" I mean he had a minor cold: On Christmas Day he had a very slight fever, so I made him take some Tylenol and he took a nap on the couch that afternoon. By the next day he said he felt fine (even though he was still coughing some for several days after that).
I've never met a germ that didn't like me, and sure enough three days later I started having cold symptoms and not feeling well. To make a long story short I was bedridden for four days and didn't feel close to normal for over a week. I never went to the doctor but I really wonder if I had the flu rather than a cold (even though I got the flu vaccine back in November). So much for being productive over the holidays. I'm still behind on some end-of-year paperwork stuff I usually do.
So that was last month. Fast forward to now: Two days ago I started having a sore throat, generally known as the beginning of a cold. By yesterday I was fighting a cold again, although all "fighting" seems to mean to me is a losing battle before it even starts. I'm no martyr and have no desire to share my germs with other people, but yesterday I had to be in the office for a meeting if I could at all manage it so I just tried to not breathe on people as much as I could. I'm able to work from home the rest of the week, thankfully, and HOPEFULLY I'll be better by Monday when I need to go into the office again. This week is Missions Conference at our church so I'll be missing that (hubby went to a dinner by himself last night and will probably go without me again tonight). At least I'm not bedridden (yet), so maybe this time I'll just have a normal (whatever that is) cold, get over it more quickly, and not be totally incapacitated in the process.
It started off with hubby being sick over Christmas. And by "sick" I mean he had a minor cold: On Christmas Day he had a very slight fever, so I made him take some Tylenol and he took a nap on the couch that afternoon. By the next day he said he felt fine (even though he was still coughing some for several days after that).
I've never met a germ that didn't like me, and sure enough three days later I started having cold symptoms and not feeling well. To make a long story short I was bedridden for four days and didn't feel close to normal for over a week. I never went to the doctor but I really wonder if I had the flu rather than a cold (even though I got the flu vaccine back in November). So much for being productive over the holidays. I'm still behind on some end-of-year paperwork stuff I usually do.
So that was last month. Fast forward to now: Two days ago I started having a sore throat, generally known as the beginning of a cold. By yesterday I was fighting a cold again, although all "fighting" seems to mean to me is a losing battle before it even starts. I'm no martyr and have no desire to share my germs with other people, but yesterday I had to be in the office for a meeting if I could at all manage it so I just tried to not breathe on people as much as I could. I'm able to work from home the rest of the week, thankfully, and HOPEFULLY I'll be better by Monday when I need to go into the office again. This week is Missions Conference at our church so I'll be missing that (hubby went to a dinner by himself last night and will probably go without me again tonight). At least I'm not bedridden (yet), so maybe this time I'll just have a normal (whatever that is) cold, get over it more quickly, and not be totally incapacitated in the process.
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