I Had The Baby (Just Kidding, April Fool's)

This was originally written on Tuesday, April 01, 2008:

It's April! Joe and I thought about calling people today and telling them we'd had L.J. (since it's April Fools Day), lol. Instead, I played a trick on him! I never have before, but his mom called me this morning and recommended I tie a rubberband around the sprayer on the kitchen sink so that it would shoot him with water when he turned on the faucet, he-he. It was a success :-)

At first I didn't think it was going to work--the rubberband couldn't get tight enough to do the job without breaking. But then I tried a different one and it worked! Joe wasn't even looking when he went over to the kitchen sink and turned it on, so it sprayed ALL over his shirt! He turned around and glared at me and said, "It's April Fools Day, isn't it."

I told him to blame his mom, haha!

Apparently they used to do stuff like that all of the time while he was growing up. One year his dad changed the clocks in the house so that his mom arrived to work one hour early. Another year his mom switched the salt and sugar so that his dad put salt on his cereal. Joe said, "All right, it's on--you just wait until next year." A-oh. My family never did any pranks while I was growing up so I may regret this!

For real, though, I did experience "some type" of contractions on Sunday. They were possibly Braxton Hicks, but I really don't know since I haven't experienced them in the way that everyone else describes. Whatever they were, it wasn't like what I'd expected with either real contractions or Braxton Hicks, so I've been referring to them as "contraction-like-thingies." Basically, despite just vegging out all day, my stomach kept tightening up. (In the past, I've only experienced that sensation when walking around for long periods--like at Nebraska Furniture Mart. The last time we were there I joked to Joe that if I want to go into labor I should just go there!) But this time it was all day long. Braxton Hicks are supposedly without a pattern and off and on. Real contractions are constant and painful. These were constant (lasted for hours without any releasing) and uncomfortable--but not painful or serious. When I woke up on Monday they were gone. I guess it could be my body's own unique way of having Braxton Hicks.

When I was at Jenn's last Thursday I mentioned that maybe I still had a ways to go because I'd never experienced Braxton Hicks (more than 50% of women start getting them at the beginning of the second trimester!) But she said with all three of her kids she didn't have them until the week before she went into labor. Hmmm. . .

Not much has happened since my blog on Sunday night. Yesterday (Monday) we had rain all day which was kinda nice. I don't think we'd heard thunder and seen lightening since we moved into this house last August 29th.

Melissa moves to Arizona this Friday and so she and I are getting together for the last time tomorrow (Wednesday). :-( She did say that she will be back, though, whenever their house sells because they are leaving their furniture here and will have to come back to get it. So she'll get to meet L.J. when he's still a newborn. I'll also get to see her in September, as our mutual friend (both Joe and Jake's best man) is getting married on the 6th.

I will conclude with some random things. . .

I tried one afternoon last week to take the dogs for a walk, but could only make it around the block. Otherwise, I haven't been for a walk since late September! Soon enough, though, I'll be able to. . .with L.J.!

Last Sat. at scrapbooking, Sarah was going through morning sickness and I could identify SO easily--and yet at the same time it seemed like a million years ago since I was at the beginning of pregnancy! I can't believe how long ago the fall of '07 seems. I feel like a completely different person now. It's probably true that I've never changed so much in one year. I really hope that my next (and last) pregnancy will be better in the sickness department. A lot of people say that pregnancy goes fast, but it has definitely not gone that way for me! I'm sure I'll feel the same way when I'm ninety. My mom was talking to my grandma (her mom) on the phone recently and she said that she remembers very clearly how much she hated being pregnant more than fifty years ago with all three of her kids! So maybe it's a family thing!

I've been writing twice a month in a journal I bought for L.J. in early September. I plan to write as often as possible once he's born until it ends--because it's a thick book, so I should be able to get some good childhood years in there, which hopefully he will enjoy reading about when he's an adult.

We still have Halloween candy leftover because until 2008 I really could care less about sweets. I am usually a chocolateaholic but I had no problem buying our Halloween candy in advance last year and not eating it--that was definitely a "pregnancy thing."

I think I'd be a walking-disaster if I hadn't found out L.J.'s gender. As I've said before, this pregnancy has been long enough already! It's enough of a surprise just to know when he's coming and what he'll look like! Knowing he's a boy has helped me focus on something positive during this experience. Best of all, it's allowed me to bond with him much better than if I hadn't known who he was.

Until now I've been worried about my weight not coming off after I have the baby, but now I have a feeling I'm going to feel thinner than I ever have in my life as soon as this baby's born--even though I will still be at my heaviest--since I'll be losing the most amount right away. I can't imagine how that will feel, it's been so long since I was just carrying ME around!

Cosmo is back to his 9.5 lbs, but Bella has remained at her higher 11.5!

I read about Christina Aguilera's birth story the last time I was getting my oil changed--and I was horrified to read that she scheduled a vanity c-section. I'd read about these in my HypnoBirthing book but couldn't believe people actually do them! Apparently they are common in Hollywood with celebrities--and, sure enough, Christina was totally bla-zay about it, saying something like, "I didn't want to experience any pain or vaginal tearing so I scheduled a c-section a couple of weeks before my due date." What?! As you might remember from my HypnoBirthing blog, c-sections are serious and should only be done for a valid reason, like when there is a complication--not for a vanity issue!!!

At one point I mentioned here that I was worried I might have to go on bedrest at the end of my pregnancy, but I think it's safe to say that's not going to happen! :-)

My belly button still hasn't popped out--it's remained flat rather than an innie like it was before the last day of January. From what I've read, some women's pop out and others remain flat the entire time. Here's what experts say:

The belly button is the scar of the connection of the umbilical cord. The deepest part of the belly button is tethered to the abdominal wall fascia. The shape of the belly button is from the overlying fat and skin with the deep attachment holding the typical "innie" shape. With the distension of the belly of pregnancy, the abdominal wall pushes out. This can change the shape of the belly button, for some more shallow and for others, "pop out." For most pregnant belly buttons, this is a temporary situation that reverses after delivery.

As for the "don'ts," I've now had Cherry Coke and cold lunchmeat each a total of 9 times in pregnancy, asiago cheese once by accident, no ceasar salad dressing, tea, or herbs, and no seafood except for cod and shrimp which added together equal five times. A few times during the third trimester I've woken up in the night on my back (it seems to be harder to sleep on my side at the end of pregnancy because gravity wants to keep rolling me over) but 99% of the time I'm on my side. I haven't done any heavy exercise, tanning, or use of electric blankets, saunas, or hot tubs. I haven't had any contact with litter boxes (or cats at all for that matter) and have only come into contact with my dogs' fecal matter three times while pregnant. There's been no lawn work or paint, and I've only used house cleaners six times during these eight months--with the back door open and a fan going. No x-rays and no acne products. I've remained with my natural hair color since last June, and have painted my nails/used remover eight times while pregnant. So I haven't been perfect, but I think I've done pretty well compared to most people. For anyone else interested in doing the best you can with stuff like this, I own a book called The Complete Organic Pregnancy.

I once mentioned how I'd been the smallest in our childbirth class. Now I look exactly like what they had all looked like--I'm definitely not small anymore! (My waist is 41 inches now!) Knock on wood, still no stretch marks or varicose veins. I still credit the cocoa butter.

My stomach still gets numb sometimes, and now it also tightens up when I sit too long. Thankfully, I haven't had back pain in a month and never any swelling. No sciatica (ever) or insomnia (for over a month)--although my hands/arms have been falling asleep a lot lately during the night (probably because I have no choice but to lay on them, but also because poor circulation is common during the third trimester). I have also begun experiencing the "loose and aching joints," or at least this week my wrists and ankles have been hurting during the night since I go a long time without using them. (Update: I know see this was the start to my de Quervain's experience, which I blogged about here: Part One. Part Two.) Fortunately, I haven't had any menstrual-like cramps since my pre-term labor scare over a month ago!

My craving this week is V8. Very strange, but finally something healthy, haha! Fortunately, none of my cravings throughout this pregnancy were in the middle of the night or any time inconvenient for Joe :-)

This weekend is the car seat check at our local mall, so Joe and I will go to that on Saturday.

I've since found out that there is a wellness center here in Omaha that offers women help with HypnoBirthing! So maybe for my next birth I will use them to train me in the months before labor and to join me during labor. Because I've only been praciticing the HypnoBirthing on my own since late January so I know I'm not doing it exactly correct. (Hopefully it'll still work for me, otherwise I'll blame it on that, haha.) Their website is here.

I wanted to recommend a good book that my mom bought for me: Prayers For Expectant Mothers by Angela Thomas Guffey. Many times its hard for me to put my prayers into words--this book couldn't be any better of assistance. It addresses every new feeling and question about pregnancy with Scripture.

I mentioned to you about the mix-up with the breastfeeding and new parent classes. . .well, guess what? I was refunded for the entire childbirth series! That's right, we ended up getting those six weeks of classes for free! (I had just expected to be refunded for the two extra ones.) I like Alegent Health!

Recently I blogged that I was close to being anemic. Foods high in iron include Beef, Pork, Lamb, Green Leafy Vegetables (Spinach, Asparagus, Broccoli, Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Kale, Turnip Greens, Parsley, Cabbage), Certain Fortied Foods (Cereals, Oatmeal, Pasta, Rice), Grits, Liver, Tofu, Barley, Most kind of Dried Beans (Lima Beans, Kidney Beans, Navy Beans, Soy Beans, Chick Beans, Pinto Beans, Black Eye Beans), Nuts (Almonds, Cashews, Walnuts, Sunflower Seeds, Sesame, Tahini), Dried Fruits (Apricots, Rasins, Dates - Prunes, Figs), Turkey, and Chicken.

Finally, I've been a bad girl. I never moved up my April 4th doctor's appointment, so this Friday's will be my first in a month (when I should have been going every two weeks). But it's the only appt. I've missed during this pregnancy and nothing has really changed, so hopefully my doctor won't be too mad at me--and nothing will be wrong!

I'll let you know how it goes!