Tuesday, September 29, 2009

I look like death, but my sink sparkles!

Had to share...

Last night I was wide awake between about 1:45 and 4:15am. I went into the living room to knit, but I felt antsy. So what did I do? I scrubbed my sink and back splash, found some jars in a closet to organize my dish washing utensils, and cleaned the dish rack. I was about to start scrubbing more kitchen surfaces when I saw what time it was and forced myself to get in bed and try to sleep. If this happens much more at least the apartment will be clean.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Tears on my pillow

So, I think I am in the weepy part of pregnancy.... I have cried three times in as many days, and I have felt like crying much, much more than that. Part of the problem is that since we are past the half way mark, I have started trying to get things ready for the baby, and then I get overwhelmed and feel like I am in this all by myself and wonder why we are trying to have a baby in a tiny apartment, etc. etc. etc. and I start crying (or wanting to cry). Jonathan's coping strategy is to joke about things, which makes me cry (or want to cry) even more because I think he is not taking things seriously. He is, of course, he just makes jokes to try to lighten the mood. I find that I am worrying considerably more as well -worrying about boundaries with parents/in-laws, worrying about going back to work and not getting to stay home with my little one, worrying about the possibility of Jonathan being in San Francisco when I go into labor....

I am also in the "feeling like a cow" part of pregnancy! This is due to the fact that I physically cannot run anymore. I knew I would reach that point, but it came much sooner than I would have liked. I tried to run for five minutes on a treadmill the other day, and couldn't even manage that! So I am walking now, and I may try a Zumba class at work tomorrow, and I will make prenatal yoga when I am not busy Saturday mornings.

Maybe that is why I have been so weepy - I don't have my usual endorphin rush of a run every few days. I think I'll spend a little extra time walking this evening, pray a bit more for some peace, and try to focus on the end goal of bringing a little life into the world!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

First Prenatal Yoga Class

This morning I went to Midtown Yoga for their prenatal yoga class. I have wanted to go for a while, but every Saturday morning I have either been working or out of town, so this was my first chance. There were just three students - one 25 weeks, one 36 weeks and me. We got a lot of individual attention, and we chatted after class about doulas and stuff like that. The class was kind of like normal yoga only much more focused on relaxation than strength. We did a lot of poses to work on opening up our kegel floor to prepare for childbirth as well as some techniques to relax back muscles once baby is here. The instructor kept talking about labor and birth as a very primal thing that our bodies know how to do, we just have to let our bodies do the work. It was at the same time freeing and terrifying : ) I have never really thought about having a doula, but I might look into it a little more. I'm not sure Jonathan will be up for it - he is more on the side of 'just do what the doctor tells you' as opposed to having our own birth plan. Anyone out there have any experience with a doula?? I have told many of you that I am more afraid of the epidural and the numbing sensation than I am labor pain. I know that I won't really know what I can handle until I am in the moment, but hopefully this yoga class will help me prepare for a drug-free labor and birth.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Shop for a Cause



Every year, Macy's has a special shopping pass that helps raise money for local non-profits. I have a stack of shopping passes for $5 each (all proceeds go to Youth Villages) that can be used on October 17th at any Macy's around the country. For your $5 donation, you receive 20% off purchases throughout the store all day, 25% off one purchase, and an entrance into a drawing for a $500 Macy's gift card.
Let me know if you would like to purchase a shopping pass, and I can get it to you : )

Monday, September 14, 2009

Baby update

I had another ob appointment today, and here are some highlights:

  • Baby is 15 oz, which is still above average (the 20 week avg is 10.5 oz, and the 21 week avg is 12 oz. If you care!). Not quite as bad as being 9 oz when the average is 5 oz...but still a big baby.
  • Baby showed us his/her cute little spine, but was not positioned correctly to check the heart. Apparently he/she is like me and enjoys sleeping on the stomach! Needless to say, the tech thinks my baby has a personal vendetta against her, because this is the second ultrasound in which the baby has not been too cooperative.
  • Despite all of your kind words that I look good, the number on the scale today nearly made me faint!! I was a bit of a big girl before getting pregnant, but I never thought I would see that number on a scale : ( I know it's normal, but it still freaks me out!

I also signed up for prepared childbirth classes, which will start in November. I am glad to have that checked off of my to-do list, but it is also a very real reminder that I am actually having a baby!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Contemplating September 11th

On my way to work this morning, the radio host on 94.7 read Psalm 91 as a prayer for protection and a remembrance of September 11, 2001. That got me thinking about this day eight years ago.

I was in the quad in Bellingrath Hall, wearing a pink flowered skirt and a pink button down shirt. I put on the Today Show as I was drying my hair, and saw the World Trade Center towers up in smoke. I immediately called my dad at work, and we talked for a few minutes about what was going on. I tried to call my sister, who at the time was working in a building a few blocks away from the State Department in D.C. All cell phone lines in the D.C. area were swamped, so I couldn't get through. I later learned that she had walked over 2 hours to get home from work because all of the public transportation systems were shut down. I thought about my brother, a Marine in San Diego. Little did I know that a year and a half later, I would be at his bedside in the burn unit of a hospital in San Antonio as he recovered from an injury sustained in Baghdad.

It is sometimes hard to process how much our lives have changed due to the terrorist attacks from eight years ago. In other ways, I sometimes feel like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan do not really affect me at all. I am praying today for everyone in the world who does feel the impact of this day in a very personal way, as I was reminded this morning from Psalm 91:

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-
10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Running with kids...at work!

As I came into the building today, a coworker asked me how I am enjoying my new position (I have been the Volunteer Coordinator now for about 2 months). "It's great!" I responded, "Yesterday I got paid to run with kids!"

We have a running club at two of our residential campuses, and since it is a volunteer-run program, I have been out there the past two weeks meeting with the volunteers and running with the kids. It is such a joy to see these children running! The first week, I ran with a boy who kept saying, "Miss Megan, this is the farthest I've ever run in my whole life!" I didn't get to run with him yesterday, but he and a volunteer passed by me on the track and he had a HUGE smile on his face! Here are some more highlights from yesterday's run:

* A girl - who swore she would not run at all - smiled as we helped her finish her mile in a sprint!
* A boy yelling back to me, "Have a good day, Miss Megan" as he left the track with his group.
* Several kids checking with Spunky to find out whether their finishing times this week were better than last week.

We have running club every Monday from 4-5:30, Tuesday from 4-5:30 and Saturday 10-11:30 if any of you would like to join in the fun!