Posted in September 2010 …

Sep 27 2010
4 Comments
Childbirth, Deep Thoughts, For better or for worse, Pregnancy

Random pre-game thoughts

No, not football.  Birth (I’m sure many of you already guessed this.)

I WANT MY BODY BACK!  In the worst way, seriously.  People keep telling me that I should cherish this time because at least I’m not getting up in the middle of the night.  These people obviously either A) have never been pregnant or B) have completely forgotten what the end of the third trimester is like.  I’m already getting up at least 4 times a night to “pee” — I’m using quotes because sometimes it feels like I’m going to pee 5 cups full and all I get is a tiny weeny trickle.  Not to mention the hip pain which causes me to switch positions, oh I dunno, maybe 25 times a night (poor DH having to deal with that).  Anyway, wah.  Looking forward to fitting into real clothes and being able to move about without pain or feeling breathless.

It has really come to my attention recently that DH and I have this parenting one kid thing down.  We’re pretty good at just taking responsibility for various tasks and chores and the load on most nights is pretty evenly split (depending on work schedules, etc.).  And here we are, brilliantly adding another human being to the equation.  Reminds me of that one New Order line, “Work your way to the top of the world, then break your life in two.”  That’s what we’re doing essentially.  I only pray that since we’ve assimilated one kid into our lives and finally have it down that the next round will be shorter.

The big day is Friday.  I decided to get induced this time for a number of reasons.  As many of you can probably tell from recent posts, I don’t make the best pregnancy candidate.  I HATE being pregnant.  But giving Monkey the sibling I never had was important for me, thus the second go at this.  Also about 3 weeks ago, the sonogram tech said that baby girl was 6 pounds.  And if she truly gained a pound per week since then, well then she’s 9 pounds now and would have been 10 by her original due date.  Didn’t quite find the idea of squeezing out a 10 pound baby that appealing and I really want to avoid a cesarean.  Monkey was born vaginally and it went well.  I’m hoping for the same this time.

I’m nervous about this decision because I’ve read too much crap online basically.  The doctor has assured me that getting induced doesn’t mean automatic cesarean or two days worth of labor.  And I’ve done my own poll of friends/co-workers and the majority of them who were induced didn’t go much beyond 8 hours (the same as what the doctor said).  It’s hard not to worry though.  Am I pushing things too much?  What if something goes wrong?  Will I then regret getting induced?  I need to put these thoughts out of my head and just trust that my doctor is correct and that everything will be fine.

Sorry for the randomness of this post.  Blame it on the hormones. :)

Sep 15 2010
3 Comments
Parenthood

Funny quote from DH

DH said something funny about a week which for whatever reason I was reminded if this morning. I laughed out loud again so I thought I’d share.

(Pointing to Monkey): “I can’t believe THAT came out of your vagina.”

Sep 06 2010
2 Comments
Parenthood

Ever so evident

It has recently been pressing on my brain that I NEED to be in control of my body and how it functions.  I suppose its the fact that I’m working at what feels like 40% capacity of my normal self due to the fact that I’m in my third trimester.  I can’t get around quickly, I tire easily, my mood shifts drastically and I feel unable to cope with many of my day-to-day responsibilities.  Which is why it has become ever so evident that once kid #2 is out, I must — no, ifs, ands or buts — take care of myself.  Sounds selfish but really in the end (another lesson which has become ever so evident) no is going to take care of you, except YOU.

YOU need a nap.  YOU take it.  MAKE it happen.  Don’t expect anyone else to care about your needs.

YOU need to eat.  EAT.  Don’t wait for appropriate “dinner” time or for anyone else to get hungry enough to participate with you.

And lastly, YOU need to exercise.  Don’t expect anyone to make time in their schedule for you to fit in it.  YOU do it when it’s convenient for YOU, NOT THEM.

Meeting these needs is difficult when you are repsonsible for one, soon to be two, little ones.  But I MUST make it work.  It’s critical not only to my own well-being but to my children.  I must be a well-oiled, fine-tuned machine — for them.  They deserve a mother who is healthy, balanced and not on the brink of a meltdown due to lack of care for herself.

The problem I see right now is the weight — I’m heavier now than I was with Monkey at his birth.  Partly due to starting out heavier (even with the 6 pounds I lost in the first trimester, I started out heavier), partly because I’ve been emotionally eating.  Home, work and personal life hasn’t been what I want it to be lately and while I started out with good intentions on the self-discovery path, it’s all degraded into binging on chocolate with the justification: “This is the last time I can eat like a pig and get away with it.” 

Now I have roughly 40 pounds I need to lose in order to be a healthy weight (according to BMI charts), only 25 of that is “baby weight”.  Sure lots of that will be gone when the baby comes out and breastfeeding will help.  But I can’t depend on those solely.  I must exercise and eat right.  I need to be like a lioness, fit and lean, ready for the kill and to provide for my cubs.

There are lots of reasons this is coming out now but one thought I had yesterday while driving to the water park made it really hit home for me.  Monkey and I were in the car and this heavy-set woman (not pregnant but overweight) was on the side of the road waiting to cross.  As we passed by I looked in my rear view mirror and saw her do the same thing I do now to “get going” — a little “heave-ho” move to get your body started because it needs more momentum than it used to need.  And it struck me, losing weight isn’t easy.  It’s a downward spiral once you start gaining weight and it’s one that’s hard to stop.

Now this isn’t to say I’m striving for a model’s body.  I just need to be FIT, HEALTHY, and AGILE so I can do what I need to do efficiently.  It’s very daunting though.  It’s a big task which truly has no ending.  It’s a lifetime commitment.  Maybe I should buy myself a wedding card … Congratulations, La Folle and her body on their new life together!

Sep 03 2010
1 Comment
For better or for worse, Letters to Monkey

11 rules your kids did not and will not learn in school

A co-worker of mine added a link to this guy’s note on her Facebook page (you may have already seen if  you’re on FB).  Not sure if Bill Gates really said these things or not but I thought I’d post them here for future reference for myself and my kids.

Rule 1: Life is not fair – get used to it!

Rule 2: The world doesn’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent’s generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

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