Baby Dreams

So I've been having more and more dreams about babies lately. Two nights ago I dreamt that I was roller skating through the hospital when a nurse ran after me to let me know that I'd had my baby (must have been while roller skating cuz that's how easy it's going to be) and handed me this adorable little girl baby with a massive head, big brown eyes and swirl of hair sticking up from the top of her head like a cartoon baby. I noticed straight away that Lola Louise (that's what I named her) had exactly nine fingers and nine toes (five on the left side and four on the right) and I was elated because I thought that was just too cool. Last night, I dreamt about Lola Louise again, but this time she had a full set of adult-sized teeth. That wasn't so cute.

So if anyone is into analyzing dreams, please fill me in on the craziness that is going on deep within my brain.

How to Take Care of a Baby

My friend Lisa posted these helpful parenting tips on her blog, and because this information is so valuable and important, I felt obliged to share it here too.

 

 

  

 

Happy Birthday Nacho!!!

Nacho is two today!! I can't believe that we've had him for nearly two years already. Paul and I were talking the other day about how nervous and scared we were to have a little puppy to take care of and we were reminiscing about the first night when he cried all night long and Paul and I took turns sitting on the floor holding him. And now he's just so easy to take care of and so much fun to have around. Hopefully taking care of Itty Bitty won't be too much harder!! But I guess we can't lock Itty Bitty in the laundry room when we want to go out.

Wee wee wee all the way home

As I was going to the loo for the fifth time today, my coworker Amanda started to laugh and said, "Did you know that pregnant women in England are allowed to pee whenever, wherever, even including in a policeman's cap?

I'm not sure if it's true or not, but I like the idea of weeing in a copper's cap.

Happy Birthday to Itty's Gramma-To-Be

Itty's Gramma is going to have two new babies to cuddle soon and she's busy knitting like a lunatic in preparation. Much to her dismay, neither Paul and I or my brother and sis-in-law are finding out the sex of our babies-to-be so she has to knit pumpkin hats and strawberry hats just to be prepared for either scenario. I tried to explain that Itty would be happy to wear a pumpkin or a strawberry no matter what sex he/she turned out to be, but Gramma's not having any of that craziness.

The Shape of a Mother

My friend Jenn sent me a link to this great web site that I thought I'd share. It's called The Shape of a Mother and has photos of lots of women's bodies post-baby and their stories/thoughts about their bodies. The idea behind the website is that by sharing the real truth about women's bodies after childbirth, women would realize that they aren't alone and learn to love themselves a bit more. I like it a lot. Plus there a whole bunch of links to other cool woman-loving websites. So check it out at http://theshapeofamother.com/

Itty's Heartbeat

We went for our second visit to the midwives over the weekend. I really like the midwives that we've met so far, and I'm so glad that we decided to go with shared care. They just seem to take more time with us and listen to our questions and fears than our doctor (who is beginning to get on my nerves a bit with his smart answers--I really don't need a wise guy right now). And I'm very very happy that the midwives are so patient since they'll be the ones who help me through the birth and deliver our Itty Bitty when the time comes (and we'll only see the doc and his jokes if we really need him).

Anyhow, the reason I'm posting is because I wanted to let you know that we finally got to hear Itty's heartbeat. What a strong ticker our little one has. Everytime the doctor has checked the heartbeat it has been through the Doppler on his ultrasound machine which counts the sound waves but doesn't amplify them like the one the hospital has. It took a while for the midwife to find the heartbeat because as always, Itty was moving around lots, but once she narrowed in on his/her heart, there it was, strong as anything. It's just so cool to imagine our little one in there growing stronger every day with a perfect little heart beating away and doing its job.

While the midwife was searching for Itty's heartbeat, she asked us if we knew if we were having a boy or a girl. When we replied that we wanted it to be a surprise, she told us that her hunch is that Itty's a boy. And since we've been hearing all of our Australian workmates' and friends' thoughts on whether we're having a boy or a girl, we thought we'd give you a chance to voice your opinion. You can either leave a comment or vote in our little poll thingie on the right side of the page.

. . . speaking of voting, GO OBAMA!!!!! YEAHHH!!!!

(And mom, since I know you think this matters, the heartbeat was 140.)

Being Pregnant

So I've definitely started to do the freaking out/nesting thing and tend to break down in tears at least once a week because I think we'll never get everything done in time for baby.

But that's not the only weird thing going on with me. Being pregnant is a weird and wondrous thing and I thought I'd take a minute to reflect on all the funny/strange/cool stuff that I've experienced so far. (Warning: this could be a bit too much information for some of you)

• A superhuman sense of smell makes perfect sense from an evolutionary perspective in order to warn mamas about potential dangers that could harm them and their unborn babies, but I am sick to death of being blown away by burps and farts on public transportation and smelly feet in yoga class.
• The books say that a woman's nipples enlarge and darken to help babies to find their ways to their mom's milk bars. Well, Itty Bitty is bound to be a big eater cuz he/she has no chance of missing my now massive chocolate cookie bull's eyes.
• Everythings wetter. I am sweatier, snottier, and altogether juicier than ever before. I'm not sure what biological purpose this could possibly serve except to make me absolutely undesirable to potential suitors.
• Another one that baffles me from an evolutionary perspective is the copious amounts of lethal gas vapors escaping my backside. I don't think anything that makes one's partner gag and clear the room is a good thing for any future procreation.
• Up until a few weeks ago, I didn't have any real hankerings. But in the last couple of weeks the cravings have started to kick in. So far, french fries and gravy, apples, and anything sweet (except chocolate which gives me heartburn) are on the yummy list, but fish and broccolli not so good (must be the smell!). So far nothing too weird, but I'll keep you posted.
• But nothing makes me happier than to feel Itty Bitty wiggling and kicking and moving around. He/she is really active and I still can't get enough of the way it feels. Sometimes I get little dancing kicks and sometimes solid thumps that you can see from the outside. Sometimes Itty rolls gently around and it feels like a wave going through my stomach, and at other times he/she slam dances against my pancreas. And I love it all!

Happy Birthday Cuz!!!

Itty's cousin, Evan turned two today and Itty, Paul, and I sure wish we could have been there to eat cupcakes and share some giggles together. We had a video call, but it's just not the same as being there and being able to tickle and cuddle my little nephew. WE MISS YOU HEAPS, EVAN!