Mandajuice

Good news that is (stupidly) making me worried

So guess what?  I feel TOTALLY better.  I took my first chewable iron tablet on Monday evening and my morning sickness magically disappeared.  Like, IMMEDIATELY.   I'm still getting queasy, much in the way I felt while pregnant with Alex, but I haven't actually done the whole gagging routine in almost 48 hours.  For a NORMAL person, this would be reason to celebrate! 

But, of course, I'm PREGNANT and as such, INSANE, so this is really only one more reason for me to freak out.  Morning sickness isn't supposed to stop abruptly like this - particularly not as early as at ten weeks.  Of course my doctor's office reassured me this morning that pregnancy symptoms can come and go and to call if I start spotting or experience any cramping, yada yada, shut up annoying crazy pregnant lady.   

I actually have a pretty strong hunch that things with the Beebster are absolutely fine.  This is another strange theory of mine, but Bad Things only ever happen to me when I don't anticipate them.  When I think through what might logically happen as a worst case scenario - that scenario never ever plays itself out.  I know there's a first time for everything, but I still feel VERY pregnant, so I've decided not to worry.  It's just WAY too much of a coincidence that the morning sickness disappeared the very minute I got some additional iron in me.  It's not the first time I've heard that correcting a vitamin deficiency can miraculously cure the mega-barfs.

Alex has been strangely good these past few days.  But maybe I'm just feeling better and that takes the edge off his being TWO.  I even spent ALL DAY yesterday cleaning my house to appease my cranky-butt husband and Mr. Pants was an angel the whole time.  He followed me around "vacuuming" with his popcorn-popper toy and mostly not undoing all my hard work.  Mostly.  He did manage to pee on the duvet only THREE minutes after I'd just finished putting it back on the bed.  (But it was on Dave's side, so there it will remain until the next washing).

Today we had a most excellent outing to Lemos Farm in Half Moon Bay.  Even though the weather was crap, Alex had a blast with his best buddy Joe.  Joe's mom and I are married to CLONES, I swear, so she and I always have an excellent time hanging out and commiserating.  The most important thing to mention, though, is that Alex got to RIDE A PONY.  What more is there to say?

In which I don't talk about barf AT ALL

It looks like I've found something to do in the middle of the night when I can't sleep!  I can spend FORTY FIVE WHOLE MINUTES trying to take a crap.  UNSUCCESSFULLY!!!!  I'm not sure which is worse, the constipation itself or the hemorroids you get when you finally go.  I woke up yesterday morning (Well, I'm using the term "woke up" loosely here.  What I really did was finally get out of bed after NOT sleeping for four whole hours) and told Dave that taking these stupid prenatals is KILLING ME.  The iron, people, it is torture for me and clogs me up like a broken garbage disposal.

So then!  Guess what?  It totally gets better!  I called my OB's office and left a message for them to get back to me about the blood tests I had done on Friday - tests that will give us an idea of how my vitamin levels are doing and if I need to take anything extra.  Worse case scenario I was imagining I'd have to start dropping that vitamin B-12 sublingual acid tab stuff.  But no!  It's MUCH WORSE than that! 

When my doctor HIMSELF called me back on my cellphone, I knew it couldn't be good news.  Turns out I have Iron Deficiency Anemia.  Go me!  Of course this means I have to take EVEN MORE iron!  I swear my colon is never going to forgive me.

I can't decide if this is all related to my gastric bypass, which is pretty likely, or just the simple fact that I've spent the last three years either pregnant or nursing, two factors that most contribute to anemia in otherwise healthy women.  It's probably a combination of both, but either way, it explains a lot.  I remember maybe six months ago thinking it was strange for me to feel so tired all the time.  I should've had some blood tests taken back then, but of course I didn't, I just thought I was tired from chasing Alex around all day.  It would've been smart to find out BEFORE getting pregnant.

The good news is that when I asked the doctor what damage I'd already done to my unborn baby, his answer was "absolutely none".  Apparently, there IS enough iron in my blood, which is what goes to the baby, it's just that my ferritin level is low, meaning I'm not storing enough iron in my body.  The other good news is that I've already found a chewable iron tablet that doesn't make me hurl.  Now I just have to figure out what to take with it so I don't get too backed up.  Either that or we should all start buying stock in Preparation H.

A conversation

"Daddy, you driving?"
"Yep.  I'm driving 'cause I'm the man."
"No, Daddy.  You not da man. I da man."

A picture that speaks for itself

Edamame is totally a vegetable

Alex has been a bit of a crankybutt lately and has been CONSTANTLY testing my limits.  It's a bit of a chicken vs. egg quandary - is he reacting to my incredibly short patience or am I impatient because he's been such a raving lunatic?  Either way, I'm cracking down.  No more Mr. Crappypants.  I'm also working really hard to stop myself from yelling so much.  I watch way too much SuperNanny to become one of Those Mothers Who Scream At Her Children.  Instead my plan is to keep enforcing the naughty spot and just MAKE myself get up off my tired pregnant ass to discipline him without raising my voice.  Which is hard.  Dave and I are YELLERS.  We've come to a basic understanding that a quiet marriage is a boring marriage and we prefer to hash everything out.  By everything, I actually do mean EVERYTHING.  Recent sources of shouting include WHERE DID YOU PUT THE WIPES!?!?! and BUT I DON'T EVEN LIKE HONEY ROASTED TURKEY!!!

Vegetables have been the latest source of our marital angst.  I've totally given up on getting the child to eat any (Hello! That's what those gummy bear vitamins are for!), but unfortunately, my husband won't give up on getting ME to eat them.  Not that I think I shouldn't eat veggies!!!  I'm pregnant, not stupid.  But I'm a bit more liberal about what I count as a vegetable.  Red leaf lettuce, cucumber, peas, potatoes, edamame, refried beans - these foods COUNT in my opinion.  But my husband disagrees and insists that the only way to prevent our unborn child from coming out with a third eye is to eat at least ONE serving a day from his rigid list, which includes ONLY broccoli, spinach, carrots, zuchinni or green beans.  NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.  So we tend to bicker about this endlessly.  A girl (particularly one who barfs all day) can only eat so much frickin broccoli.

Now, in lieu of boring you all with even more lurid details of my barfy glory, which TRUST ME, I totally could, I'm going to bitch about my other pregnancy complaint.  I CANNOT SLEEP, Y'all.  NOT AT ALL.  I've actually taken to postponing my bedtime and skipping naps in the hope that eventually I'll become exhausted enough to ACTUALLY sleep through the night.  I've always been a clock-checker; I have to keep the clock right next to the bed so I know what time it is when I wake up in the middle of the night.  It used to be that if I woke up early - say two or three o'clock - I'd be stoked!  That meant five more hours of luxurious sleep!  Now?  Seeing that clock at three AM is like a death sentence - it means I toss and turn and don't sleep a wink until precisely four minutes before the boyo wakes me up.  I'm down to only one cup of sweet, glorious coffee a day now, so I know it's just the stupid pregnancy hormonal thing keeping me from sleeping.  But it's seriously driving me insane.  And I wonder why I have no patience!

Of new cars and new underpants

Dave has been pestering me to let him take my picture next to my new car so I can post it here.  But seriously?  That involves me throwing on a coat of makeup and maybe NOT having my hair in a ponytail and have I mentioned that I'm barfing???  Like, a lot?!?!?  There will be precious few photos of me during this lovely first trimester, but I promise to post one soon of my pretty, pretty new Xterra.

This is my very first brand-new car, so I am giddy like an 18 year old boy would be.  It had 15 miles on it when I first test drove it and it still has that intoxicating new-car scent.  My husband is a born negotiator and we got such a good deal it seemed like they were just giving the car away (which may be what they did just to get him off the lot).  I'm pretty sure I still owe him a Lewinsky.

Is it weird that I think my belly is already starting to grow?  My underwear are starting to roll down all the time and yet I've actually lost a few pounds.  I didn't realize until Sunday night when I went to go look for a dress that NONE of my maternity clothes are going to fit me unless I gain a crapton of weight with this pregnancy.  I weighed 209 when I got pregnant with Alex, so I'm almost 40 lbs less now.  And who knew?  40 lbs makes a difference!  All my adorable maternity dresses were like TENTS.  Seriously, I could practically fit my neck through the armholes.  The weird thing is that I FELT thinner then.  There's something about losing a lot of weight that gives you a magnified view of your thinness - and certainly something about gaining weight, even if you are still thinner than before, that makes you feel fatter than ever.  Really I should just shut up and count my blessings and try not to gain more than 25 lbs this time.  And maybe just buy some new underpants.

A car worthy of my boys. AND their testicles.

This has been a good mojo/bad mojo week.  I won't go into the bad mojo because the mojo that is bad should never be discussed, but the mojo that is good has been excellent.  Jill has been in town keeping me company, bolstering me in the face of the bad mojo and helping to ensure Alex doesn't spill too much ketchup on his lumberjack shirt.  And, Dude!  My baby is healthy.  Mojo doesn't get any better than that.
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This week we've also been looking for a new car.  Unfortunately, my trusty old Jetta just ain't cut out for two carseats.  Alex only fits in it now because he can squeeze his feet in the tiny gap between the two front seats.   Not to mention that it is ancient, beat-up and totally ghetto.  As trusty as it's been for us, it needs to move on to a new owner, hopefully one with a lesser propensity to leave bottles of rotten milk in the backseat.

For months now, I've been thinking of getting a Saturn Vue.  It's economical, chock full of features and really safe.  And also?  NOT a minivan.  We drove one last night and I had few complaints about it.  The interior quality is sub-par, but I guess that is to be expected from an economy vehicle.  To be fair, we also sat in the Mazda Tribute, which I found radically uncomfortable, the seats were too short underneath my thighs - like a really bad miniskirt.  We considered the Jeep Liberty, but quickly concluded it was a giant ripoff and far too tiny. 

Finally, at 9PM, Dave dragged me over to the Nissan dealership to at least SIT in a new Altima.  I liked it, but I DON'T WANT A CAR.  I want something higher up off the ground that will make it easier to load and unload my soon-to-be-gigantic children.  I also forsee a double stroller in my near future and anything we buy needs to be able to accomodate one and still leave me room for a trip to Costco.  The only reason we're even considering a NEW car is for the discounted financing and the fact that this is the prime time to take a 2005 off a dealer's lot before the 2006's come in. 

So completely unexpectedly, particularly considering the methodically thorough way my husband has been searching for a new car, we ended up sitting in a Nissan Xterra, a car I NEVER thought I'd consider, much less actually end up liking.  But I totally loved it.  The quality seems about 1000% better than the Vue and for LESS money, I can get almost DOUBLE the horsepower.  I haven't driven one yet, so I may change my mind, but shockingly, I think it's the car we'll end up taking home.  Even though I really loathe the whole marketing to Generation X thing and I will ALWAYS hate the stupid, stupid NAME of the car.  Xterra!  Like I should be kayaking or jumping off a mountain or something.   Like I have to actually OWN a parachute or they won't let me buy it.

Dave will undoubtedly want me to mention - 265 horsepower!  285 pf of torque!  Zero to 60 in 6.5 seconds!  He has already advised me to be cautious and drive extra slow (although how much do you want to bet he handles it like a friggin' mazerati when I send him out for diapers).  Dave is a Car Man in the traditional sense and he only admitted to me LATE last night that he would've been totally embarassed to drive the Saturn Vue, adding "It's just not a car for anyone with testicles."

All is well, as evidenced by the BARF

(Click to bigify.  Sorry about the crappy quality; I lack a scanner.)

Well, The Beebster is doing great.  According to the ultrasound, I'm right on track, almost nine weeks pregnant and due on May 19th (ha! the month of May will MOCK ME, I just know it).  The best news is that the baby's heartbeat was a stunning 174 beats per minute and I am hugely relieved.

And I had totally forgotten how much I adore my OB.  He's the kindest, most likeable doctor I've had since my own pediatrician (Dr. Rawson, who I saw as my primary care physician till he retired when I was about 23).  He was also great with Alex and pointed out the baby's heartbeat to him and even told him he was a good climber as he attempted to scale the coat rack.  I only hope that this time he'll be on call to actually deliver the baby (it's like a 75% probability, but he was on vacation when Alex was born).

After the big appointment, Dave took us out to breakfast, which was delicious but promptly barfed up twenty minutes later at the park.  It was HORRIBLE.  I started gagging on my way to the icky park restroom, which made me pee my pants a little, so when I got inside the actual bathroom, I had to decide between peeing in my pants and barfing in the toilet or peeing in the toilet and barfing in my hands.  I noticed the soap dispenser was actually full for a change, so I barfed in my hands.  That was FUN, lemme tell ya.  In fact, yesterday was the sickest I've ever been.  I found myself dry heaving on at least five separate occasions throughout the day including at midnight while on my way to bed.  As happy as I am to know that everything is going well, this trimester can not be over soon enough.

RAWR

I've been too busy to post much lately!  My old friend Jill is in town and we've been hanging out a lot.  The good news is that I think we're this close to convinving her to move back home soon, which would be great for me and even better for her.  I'm not sure how I'll incorporate her back in to my life - she's so Sex and the City and I'm so Married With Children, but I love her like a sister, so it can't be too hard.  If nothing else, she can help me accessorize my maternity clothes.

Alex is starting to really love the idea of Halloween, minus the scary parts of course.  We went to the pumpkin patch on Saturday and he LOVED it.  I couldn't afford the designer pumpkins they sold there (like TWENTY bucks!!!), so I stopped at Trader Joe's and bought him a good-sized one from the $2.59 bin.  He loves it so much he's been SLEEPING with it.  You think I'm kidding, but I'm not.  It's still in the crib right this minute.

I also found him the most adorable lion costume at Babystyle (on sale for half off!). After some pretty major alterations thanks to Grandma, he ADORES it!  He chases after me growling and clawing and thinks it's HILARIOUS when I shriek and run away.  At this point, I need to hide it until Halloween so it stays clean enough for him to actually wear.  He's even begun to practice his trick-or-treating.

PROGRAM NOTE:  Barf, barf, barf, barf!  Pregnancy is So. Much. Fun.  Maybe I'll have something other than barf to talk about after my first OB appointment tomorrow.  We are bringing Alex so he can see the baby's heartbeat on the ultrasound.  He is very excited about the baby in my belly that's going to "grow and grow and grow and den I play wif it!"  But I wanted to say I'll be talking about it HERE.  El Segundo was something I only did while it was a secret and one blog is more than enough for me.

4 Babies and a Wedding

Turns out I'm just the fourth in a long-ish line of cousins to have babies in 2006.  Two in March, one in April, me in May (although I'm already setting my expectations to not be disappointed when the month of May passes me right by while I lug an obscenely large belly around.)  I found some cards that say "Congratulations!  You really did it!" and I know they'll all laugh at my utterly geeky humor.  They're family after all.

But the Big! News! is that my big brother, He Who Would Never Settle Down, is getting married in January.  To his lovely bride, Elita.  In China.  And as much as I wish wish wish I could be there to see my brother get married, a feat I never thought possible, there's no way I'm flying to China with a two year old while five months pregnant.  The wedding is only two weeks before Dave will be taking the Washington Bar Exam, so he could neither attend nor stay home with Alex in my absence.  So it's a no go.  Which is really a shame.  It's certainly not reflected in my writing here, but I used to be quite a bit of a traveler, and the idea of turning down a FREE plane ticket to China goes against the very fiber of my being.  But it's just really impossible timing.  We'll have to visit them in Shanghai when the kids are old enough to enjoy it with us.