Yesterday I started working again. Teachers in my county get 5 workdays before the kids start school, which is pretty nice. (Although, over half of those days are filled with awfully boring meetings.)
My body clock hasn't adjusted yet. For the past couple of weeks (my true summer break after babysitting), I have been going to bed around midnight and waking up around 9am (or sometimes 10am). But with work, I have to get up around 5:30 (which usually snoozes right into 6am) in order to give myself enough time to wake up, get ready, eat something healthy for breakfast, and get out the door with enough time to get to work without being late (something which I have a hard time with, unfortunately).
This means I have to go to bed around 10:30 or so to get enough sleep to not be a total zombie all day. Doesn't sound difficult, I know, but I'm more of a night person by nature and it sucks going to bed early. If I were really smart, I'd be going to bed before 10pm, but I just can't do it.
Two workdays have passed, and my feet hurt, I'm barely able to do anything once I get home because my energy is zapped, and I'm getting super protective over this belly of mine. Some of these ladies at work make a beeline for a belly that's jutting out like mine, and I don't like it one bit. I can see them coming and I have 2 milli-seconds to figure out how to divert their mama-lovin' hands. So far those diversions have failed and I bristle up because hey! this is my body! I think they're starting to get the hint.
It has been SO fun, though, to talk about being pregnant and the baby all day! Everyone (and I mean everyone, all 50-something of my coworkers) wants the scoop, so I find myself repeating a lot of things. But it's worth it because they say things like "That's such a beautiful name!" when hearing Adelaide's name for the first time, and "You're so cute! You look so good for almost 6 months!" which is something I could hear every day and never get tired of it. And for our catered lunch today, at least 3 people let me skip them (without me asking, of course - rude!), becuase pregnant ladies need to eat. The bathroom line faded as I walked towards it. I guess this is the equivalent of being given a seat on the subway, if I were to ride one. I could get used to this - thank you Adelaide!
I'm just going to have to figure out this feet and fatigue issues though. Force myself to buy some old-lady sneakers with the awesome support and try to nice them up with funky socks and long cover-em-up pants. And make myself go to bed earlier, so that I can bright and alert for all the wonderful love my coworkers want to shower me with.
Aug 19, 2010
Aug 17, 2010
23 Weeks!
Dear Adelaide,
I am 23 weeks pregnant with you... that's almost 6 months! That's almost your birth day. Not really, but every week that passes gets us that much closer to meeting you. I know these next 4 months are going to fly by faster than ever now that I'm about to start teaching again. I have one more day of vacation before I go back to school to get everything ready for the kids. They will start next week.
[Here I am in your newly painted room, in front of your perfect white crib!]
Being the art teacher, I have over 700 students, and only a handful of them know that I'm pregnant. I definitely won't be able to hide it once they start back, so I know I'll have a lot of questions from them. :)
Things have been really exciting for us this week. Thursday, August 12th, we had our ultrasound and found out you were a girl! I was shocked because I was so sure that you were a boy. I just knew it deep down, and so did Mimi (your grandmother, your dad's mom) and Gigi (your great-grandmother). We were all wrong! Well, we think. We had to go to an actual "doctor" for the ultrasound because the midwives don't do them at the birth center. She was a really awesome and funny doctor and said she was 90% sure you were a girl. Your dad keeps saying that we're 10% sure you're a boy - but he's really excited that you're most likely a girl. I guess we'll really find out at the birth!
We're having fun picturing you as a little girl in my belly, calling you Adelaide already. It was not difficult for my mind to make the switch, like I thought it would be if I were wrong. It is kind of odd to use the word "daughter." That makes it so much more real! Your dad's really excited to have a little version of me. He hopes you look a lot like me, because he thinks that would be really cute!
Also, Mema (your other grandmother, my mom) came to visit for 4 days and she helped us paint your room. We did a soft, neutral gray, and I love it! It came out perfectly.
[Getting started - see all the paint swatches on the wall? Choosing a gray is so hard to do!]
Mema also painted a little chair for you. It was my chair when I was a baby, and it was red. Then when my brother came along, your Uncle Michael, she painted it blue. And then when your Aunt Rachel came along, she painted it pink. Now it is teal for you and waiting on the front porch for you to get big enough to sit outside with us. It's adorable!
[Here's Mema sanding down the chair, getting it ready for the teal paint.]
And finally, your Gigi and Papa (my grandparents, your great-grandparents) stopped in for a quick visit. They were visiting family in New York and on the way back down to Florida where they live, they stopped here in North Carolina. They visited for about an hour and a half. They brought us a glider that your Great-Uncle Ray sent down for us, and also the stroller/carseat set that we registered for. They and your Great-Aunt Kelly bought that for us! What a special gift from them!
[Here they are! As you can see, I get my height from them. I wonder if you'll be short like me and the rest of my family, or tall like your dad and his family?]
It has been such a full week! I hope that I can stay this motivated at getting things done for you. I now have to find the perfect teal fabric to make your curtains, and your dad has to build some benches/storage for your room. There's so many other house projects to be done before you get here, just so we don't have to worry about them when you're really here. We want to be able to spend every second thinking about you, and nothing else!
We love you, Adelaide Jane!
Love,
Moma
I am 23 weeks pregnant with you... that's almost 6 months! That's almost your birth day. Not really, but every week that passes gets us that much closer to meeting you. I know these next 4 months are going to fly by faster than ever now that I'm about to start teaching again. I have one more day of vacation before I go back to school to get everything ready for the kids. They will start next week.
[Here I am in your newly painted room, in front of your perfect white crib!]Being the art teacher, I have over 700 students, and only a handful of them know that I'm pregnant. I definitely won't be able to hide it once they start back, so I know I'll have a lot of questions from them. :)
Things have been really exciting for us this week. Thursday, August 12th, we had our ultrasound and found out you were a girl! I was shocked because I was so sure that you were a boy. I just knew it deep down, and so did Mimi (your grandmother, your dad's mom) and Gigi (your great-grandmother). We were all wrong! Well, we think. We had to go to an actual "doctor" for the ultrasound because the midwives don't do them at the birth center. She was a really awesome and funny doctor and said she was 90% sure you were a girl. Your dad keeps saying that we're 10% sure you're a boy - but he's really excited that you're most likely a girl. I guess we'll really find out at the birth!
We're having fun picturing you as a little girl in my belly, calling you Adelaide already. It was not difficult for my mind to make the switch, like I thought it would be if I were wrong. It is kind of odd to use the word "daughter." That makes it so much more real! Your dad's really excited to have a little version of me. He hopes you look a lot like me, because he thinks that would be really cute!
Also, Mema (your other grandmother, my mom) came to visit for 4 days and she helped us paint your room. We did a soft, neutral gray, and I love it! It came out perfectly.
[Getting started - see all the paint swatches on the wall? Choosing a gray is so hard to do!]Mema also painted a little chair for you. It was my chair when I was a baby, and it was red. Then when my brother came along, your Uncle Michael, she painted it blue. And then when your Aunt Rachel came along, she painted it pink. Now it is teal for you and waiting on the front porch for you to get big enough to sit outside with us. It's adorable!
[Here's Mema sanding down the chair, getting it ready for the teal paint.]And finally, your Gigi and Papa (my grandparents, your great-grandparents) stopped in for a quick visit. They were visiting family in New York and on the way back down to Florida where they live, they stopped here in North Carolina. They visited for about an hour and a half. They brought us a glider that your Great-Uncle Ray sent down for us, and also the stroller/carseat set that we registered for. They and your Great-Aunt Kelly bought that for us! What a special gift from them!
[Here they are! As you can see, I get my height from them. I wonder if you'll be short like me and the rest of my family, or tall like your dad and his family?]It has been such a full week! I hope that I can stay this motivated at getting things done for you. I now have to find the perfect teal fabric to make your curtains, and your dad has to build some benches/storage for your room. There's so many other house projects to be done before you get here, just so we don't have to worry about them when you're really here. We want to be able to spend every second thinking about you, and nothing else!
We love you, Adelaide Jane!
Love,
Moma
Ultrasound, August 12th. It's a.... !
On August 12th, we went for our ultrasound. Even choosing to give birth at a freestanding birth center, there are certain guidelines we have to follow. One of which is that for the birth center to keep its license, all mothers have to have 2 physician's appointments. One has to be in the last month to determine that we are low-risk and well-suited to give a fully natural birth, and the other appointment is up to the mother. Some mothers choose to just go and pee in a cup or something simple like that just to get the paperwork in. But I wanted to know the sex of the baby, so I opted to go in for an ultrasound.
My mom came in last week to visit for a few days, and she came with us to the appointment. We also invited Kevin's mom to meet us there. We thought it would be nice for the grandmas to be there together, and it was! Weird thing though, they just happened to wear the exact same shirt, just different colors, and had tan shorts on, flip-flops, and the same exact toenail polish color. They kept flipping out, thinking that it was a good sign for something.
First, Kevin and I went into the room, as we wanted to get the news first, alone. Since the beginning of the pregnancy, I've wanted this experience to first be about Kevin and I, since we are the ones who made this baby and the ones who will raise this baby. And it's our first! The nurse was so nice and gladly took a picture of us right beforehand. (Notice I'm wearing the same outfit as my 22-week pictures... it looked so good!)
After the nurse was done, the doctor came in. She was loud and funny, and very nice. We liked her a lot. She pointed out all the little parts of our baby, including this shot of the baby's leg and arm. We saw the spine, the heart beating, all the guts in the right spot, the head, my placenta. Everything looked good and healthy and right on track.
And then she tried to get a good shot of in between the legs. The baby was breech during the appointment, so the angle wasn't the best, but she determined (and said she was 90% sure) that it's a...
I was in disbelief! I was for sure that it was a boy in there. So steadfastly sure for the past couple of weeks. We videoed the ultrasound with Kevin's camera, and rewatching it later with Moma, I was sounding very skeptical. I kept asking for her to show us again, and "how sure are you?" and "really???"
But it has set in and we're sooooo excited. We've had a name picked out for a girl since before we even started really trying to get pregnant.
I love that name so much, and it has been fairly easy to start using that name when talking about how the baby kicks or moves, or when talking about the nursery. The word "Daughter", however, is a little strange for some reason. It makes it more real! Kevin is so excited to have a little girl. He pictures her short and petite like me, but even more so, and that just gets him all gooey inside. I hope she has his blue eyes.
After we found out, the grandmas came in, and tried not to cry when they found out, although they did a pretty bad job at holding it together.
Then the doctor handed me the ultrasound paddle, and told me to have fun with it, then left the room! That's when Adelaide got really active! She started kicking her legs and arms out at the same time, reaching her hand out towards where the ultrasound paddle was, playing with her feet. Moma swears she saw her suck her fingers, but I really don't remember that. It was so awesome to see all that!
And of course Kevin just had to see what he could see in his belly... goofy guy!
We are so excited to meet little Adelaide! As the days pass, I get more and more anxious for time to speed up, and slow down at the same time. I only have 4 months left, and I know it'll speed by once school starts (tomorrow!), but I just can't wait to hold my baby in my arms!
[First family photo!]
My mom came in last week to visit for a few days, and she came with us to the appointment. We also invited Kevin's mom to meet us there. We thought it would be nice for the grandmas to be there together, and it was! Weird thing though, they just happened to wear the exact same shirt, just different colors, and had tan shorts on, flip-flops, and the same exact toenail polish color. They kept flipping out, thinking that it was a good sign for something.
First, Kevin and I went into the room, as we wanted to get the news first, alone. Since the beginning of the pregnancy, I've wanted this experience to first be about Kevin and I, since we are the ones who made this baby and the ones who will raise this baby. And it's our first! The nurse was so nice and gladly took a picture of us right beforehand. (Notice I'm wearing the same outfit as my 22-week pictures... it looked so good!)
After the nurse was done, the doctor came in. She was loud and funny, and very nice. We liked her a lot. She pointed out all the little parts of our baby, including this shot of the baby's leg and arm. We saw the spine, the heart beating, all the guts in the right spot, the head, my placenta. Everything looked good and healthy and right on track.
And then she tried to get a good shot of in between the legs. The baby was breech during the appointment, so the angle wasn't the best, but she determined (and said she was 90% sure) that it's a...
~*~*~*~*~ GIRL! ~*~*~*~*~
I was in disbelief! I was for sure that it was a boy in there. So steadfastly sure for the past couple of weeks. We videoed the ultrasound with Kevin's camera, and rewatching it later with Moma, I was sounding very skeptical. I kept asking for her to show us again, and "how sure are you?" and "really???"
But it has set in and we're sooooo excited. We've had a name picked out for a girl since before we even started really trying to get pregnant.
Adelaide Jane
I love that name so much, and it has been fairly easy to start using that name when talking about how the baby kicks or moves, or when talking about the nursery. The word "Daughter", however, is a little strange for some reason. It makes it more real! Kevin is so excited to have a little girl. He pictures her short and petite like me, but even more so, and that just gets him all gooey inside. I hope she has his blue eyes.
After we found out, the grandmas came in, and tried not to cry when they found out, although they did a pretty bad job at holding it together.
Then the doctor handed me the ultrasound paddle, and told me to have fun with it, then left the room! That's when Adelaide got really active! She started kicking her legs and arms out at the same time, reaching her hand out towards where the ultrasound paddle was, playing with her feet. Moma swears she saw her suck her fingers, but I really don't remember that. It was so awesome to see all that!
And of course Kevin just had to see what he could see in his belly... goofy guy!
We are so excited to meet little Adelaide! As the days pass, I get more and more anxious for time to speed up, and slow down at the same time. I only have 4 months left, and I know it'll speed by once school starts (tomorrow!), but I just can't wait to hold my baby in my arms!
[First family photo!]22 Weeks
Whoops! I missed posting those pictures... I have been really busy the past couple of weeks. I'm not babysitting anymore, so I'm using all that time to try and get stuff done, therefore ignoring the blog - sorry!
Here are the pictures from August 8th:
Here are the pictures from August 8th:
Aug 5, 2010
In which we went overboard on the paint samples...
Choosing a paint color for the nursery was so hard. I know these pictures show only 4 samples on the wall, which really is not that bad (maybe a little). But after these photos came more samples, making a total of 7 different colored squares on that wall. And they were all versions of gray.
But it was a pretty similar gray to the one we have in the living room and hallway. I didn't want the seemingly-same gray in the nursery.
Some grays are actually really blue. Some are pretty darn purple. Some are too light, some are too dark. I think I walked into that room a hundred times, each time trying to go in casually as if I were just sauntering in without the premise of picking one of the paint colors.
My favorite was Glidden's Misty Moonstone. It has just a touch of blue, but barely. It really is a good gray. (Grey?)
But it was a pretty similar gray to the one we have in the living room and hallway. I didn't want the seemingly-same gray in the nursery.
(By the way, I wanted a neutral color for the walls, even though we will be finding out the sex - I'm not big on walls being pink for girl and blue for boy... I may have mentioned that before.)
Anyhow, so we took to the Home Depot again, and got two more samples, one in Misty Moonstone 25% lighter, and one 50% lighter.
The 25% lighter version is our final choice! It's perfect. :) I'm so happy - something crossed off the list. My mom comes to visit next week, and I'm going to have her help me paint the room... so exciting!!!
21 Weeks, a Little Late...
This is honestly the happiest I've ever been. Already, baby, you are so good to me.
I love you.
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