Week 31: Laughter, Elevators, Coffee and other luxuries

That's it. I've had it with tip-toeing around, hoping that nobody judges me. I've had it with trying to keep up the appearance of the perfect little pregnant lady. Some of you might wonder when I was trying to do this—you just hush now.

I think this realization struck me on Tuesday night. Tuesday is my long day when I work from 8 - 3 and then have two classes from 4 - 9:40. I should explain that my classes at school are small and there are several of us who have been in almost every class together since we started last fall. We were sitting in the graduate lounge between classes, I had my feet up on the coffee table and we were laughing excessively at every little thing. The pressure of the semester is increasingly lifting with each week and the change is practically tangible when my classmates and I are contained in one room.

One of the girls had thoughtlessly asked one of the guys if he'd ever been tanning and we were all paralyzed with laughter because she is white and he is black. Last year we all bonded after making each other uncomfortable with cut-throat honesty during a cultural diversity class. So when, after laughing, he said sarcastically, "It's ok, your people can't help it" we only laughed louder.

It must have been the release of laughter, because when I thought about walking up the million flights of steps to our next class, I announced, "I'm taking the elevator, now nobody judge me. I still work out." I heaved my boot-covered feet onto the floor and maneuvered my body into a standing position. Everyone laughed, so I continued, "When you're carrying all of this extra weight and this extra weight" I gestured to my belly and to my bag of text books "Then you can judge me." Well, that little comment earned me company in the elevator and somebody to carry my bag.

This morning I brought a batch of biscotti to work. Let's face it, what are biscotti without coffee? Lonely. So, just before I poured myself a cup of coffee, I told a coworker, who often makes jokes about what (or how much) I eat, "I'm having coffee and I don't want to hear anything about it." He just said, "If you want your baby bouncing all over the place, it’s fine with me."

So if I'm a little more abrassive than normal, deal with it. It will probably end in nine weeks or so. Until then, I will take advantage of all of the luxuries available to me.

Week 31: Magic Day

November 28 is a very special day for Dave and me, specifically in the years 2001 and 2005. Subsequently, it is special for our baby as he just would not be kicking up a storm right now if these special things did not happen.

In 2001 we had been dating for about three months and I was waiting with baited breath for three little words to indicate that Dave was as serious as me about this whole thing. We only saw each other on weekends at that point. I lived in an apartment with Janet in Delaware and he lived with his parents here in northern New Jersey. Then it happened, in the middle of a conversation, like it was the most natural thing in the world. "I love you." And we haven't stopped saying it since.


In 2005 I was waiting for another phrase, this time with four little words. We were visiting our friends in Long Island for the Thanksgiving weekend. At that point I was anticipating the question with every holiday. We were sitting in the Hochstedler's living room having church with a small group of people. During the closing prayer Dave slipped a ring on my finger and I stared at him. He was smiling perfectly. It was similar to the moment I first saw Pregnant show up on our home pregnancy test. Exhilarating. Like catching a glimpse of the future. We went outside and it was raining and he just smiled at me and I asked him if he had something to ask me and he did and I must have said yes because moments later we were celebrating with a houseful of friends. Four months later we were married (that's right, girls, I planned my wedding in four months and it was very nice if I do say so myself).

Love is magical in itself, but I what I truly like about this date is that the happening of both of these significant events was unplanned. I was thumbing through my journal one day and realized that both things happened November 28 ~ unplanned. Call it destiny or a sign ... I just think it's perfect.

Week 29: Cool design

I've heard that you crave what your body needs, but I'm now convinced. If you're not familiar with this concept, it's incredible. Our nutritional needs notify our appetite so that we can get the vitamins we need! (You should know that there have been studies that show that there is something healthy in chocolate that we crave... I think. I may have just heard what I wanted to hear from that article.)


So, last week I could not get enough dairy products into my body. I've drank a lot of milk throughout my pregnancy because I know the baby will the leech the calcium right out of my bones if I don't provide him with enough. So, I drink to save my ability to walk in the future, but not necessarily because I'm in love with it. Not last week, though, last week I craved any item that started with the squeeze of an utter. I could not get enough milk, cottage cheese, string cheese, ice cream, frozen yogurt ... you name it. Then, I logged onto babycenter.com (which I read religiously along with What to Expect...). I learned that the baby's skeleton was developing and he needed a lot of extra calcium.


Nice design, God.

Week 29: Countdown to the end of the semester

I will write a pregnancy post very soon. I love writing for this blog, but I have been writing so many papers lately that by the time I arrive home at ten o'clock in the evening, all I want to do is collapse into my new papasan chair and watch the mindless interactions of the Gilmore Girls. I think that the storm will break in the next couple of weeks, but until then I have two papers to write, a presentation to give and three other papers to start.

Can I get some sympathy?! It's enough to work 40 hours week like most people do, but add 13 hours at school every week, a professor who think you understand stats, another who won't give you a due date, two others who think theirs is the only class you're taking (so why not overload you?), a six-months-pregnant belly and descreasing lung capacity and you get something resembling this cat (and run on sentences). I need a break!

Week 28: Needles

To those of you who have not been pregnant before, I hope one of two things: that you do not pass out when you see a needle headed in your direction, or, that you get over that somehow (exposure therapy, maybe?). Prenatal doctor visits are riddled with shots and pokes. This wish especially goes out to my pals Jessica and Lindsay, who have been known to either panic or pass out prior to a shot. Today I got two needles at the doctor's office. Two. Come on now.

The first was preceded by an 8 ounce orange drink illustriously named Glucola. I had to consume this within five minutes one hour before my blood was taken. Glucola is orange syrup much like orange soda with less fizz and more sugar. This blood test checks for gestational diabetes and today was the second time I had to go through it. Most women only get the honor once per pregnancy, but my Dad has diabetes, so I got take it twice. Thanks, Dad.

"Do you want this in your left or right butt?" The nurse asked as she prepared my second needle, a Rogam shot, just as my arm stopped throbbing.

"Either..." is equally embarrassing. Ouch.

Moments after that I got to see the doctor and hear the baby’s heart beat and go through my list of questions. So, that was nice. I would have preferred to skip the pinchy part of the whole visit … but I don’t think that was an option.

Week 28: Nesting

I think I am nesting. I have certainly spent the last few weeks increasing the hominess level of our apartment. It started one Tuesday at about ten o'clock pm. I came home from a thirteen-hour day (seven at work and six at school) and found myself discusted by the state of our apartment (which wasn't really too bad, in retrospect). I did the dishes, swept the kitchen floor, cleaned the bathroom sink and toilet, changed our sheets, dusted the living room and put a million miscellaneous things away.

"Baby's nesting." Dave said with a smile on a trip from the office to the bathroom.

I guess that's why he did not think to help me.

In addition to being driven to clean, my desire for new living room furniture resurfaced. For months I have desperately wanted a new sofa. About a year ago we agreed that we would wait to replace our living room set until we buy a house. I have been content, or at least forced myself to remember that some people have no couch at all, since we made that decision. We recently got some extra cash after Dave had a minor car accident; a lengthy story that I will not cover at this point. However, as soon as I heard the money was coming it had Sofa Money written all over it. When Dave broached the subject of what to spend the money on I mentioned a new couch in a tiny, hopefully-cute, voice. He reminded me of our agreement and said maybe we should just put the money in savings.

I assumed that this was a very logical decision that I was not going to be able to respect for quite some time, but accepted it anyway. And then I went to do laundry and cry.

Logical as Dave may be, he is also remarkably perceptive.

Later that weekend we found ourselves wandering BJ's Wholesale. Dave sat down on a dark brown, wood-framed futon. I sat next to him, hoping against hope he had joined my dark side that was reluctant to wait for furniture.

"Would this satisfy you?" He looked like a tired old man for just a split second.

I eyed it slowly. What a perfect compromise. We could put it in a guest room when we buy and house and buy a living room set and we could get rid of our current couch right now! "Yes."

Two days later Dave and Manuel hauled our old sofa down to the curb and then put the futon frame together while I sat gleefully watching.

Our home is coming together quite nicely, I must say. Goodbye old couch.

Week 27: Words to come.