2nd Doctor's Visit

This morning Dan and I were back at the OB's office, for my second check-up. Everything's fine. My official due date is September 10, which means I'm at week-ten-almost-eleven. I gained a pound. One pound. In a month of pregnancy. I was expecting more, since my pants don't fit anymore. But, all right, one pound it is. (Don't expect me to always give weight information. . .but it's only a pound.

The doctor was able to find Polliwog and broadcast his heartbeat. It was amazing. Dan was obviously awed. I told Dan, shortly after passing the home pregnancy test, that it all seems so much more real when you hear the heartbeat. There's the abstract of "baby" but it's so much more concrete when you hear it.

My next appointment is March 26. This one, the dr. set me up for a diabetes screening. I am not looking forward to a diabetes screening, especially since my "prize" for passing it will be to do it again a month later. She recommends this primarily due to my previous experience with gestational diabetes. I started following many of the diabetic dietary rules a month ago, though I'm not as compliant as I probably will need to be in later months.

The ultrasound will be sometime in late April. It'd be nice to know Polliwog's gender. Then I'll have a gender with a pronoun to use at will. I can drop awkward constructions like "he/she" and "him/her." Of course, it's not 100% certain that we'll be able to tell, but those sono-techs know what they're seeing.

And now you know everything I do. :)

Update 2-17-07

Our next doctor's visit is Monday. This is the one where we should hear Polliwog's heartbeat. We had planned to bring Eric with us, and let him hear, too. It was a scheduled school holiday, so it wouldn't have cost him any learning time. That plan changed, though, because we had a "snow" day. We had an inch and a half of snowfall, in a county with 12 snowtrucks. Here in North Carolina, it's not practical to have any more snowtrucks on standby. 1.5" is enough to shut the county down. Not that Eric minded--he had a great time trying to sled down the hill. He has to make up that snow day on President's Day.

My clothes are starting to fit uncomfortably. Apparently, one's second pregnancy shows earlier than one's first. I went shopping last weekend for maternity clothes, and picked up a few over priced things. I have decided not to pay ridiculous retail prices for clothes to wear just till September. eBay is my new best friend. I picked up a linen outfit for $15. Retail prices would have been more like $60. And, once I return to normal clothes, I plan to sell my pregnant wardrobe back. It's good for the economy.

Physically, I feel great. I expect that to continue--or hope it will, at least.

Room Decor

Last night, I met my friend Lisa and another friend for dinner. It comes as no surprise that babies was a hot topic of conversation last night.

We were talked about how to decorate Polliwog's room. We had considered a red, black, and white color scheme, since that's what newborns can see most clearly. That would be interesting, but probably harder to change down the road. We have a lot of yellow left over from painting Eric's room, as well as royal blue, teal green, and orange. We will probably use up the leftovers somehow.

When I was pregnant with Eric, I wanted to decorate the nursery with Peter Rabbit. However, it was completely impossible to find any Peter Rabbit stuff. The search was long and fruitless. He ended up with Winnie the Pooh. . .which was cute, but not Peter Rabbit.

I learned a lesson. See what's available first, then decide from those options.

I've started looking. I'm liking little yellow duckies. Gender neutral and cute and baby-appropriate. Plus, we have yellow paint. That makes it economical, as well. Once we finish Eric's planet room, we'll move him out of the smaller bedroom and start setting that up for Polliwog.

My friend Lisa has a changing table she's done with. Her daughter turns three this month, and is moving to "big girl" furniture. She described it as "wood" and I suspect it's oak, but it doesn't really matter. It will be perfectly adequate, and provides us with a starting point in the world of baby furniture.

Update 2-10-07

Well, so now we're 10 weeks into this pregnancy. I feel great. No more nausea, not so tired. I feel great. I went shopping yesterday and bought a batch of maternity clothes. I'm not showing much, but my regular clothes are a little binding through the belly.

We told Eric the news last weekend. He was not impressed on first telling. I think that was due to miscommunication; he did not realise there's a baby growing in my belly right now. He's been expecting a sibling since September 23rd. We had a conversation with more detail later in the week, when he asked me how the baby gets out. (!)

Sticking to our philosophy of honesty-in-moderation, I told him "God made a special opening." It's factual, without the sort of details that make other parents wish I wouldn't tell my son those sorts of thing. Unfortunately, he followed that up with a request to see that opening when the baby comes out. (Ohhh boy...) I told him that might not be such a good idea, since the opening is in my private parts.

"OH, Mommy!! That's disgusting!!! I think I'm goin' to throw up!!!!"

And thus the issue is resolved. (whew)