My mom and brother are currently staying with us to help take care of Jack these first few weeks (if he ever arrives, that is). It's been a surprising boost to my self-esteem having them around, particularly Joseph...
This morning after I woke up I stumbled down the stairs at about 8:30. Due to the nature of my current size, I had just thrown on what I deemed to be most comfortable, namely a pair of Lewis' basketball shorts and one of his t-shirts. My hair was all kinds of ratty, I hadn't showered, I hadn't even put in my contacts.
I had one thing on my mind: breakfast.
As I walked towards the kitchen, I passed my eleven-year-old brother playing on his iPod. He looked up at me and said, "Pretty!"
"I'm sorry, what?" I asked.
"You look really pretty today."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Um, thank you."
Now if you know Joseph, you know that he has not quite figured out sarcasm. He can use it, he just can't use it without it being obvious. That doesn't mean I believe he genuinely thought I was pretty right then, just that he was sincerely trying to be nice.
Aww.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Why You Gotta Be So Mean?
My son hates me.
First, some background. When I found out I was pregnant, the due date was quickly calculated to be September 1st. Since this is right at the beginning of the new school year/daycare for newborns is insanely expensive/I don't want someone else to raise my child, Lewis and I decided that I was to become a stay-at-home mom.
For the past year, Lewis and I have been enjoying double insurance benefits. He has been a dependent on my insurance and I have been a dependent on his. Mostly that means we haven't had to pay any co-pays whenever we've had to go to the doctor. With me being pregnant and all, this has saved us some of the green. When I decided I was going to quit my job at the end of the school year, I got in touch with the benefits office to find out when my insurance benefits would run out.
August 31st.
One day before Jack is due.
Perfect.
Oh and by the way, your deductible is going to go up 150% this year.
Starting September 1st.
Excellent.
What timing!
My doctors will not induce first-time mothers before one week after their due date. This is a practice that I am in favor of. I think there are far too many unnecessary inductions which can be detrimental to a newborn's well-being. Still, an early induction would be mighty tempting for me because of this whole insurance kerfuffle.
We explained this situation to one of my doctors and he said that they would strip my membranes at 38 weeks and see if that helped. Also that a good indicator of when you'll go into labor (early or late) is when your mother and sisters typically went into labor.
My mom has five kids, my sister has one. Their labors went (in order): late, early, late, late, early, early. Three earlys, three lates.
Fantastic.
Today is Monday, August 29th. To be out of the hospital by midnight on the 31st, I pretty much need to have my baby now - and don't get me started on the snafu that would be if we started out our hospital stay on double insurance and ended on single. It's complicated.
Now back to why my son hates me. Since I learned of the scheduling conflict between my due date and insurance termination, I've been casually hopeful that he would arrive early. But I figured he would come when he comes, no big deal. But then he decided to get my hopes up.
At my 36 weeks appointment the doctor declared Jack to be engaged in a head-down position and my cervix to be dilated 1.5 centimeters, 60% effaced. I know women can walk around for weeks like that, so I didn't get too chuffed. But then the contractions started.
I was elated. I would be meeting my son soon! They weren't painful contractions yet, but my mom had just told me that that was how they started out for her. And there sure were a lot of them! How could this be anything but the real thing.
After almost of week of this, I wanted to cry. Each night I would go to bed expecting to wake up in joyous pain, ready to speed off to the hospital. Each morning I would wake up disappointed to have made it through the night. And still the contractions continued.
My 37 week appointment arrived and I was ready for the doctor to tell me my cervix was all kinds of dilated. I mean, those contractions had to have been doing something, right?
1-2 cms. 60-70% effaced. Gross.
And still the irregular, frequent, painless contractions continued. They told me they would strip my membranes at my next appointment and that that would hopefully get things going. I was convinced that would do the trick since I was obviously teetering on the edge, right? Plus I was sure to have progressed because these contractions were still going.
Right?
Almost 2 cms. 70% effaced. It's okay. This membrane stripping thing is bound to work.
Right?
Nope. Today was my 39 week appointment. Obviously my child is just in the business of getting my hopes all kinds of up and then not committing to anything. Even when I finally accepted that my uterus just seems to like contracting and that he would come when he comes, it decided to give me a movie's worth of quite painful contractions reigniting my hope all over again.
Today the doctor declared me to be a solid 2 cms and nearly 80% effaced. Yippee skippee. The membrane stripping thing from yester-week was useless. Oh but don't worry, if I do make it to my induction appointment on the eighth, my cervix is right where it ought to be! Wa-hoo.
So like I said, my son hates me. He just gets my hopes up and up only to bring them crashing down over and over. Because it's obviously his fault.
In other news, if you are in the business of praying and wouldn't mind sending one on my behalf, I would appreciate it. That whole insurance thing has got me on edge.
First, some background. When I found out I was pregnant, the due date was quickly calculated to be September 1st. Since this is right at the beginning of the new school year/daycare for newborns is insanely expensive/I don't want someone else to raise my child, Lewis and I decided that I was to become a stay-at-home mom.
For the past year, Lewis and I have been enjoying double insurance benefits. He has been a dependent on my insurance and I have been a dependent on his. Mostly that means we haven't had to pay any co-pays whenever we've had to go to the doctor. With me being pregnant and all, this has saved us some of the green. When I decided I was going to quit my job at the end of the school year, I got in touch with the benefits office to find out when my insurance benefits would run out.
August 31st.
One day before Jack is due.
Perfect.
Oh and by the way, your deductible is going to go up 150% this year.
Starting September 1st.
Excellent.
What timing!
My doctors will not induce first-time mothers before one week after their due date. This is a practice that I am in favor of. I think there are far too many unnecessary inductions which can be detrimental to a newborn's well-being. Still, an early induction would be mighty tempting for me because of this whole insurance kerfuffle.
We explained this situation to one of my doctors and he said that they would strip my membranes at 38 weeks and see if that helped. Also that a good indicator of when you'll go into labor (early or late) is when your mother and sisters typically went into labor.
My mom has five kids, my sister has one. Their labors went (in order): late, early, late, late, early, early. Three earlys, three lates.
Fantastic.
Today is Monday, August 29th. To be out of the hospital by midnight on the 31st, I pretty much need to have my baby now - and don't get me started on the snafu that would be if we started out our hospital stay on double insurance and ended on single. It's complicated.
Now back to why my son hates me. Since I learned of the scheduling conflict between my due date and insurance termination, I've been casually hopeful that he would arrive early. But I figured he would come when he comes, no big deal. But then he decided to get my hopes up.
At my 36 weeks appointment the doctor declared Jack to be engaged in a head-down position and my cervix to be dilated 1.5 centimeters, 60% effaced. I know women can walk around for weeks like that, so I didn't get too chuffed. But then the contractions started.
I was elated. I would be meeting my son soon! They weren't painful contractions yet, but my mom had just told me that that was how they started out for her. And there sure were a lot of them! How could this be anything but the real thing.
After almost of week of this, I wanted to cry. Each night I would go to bed expecting to wake up in joyous pain, ready to speed off to the hospital. Each morning I would wake up disappointed to have made it through the night. And still the contractions continued.
My 37 week appointment arrived and I was ready for the doctor to tell me my cervix was all kinds of dilated. I mean, those contractions had to have been doing something, right?
1-2 cms. 60-70% effaced. Gross.
And still the irregular, frequent, painless contractions continued. They told me they would strip my membranes at my next appointment and that that would hopefully get things going. I was convinced that would do the trick since I was obviously teetering on the edge, right? Plus I was sure to have progressed because these contractions were still going.
Right?
Almost 2 cms. 70% effaced. It's okay. This membrane stripping thing is bound to work.
Right?
Nope. Today was my 39 week appointment. Obviously my child is just in the business of getting my hopes all kinds of up and then not committing to anything. Even when I finally accepted that my uterus just seems to like contracting and that he would come when he comes, it decided to give me a movie's worth of quite painful contractions reigniting my hope all over again.
Today the doctor declared me to be a solid 2 cms and nearly 80% effaced. Yippee skippee. The membrane stripping thing from yester-week was useless. Oh but don't worry, if I do make it to my induction appointment on the eighth, my cervix is right where it ought to be! Wa-hoo.
So like I said, my son hates me. He just gets my hopes up and up only to bring them crashing down over and over. Because it's obviously his fault.
In other news, if you are in the business of praying and wouldn't mind sending one on my behalf, I would appreciate it. That whole insurance thing has got me on edge.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Stay-at-Home Mommydom: Day 1
Today marks my first official day as a stay-at-home mom. But Alyssa, you say, you are not yet a mother! Too true, my friends. Too true. However:
1. I will be. Any day now. (Seriously kid, feel free to come whenever.)
2. Today is the first day of school and IF I worked outside the home, my summer vacation would be over and I'd be back on the job. But I don't anymore, so I'm home. Staying home that is. To be a mom.
See?
In any case, I've got to say that this gig is pretty simple. True, I did wake up early (to the tune of 5:30 - yuck), but that was because I am a good wife and made my dear spouse BOTH breakfast AND lunch. In the future I plan for it to just be lunch (provided there is cooperation from the baby), but it's a special day for Mr. Young, what with it being the first day of school and all. And my banana pancakes are pretty incredible, letmetellyouwhat.
It's a weird thing not having a job. I got my first job the summer I was 14. I was a park attendant at our local pool. Sort of like a junior lifeguard, just not certified to save anyone. Thank goodness no one drowned in front of me (don't worry, there were real lifeguards there too). I'm 24 now. I've been employed in one form or another for the greater part of the last ten years. Ten years! That's almost half my life.
It's also a weird thing not going to school. Since they let me into kindergarten when I was four-almost-five I've been spending this time of year getting ready/starting school of some form for the last TWENTY years. More, if you count Joy School. And I'm a nerd so of course I always got excited about starting school. Why it took me so long to figure out I wanted to be a teacher, the world will never know.
Boy-oh-boy, Jack, you'd better get here soon. Being alone with my thoughts all day does not look like it's going to be a good thing.
Okay, let's get this train of thought back on track, shall we? As you may have gleaned from the title and/or introductory paragraph, I have embarked on a new journey as a stay-at-home mom. What does that mean for my blog? Well... since my son is sure to be adorable... and I'll have more time on my hands for this sort of thing... And I'm of the opinion that I am funny, dang it... I'm sure I'll want to tell you all about it...
That's right.
Extra-Strength Awesome is about to become...
A mommy blog.
Dun-dun-dun!
Don't worry. I won't leave anything out.
1. I will be. Any day now. (Seriously kid, feel free to come whenever.)
2. Today is the first day of school and IF I worked outside the home, my summer vacation would be over and I'd be back on the job. But I don't anymore, so I'm home. Staying home that is. To be a mom.
See?
In any case, I've got to say that this gig is pretty simple. True, I did wake up early (to the tune of 5:30 - yuck), but that was because I am a good wife and made my dear spouse BOTH breakfast AND lunch. In the future I plan for it to just be lunch (provided there is cooperation from the baby), but it's a special day for Mr. Young, what with it being the first day of school and all. And my banana pancakes are pretty incredible, letmetellyouwhat.
It's a weird thing not having a job. I got my first job the summer I was 14. I was a park attendant at our local pool. Sort of like a junior lifeguard, just not certified to save anyone. Thank goodness no one drowned in front of me (don't worry, there were real lifeguards there too). I'm 24 now. I've been employed in one form or another for the greater part of the last ten years. Ten years! That's almost half my life.
It's also a weird thing not going to school. Since they let me into kindergarten when I was four-almost-five I've been spending this time of year getting ready/starting school of some form for the last TWENTY years. More, if you count Joy School. And I'm a nerd so of course I always got excited about starting school. Why it took me so long to figure out I wanted to be a teacher, the world will never know.
Boy-oh-boy, Jack, you'd better get here soon. Being alone with my thoughts all day does not look like it's going to be a good thing.
Okay, let's get this train of thought back on track, shall we? As you may have gleaned from the title and/or introductory paragraph, I have embarked on a new journey as a stay-at-home mom. What does that mean for my blog? Well... since my son is sure to be adorable... and I'll have more time on my hands for this sort of thing... And I'm of the opinion that I am funny, dang it... I'm sure I'll want to tell you all about it...
That's right.
Extra-Strength Awesome is about to become...
A mommy blog.
Dun-dun-dun!
Don't worry. I won't leave anything out.
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