Dreams, Doubts, and Denial

At 39 weeks, I haven’t quite reached my due date but coworkers consistently ask, “Wow, you’re still here?” Yes I’m still going to work and I’m in complete denial about the prospect of labor happening at any given moment. I just brush off the weird comments (for example, “Don’t sneeze, ha ha…” was yesterday’s highlight) and go about my daily business since I don’t feel any closer to delivery than I did a month ago. I guess I’ve experienced some minor contractions and cramps randomly over the past couple weeks, but they tend to subside quickly enough for me to not take them too seriously. I understand that Braxton Hicks can start several months before labor and that pre-labor itself can go on for a few weeks. But it all just feels so normal. I’ve gotten used to being pregnant and I’m still in no hurry to get this baby out. My aches and pains have subsided a bit now that I’m using a pilates ball instead of a chair at work. I should have switched months ago, it has made a world of a difference! Also, prenatal massages are wonderful and I’m going to miss having an excuse to get them on a regular basis!

Richard and Ruby were a lifesaver with this ball so I'll forgive Richard for saying I look like a snowman

I must admit though that all this feeling good has me a little worried. It seems as if things are going too well and as a result something bad is bound to happen. One of my biggest concerns at the moment is how bad flu season has been this year. Chris and I have been spared so far, but he was exposed to a coworker with the flu a few days ago and yesterday evening he started complaining about allergy-like symptoms. I don’t think he has a fever, but he’s never had allergies in his life. He’s taking some time now to rest and I’m hoping that whatever it is will pass quickly without affecting me or the baby. I’ve been taking precautions, but last night a weird dream really rattled me. In it, my mom was telling me that a natural birth wasn’t possible and I screamed back at her saying that she was wrong, that I could do anything, and that I was determined to be better than her. I usually don’t remember my dreams and when I do they don’t make much sense, so the profound nature of this one blew my mind. I must admit that it came with no surprise that in a dream my mom would play a manifestation of my own preoccupations. My parents have always played a pessimistic role in my life and have never been very supportive of my hobbies, interests, exercise routine, social life, etc. as it’s all too much in their opinion. They always discourage behaviors that make for a more stable, well-rounded, happy, and healthy life. Before I was pregnant, my mom told me it was crazy to run a half marathon and that I exercised too much. Sure it was fun proving her wrong, but I’d much prefer proud loving support over hostility. Also, her disapproval levels only bumped up after the pregnancy. “Wait, you went camping? Hiking is dangerous! And you better not be belly dancing anymore!” How am I supposed to have a relationship with someone that perpetually puts me on the defensive? In her opinion, pregnant women shouldn’t run or dance or stay out late with friends. And even from a thousand miles away she manages to criticize what I wear and what I eat despite the fact that we speak only once every couple weeks. Our phone conversations aren’t even real conversations. They are more like emotionally draining interviews where you get drilled with irrelevant questions and then judged based on some inane criteria that don’t accurately represent you at all. Wow, here I am, a married mother-to-be, ranting like a teenager about how her mom doesn’t “know” her. I sure hope I am able to do better with my children!

Speaking of parental disapproval, I’ll go ahead and mention that I’ve been quite the hooligan staying out late this week. My due date is this weekend so Chris and I have been making the most of the time we have left. On Friday, we had our own respective boys’ and girls’ nights out. Back when we got married, Chris never had a bachelor party and it still bothers him to this day. I’d try to make him feel better by saying he didn’t need one since we still act like wild college kids, but I’m glad he was finally able to have a ceremonial last night of freedom. He ended up with one heck of a “man shower.” And I think it worked out better this way since late night diaper changes and baby responsibilities are way more life changing than marriage to someone who encourages your crazy ways! So while he was out on Friday, I had a really nice time with friends at Cru before going to a show at Spider House. And when I got home a little after 2 am, I was welcomed by a happily inebriated husband and some of our guy friends who ended up staying the night. Might I add that I did not go into labor, although everyone did ask if we had seen what happened with Lily and Marshall in How I Met Your Mother (S07 E22). Yes that was a funny episode and no that didn’t happen with us.

On Saturday morning, Chris and I went to a cloth diapering class, well aware of what a drastic shift it was from what we were doing the night before. But we found that amusing and ended up learning some useful information. The next day, Chris’s Aunt Katie was in town and we spent the day with her and Chris’s parents. Then the rest of the week went by pretty quickly since we hung out with friends almost every night. Last night was actually our first night in and after cooking and eating dinner, we made a belly cast! It was a messy process, but was totally worth it. I can’t wait to share pictures after it cures and dries!

Well, that’s all for now. Not sure if the baby’s actually coming in three days but we’ll see!

Getting Closer



This Morning at 38.5 Weeks

I have 10 more days until the due date so that translates to anywhere between 0 and 24 days until I give birth. This means a lot of things. For one, I get almost daily comments about how round my belly is and how I look like I’m about to pop. Secondly, the woes of the last stage of pregnancy are just now starting to set in. Although my third trimester started 10 weeks ago, I’ve done my best to stay active and healthy and I’ve been fortunate enough to miss out on some of the common complaints that other pregnant women typically have. Until now that is. I still don’t have it as bad as some people, but I do find it pretty slow going when it comes to getting out of bed or a chair, getting out of the car, getting dressed, and doing other mundane things that I used to take for granted. Also, regardless of what I do in a day, whether it involves sitting for 8 hours at work, doing prenatal yoga, watching a movie, walking 3-4 miles at the park, or doing nothing at all, my body doesn’t seem to know the difference. Every evening my joints, legs, hips, and lower back act like I just finished my first half marathon! I am really looking forward to the massage I have scheduled for this weekend - a good night’s sleep is hard to get when you’re aching.

Speaking of sleep, I had my first bout of pregnancy insomnia last weekend. Around 3 am I woke up feeling like it was 3 pm. I couldn’t seem to quiet my panicky thoughts about the baby coming in two weeks. Chris woke up too so I read to him for a bit and after he fell back asleep I went upstairs to the baby’s room, sat in the glider, and read some more. The sun seemed like it was ready to come out by the time I crawled back into bed, but I slept until almost noon and haven’t had any issues since then.

So now we wait. I’m keeping busy with work, hanging out with friends that I might not see again for a couple months, and enjoying alone time with Chris. People keep telling me how close I am and constantly ask me if I’m eager for the baby to be out of me. The truth is that I’m not quite there yet, although I don’t know what I’ll be saying a week from now! Yes I am looking forward to some things like front hugs instead of awkward side hugs, tummy sleeping, and my pre-pregnancy yoga routine, but I have no clue how much recovery time I’ll need before finding some semblance of normalcy. Also, first time moms (who give birth naturally) typically go beyond their due date so I’m trying to mentally prepare for that possibility. Yes there’s a full moon the night before my due date and yes conception was on a full moon and yes my cycles typically match the moon, but I still want to be ready for anything. One of the ladies in my childbirth class had her homebirth 10 days after her expected delivery date! There’s no telling what can happen! Also, in all the cases of my friends going past their due dates, they’ve had positive natural birth experiences and their babies have been strong. So I tell my baby, “Take your time and grow. Be healthy and come out when you’re ready. On your birthday, mommy and daddy will happily welcome you. We will nurture you and we will love you no matter what!”

Father of My Child

Surprisingly enough, over the last nine months, pregnancy hormones haven’t made me too crazy emotional. It might have a little to do with me not being super sappy to begin with, but I don’t want to let that stop me from expressing some feelings that probably don’t get communicated often enough.

So Chris, let me start by saying thank you, I love you, and I’m so glad to have you by my side. You are an amazing partner and you will be an excellent father.

Thank you for embracing my eccentric ways. You didn’t bat an eye when I panicked over the carcinogenic ingredients in our toiletries and you were totally supportive of us switching to natural soap after we watched Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox. You didn’t give me a hard time for buying baking soda and apple cider vinegar in lieu of shampoo and conditioner. You even bought me raw cocoa butter and coconut oil so I could make my own lotion since everything at the store had so many chemicals.

Thank you for the time you helped me pack up our pantry and get rid of anything containing GMOs, preservatives, and non-food ingredients. Thank you for buying me reverse-osmosis filtered water when I panicked about fluoride. And thank you for supporting my desire to live more naturally in our unnatural society.

You’ve always been willing to listen to my ideas and consider multiple viewpoints. Thank you for working with me instead of being an adversary. Vaccine safety? Attachment parenting? With all the parental decisions that are to come, I know that we will complement each other well. And I know that I can always look to you as an endless source of loving support.

I really appreciate how involved and engaged you’ve been throughout this pregnancy. Although I didn’t expect anything less from you, I can’t say I know many other men who would watch The Business of Being Born and countless other baby documentaries without excessive wifely pressure. Thank you for caring. And thank you for your endless open-mindedness. Unlike other husbands who would’ve freaked out at the notion of a non-hospitalized birth, you were more than supportive in considering all our options and even helped set up our initial midwife interviews. After we found the perfect one, you were adamant about being at every prenatal appointment and haven’t missed a single one. You enthusiastically participated in things like the baby wearing class, all our childbirth classes, and our couples’ yoga workshop. I love that you find it strange that other dads-to-be wouldn’t do the same. And with regards to baby showers you wondered, why wouldn’t the father want to participate? One of the many reasons I love you and am happy that I married you.

Thank you for being there for me. You take care of me when I'm sick. You help me with my pants and shoes when I get frustrated at how long it takes for me to manage them. You let me wear your shirts to bed and button me up in your jacket since nothing seems to fit me anymore. You wash the pots since I can’t do it without getting soaked. You help keep the house clean so I can maintain my sanity. You carry the laundry basket for me and take out the trash. You support my interests and hobbies. You’ve come to cheer me on at every one of my belly dance shows. You take me to my favorite restaurant every week. And even though you got me a prenatal massage package you still rub my aching muscles on a regular basis. You read to me and the baby. You hold me until I fall asleep. You never refrain from showing affection and you make me feel like the most beautiful woman alive. You are compassionate and kind. 

This baby is so lucky to have you for a father. You show it so much love, the way you snuggle my belly and try to play with its toes. The way you laugh when you lean your head on my stomach and the little one kicks against your face. You get so giddy when we go into the nursery – after we finished it you couldn’t stop gushing about our little baby and the baby room. I love how enthusiastic you are when you talk to anyone about anything related to our unborn child. You’re going to make such an amazing daddy. You’re strong, caring, and so engaged. It melts my heart.

The day the baby decides to come, I know you will be the best birth companion imaginable. You know me better than anyone else and your strength and compassion will be invaluable during labor and parenthood itself. I love that I can talk to you about anything and everything. We have no secrets and we are so connected. You are my best friend.

What I've done to get you, I don't know. But I thank God every day because I'm so lucky and fortunate and blessed. You bring so much love, happiness, and joy into my life – I can’t conceptualize going through any of this without you. You are everything anyone could ever want in a husband and you’re the best partner I could ever imagine having in life. You mean the world to me and I love you so much.

Working Mom

The other day when we were discussing work, Chris’s brother seemed surprised and exclaimed, “Wait, I thought you quit!” I’m not quite sure how that notion came about but it’s far from the truth!

It then occurred to me that I don’t talk about my job a whole lot, but I guess that means there isn’t much to complain about. I’m pretty content with what I do and I have a good work-life balance. I hit my 5 year anniversary at Myriad RBM this past September and I plan to work until I go into labor. People say that’s serious devotion but for me it’s a matter of maximizing the amount of time I can spend with the baby when it gets here. With most American companies, parental leave and infant care don’t fit into the corporate world too well. The United States has the worst policy in the world in terms of paid leave – no paid leave. All one can expect is a total of 12 weeks of unpaid leave with unchanged benefits and a guarantee that the same job will be available on return. Luckily my company offers some compensation though. They require that I use five days of my accrued paid time off for the first week but after that they will give me 70% of my salary for the remaining 11 weeks. Payment for 6 of those weeks have to come from short term disability insurance though so there is a lot of paperwork to deal with, and after over a month of waiting I still haven’t heard back from my company’s HR headquarters.

When that gets squared away though, and after my 12 weeks are up, I’m hoping to be able to work from home. My work is pretty computer-heavy so I could feasibly get a lot done remotely. Unfortunately after my company got acquired by Myriad in Utah, we now have to jump through hoops for things. Apparently they have a strict no-working-from-home-without-the-CEO’s-approval policy. Not RBM’s CEO, but Myriad Genetics in Utah’s CEO. And according to our local HR rep, getting his approval is very tough. Luckily my boss, my boss’s boss, my boss’s boss’s boss, and RBM’s CEO are fully supportive of me working from home when the baby comes, but all of them still need to submit a proposal and pitch it to Utah. Oh the joys of being a subsidiary. Well, the proposal has been in the works for a while now and I just finished a personal statement to add to it:

"I am seeking approval to work from home after my maternity leave expires so that I can ease the financial burden of infant care and experience the benefits of raising my newborn. It has been extremely challenging for me to find an infant care program that can match the level of care that I as a mother would provide. Unfortunately, over half of my take-home salary would be required for such a daycare. Also, aside from the prohibitive costs, I would feel immense guilt over leaving my baby at a facility for 10 hours each day. I would miss important milestones in my developing child’s life and would not be able to justify it from a monetary standpoint.

Thankfully my current job position is one that I can succeed at remotely off-hours. Having a flexible schedule and no commute would allow for my husband and in-laws to care for my baby when I work. Avoiding the distress of placing my newborn in daycare would also help my productivity – it will be much easier to focus on work with the knowledge that my little one is in good hands!"

We’ll see where this goes. Hopefully things won’t continue to stay up in the air like this for too much longer. The due date clock is ticking… just 24 more days!

The Final Month Begins!

The end of the year is just around the corner and at almost 36 weeks, I’m officially less than a month away from our due date! We are very curious to see what everyone’s predictions are for the baby’s birth stats so please click here to submit your guess!

The reality of the situation still hasn’t quite sunk in for me since Chris and I are still living like we normally do. Yes it’s a little trickier for me to do everything I want, but since the changes have been so gradual, it’s really not that big of a deal. The one thing I was most disappointed about, though, was learning that most cruise lines don’t allow expectant mothers on board after their 24th week. Chris and I were really hoping to get away over Christmas, but we’ve been enjoying everything Austin has had to offer over the holidays.

Just a couple weeks ago, Chris and I did the Trail of Lights 5k with his parents at Zilker Park. I wish I could say I ran the whole thing, but I did need to take frequent walking breaks. I walk close to 3 miles each weekend with Chris’s mom, but apparently running that distance makes my calves angry these days. I’m hoping it won’t be too much work to whip them back into shape next year! 

Still Running - 34 weeks

The next day, I performed in one last show with my belly dance troupe. I’ve managed to keep up with my classes pretty regularly and my teacher Lily is an amazing inspiration. Having birthed her first baby naturally just last year, she has been a wonderful resource. Also with her personal and prenatal yoga experience, she’s managed to make our class pretty preggo-friendly for me!

Ready to Perform - 34 Weeks

The day after the Holiday Hip Circle Hafla, Chris and I went to our final childbirth class and shared our birth bundles. I must admit the six weeks went by in a whirl, but we do have a fairly good idea of what to expect now. Birth tigers have been addressed and I feel physically and emotionally prepared for the life-changing experience that is awaiting us. I will miss our weekly treks to South Austin though! After the last class, Chris and I indulged in some treats at Gourdough’s Public House – somewhere we probably wouldn’t have tried on our own if we hadn’t been driving by. Although it’s probably better for our health that we live far away from that place!

We also made some good progress on the baby’s bedroom! Here are some pictures from when we started working on it earlier in the month.

Last week was when we devoted some serious time to getting baby clothes and blankets washed, baby gear assembled and organized, and the nursery decorated. Here’s a sneak peek at the finished room – more pictures to come soon!

Labbit from Yiayia and Papou in crib, aka "Labbit Pen"





That week, we also got our house decorated for Christmas. I wasn’t thrilled with Chris going up on the roof to hang lights, but everything ended up being okay and in the end our home looked a lot more cheerful. We trimmed the tree in white and gold (Georgia Tech colors!) and put it in the front window so it could be seen from outside. We even had friends over for a holiday movie night and sipped on hot cider as we watched Love Actually by the fire. A few days later it was Christmas Eve and we had Chris’s family over for dinner and exchanged gifts at our home. On Christmas Day itself, we went to Chris’s parents’ house for a large turkey feast and watched Home Alone while dinner finished cooking.

Sitting amidst gift wrap destruction



I don't know how Chris got this picture but it's pretty amazing!



All in all, the holiday weekend was both productive and fun. Unfortunately I picked up a cold from Chris, but I’m hoping the next few days we have off for New Year’s will give me a chance to recover. Happy New Year everyone!

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

The holidays are fast approaching and so is the baby’s due date! As of this weekend we’ll be six weeks away!

33 Weeks!

I knew time would fly as soon as Thanksgiving was over, but even now, I still can’t believe that Christmas is almost here. And with how busy we are all the time I have no clue how we’ll get everything we want done!

The weekend after our Thanksgiving backpacking trip, we finally started working on the baby’s bedroom, but we’re still not finished. The room is now painted and equipped with a crib, chair, and dresser, but I haven’t quite figured out organization and decor. I hope we get it all done soon though so I can post pictures. Right now there isn’t much to see as the entire second floor of the house is strewn with cardboard boxes, toys, and all things pastel. We’ll get there though!

In the meantime, we are getting more and more prepared for the birth itself. A couple weekends ago, Chris and I attended a couples’ yoga for labor and delivery workshop by Alice Duffy. Typically these classes are held at Yoga Yoga and fill up quickly, but I found out that Alice would be teaching a workshop at Get Babied and it fit our schedule really well. But when we arrived, we were surprised to find no one else there and Alice ended up tailoring the entire workshop just for us! She was an amazing teacher. She really expanded on what we’ve been learning in the Birthing from Within classes and we really enjoyed the experience. The good baby experiences then carried on for the next couple weeks. I had been really anxious about the baby’s position so Brielle’s mentor GB, who happens to be one of the longest practicing midwives in Austin, checked me out and confirmed that the baby was head down. We were super relieved! Chris and I also met with a birth photographer and really hit it off so I’m looking forward to having her take pictures for us.

Speaking of pictures, our friend Can very kindly took some holiday pictures for us that I’m very excited to share.

We’ve actually been pretty busy with holiday-related things. The first weekend of December, Chris and I went to the Zilker Tree lighting with friends and this weekend we’ll be doing the Trail of Lights 5k. We also have a lot of parties going on. Last night we went to my company party at Malaga Tapas & Bar and tonight Chris’s company is treating us to the Alamo Drafthouse Master Pancake Christmas Show. We also have a few friends’ parties this weekend as well. It’s been really fun and I’m looking forward to the festivities to follow!

Until next time!

Thanksgiving & Third Trimester Backpacking

This year’s Thanksgiving weekend was great. Last week I was worried I wouldn’t be feeling well enough to enjoy it, but everything worked out wonderfully!

By Wednesday I was completely over the stomach virus and Chris and I were able to get into cooking mode. Chris had picked up a 15 lb organic turkey at Central Market the day before (note that we had reserved it a couple weeks in advance, otherwise we couldn’t have gotten one since they ran out of non-reserved organic birds), and on Wednesday evening we got ready to brine it. After washing the turkey though, we realized that we didn’t have anything big enough to submerge the bird in. But after searching around we decided that our punch bowl would do and Chris managed to squeeze the whole thing in there. We then soaked the bird with water, a cup of salt, and freshly sliced jalapenos. We had no clue how it would turn out since we’d never brined anything before, but we hoped for the best. After it was in the fridge, I got to work on making cranberry sauce and turkey broth. The cranberry sauce is something I’ve finally perfected and it is easy to make in no time. Other than following the standard recipe (1 cup sugar + 1 cup boiled water + 12 oz package fresh cranberries), I typically steep the water with mulling spices and strain it before adding the cranberries. Also, we thoroughly wash all the cranberries and pick out the bad ones before tossing them in the sauce (one year the sauce came out terribly because a few rotten cranberries got mixed in and unfortunately there isn’t much you can do after it’s cooked). After cooling the sauce, I had to figure out what to do with the turkey broth on the back burner. I had tossed the turkey neck and some spices into some water and it had simmered into a delicious stock that would have been a shame to waste. Then Chris and I found a simple gravy recipe that we decided to give a try. In years past we’d bought pre-made jars and packet mixes that all turned out to be terrible, but for whatever reason I thought that making gravy from scratch was too intimidating. Clearly there was nothing to be afraid of. After mixing some flour into melted butter, we slowly added the broth and before I knew it we had concocted some delicious organic gravy. This is definitely a keeper for years to come!

The next morning, I got to work on the remaining sides while Chris packed up our camping supplies. Thinking back, I’m pretty impressed that we managed to make so much food from scratch using almost entirely organic ingredients. Over the past couple years we’ve managed to phase out all the unnatural items in our pantry so now even our sugar and flour are organic and not heavily refined. It’s liberating!

Once the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, creamed corn, and creamed spinach were ready, we got the car loaded up and soon we were enjoying some quality family time at Chris’s parents’ house in Spicewood. The weather was gorgeous and it was great being able to sit out on the deck while Chris and his dad fried the turkey. They had tossed a whole onion and garlic bulb in the fryer and it smelled tantalizingly good. Then in less than an hour we had a deliciously juicy main course and some amazing accompaniments. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and stayed the night.

Friday morning, we bid farewell to Yiayia, Papou, and Grandma Geri. After Chris’s dad got back from dropping them off at the airport, we made use of all the leftover fryer oil by making potato wedges, chicken fingers, and fried catfish. I honestly have no clue how I didn’t gain back all my pre-sick weight right then! I had dropped several pounds the previous weekend and Brielle advised I eat whatever I could since my ketones were super elevated (vomiting had led to starvation which led my body to try consuming its own muscle, fat, and liver cells for fuel, yikes). Well, mission accomplished. As we fried up our second round of food, our good friends Richard and Ruby arrived. After lunch, the four of us set off for Enchanted Rock – or seven of us if you include the dogs and the baby in the belly.

The week before Thanksgiving, Chris and I had talked about how great it would be to go backpacking, but we weren’t sure if it was feasible. We considered staying home to paint and get upstairs organized, but ultimately I’m happy we chose to try backpacking instead. I didn’t take as much weight as I normally do and Chris had to help me readjust my pack a little, but as soon as I was strapped in, I was comfortable and energized. The hip belt fit surprisingly well under the belly! And our two mile walk to the campsite went by in no time. It just felt really good to be outside doing something we love. There’s nothing quite like hiking towards a primitive site with pack on back and five fingers on feet!

We ended up spending Friday and Saturday night in the park. The weather was gorgeous and the views from the top of Enchanted Rock were stunning. The nights got a little chilly but Pepper slept curled at our feet and our sleeping bags did a wonderful job keeping us comfy so we got a lot of rest. I slept close to eleven hours each night and it felt really good! It was well deserved too with all the walking we were doing. But I can’t be too smug. Richard and Ruby were teaching their new dachshund puppy, Cinco, to be an adventure doggy and the little thing did a great job keeping up with us for a total of almost 8 miles over the course of the weekend. He happily hopped alongside us wherever we went like it was some sort of game and Enchanted Rock is no easy climb!

On Sunday we had to return back to civilization, but not without stopping at Opie’s Barbeque in Spicewood. We ravenously devoured some delicious food before returning to Chris’s parents’ house. After Richard and Ruby took off, Chris and I went in to gather up all the Thanksgiving leftovers. Chris’s parents had left on a cruise and we didn’t want any of that food to go to waste!

And now it’s back to the real world. Here’s a parting picture of me and the baby at 31 weeks. Two more months until the due date!

31 Weeks