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

Childbirth Classes, Baby Shower, and Sick Mommy

On the Monday after the half marathon last weekend, Chris and I took our first childbirth class. I had spent awhile trying to choose between Bradley, Lamaze, and a whole host of other options. Ultimately I’m really happy with what we picked – the six week complete series through Conscious Birthing Austin, based on the book Birthing from Within. The class came highly recommended by Brielle (my midwife) and my masseuse who is also a midwife. Brielle actually had a copy of Birthing from Within that she was able to lend us and it has been invaluable so far. It’s easy to follow and Chris has been reading it to me and the belly. There’s so much great stuff in the book that no amount of internet research could ever substitute. And reading it together has made it so much easier for me and Chris to get on the same page in terms of our expectations. Just a word of caution if you buy the book – don’t get too hung up on the cheesy parts! We had to skip a few sections, but the majority of the book is packed with good advice. Also, the class itself has been wonderful and informative so far, I think the combination of these resources will set us up very well for January.

The rest of the week started off well but then took a turn. On Tuesday, Chris and I went to dinner with some friends at Bombay Bistro to celebrate Diwali, but I needed to hurry out to make it to a prenatal massage on time. The next day, we went to Home Slice with his family for our first free pizza with Chad. Yiayia and Papou (Chris’s dad’s parents – “grandmother” and “grandfather” in Greek) were also able to join us as they had just flown in from Denver. Things were great but that night, Chris got really sick. He had the symptoms of really bad food poisoning and must have vomited at least six times in the night. We had no idea where he picked it up since we ate the same exact things. We briefly wondered if it could have been the Indian food since I had left before the entrees came out, but none of our friends were affected as far as I know. He spent Thursday in bed and had a hard time working on Friday. Then Friday evening, I started getting queasy. Soon enough I was the one that needed taking care of and by Saturday morning I had a fever and couldn’t keep any food down. Chris stayed in constant contact with Brielle to help me through the day and after half a dose of Tylenol (first time taking a drug this pregnancy), my fever broke in the afternoon. I had trouble deciding whether or not to cancel dancing that evening, but ultimately I recovered enough energy to change into my belly dance costume and the show at Carousel went just fine. I was really reluctant to bail since we knew so many people were planning to see me perform that night and it’s not every day that Chris’s grandparents are in town. Thankfully everything went smoothly and Chris assured me that I didn’t look sick! As soon as we finished up and took some pictures, Chris helped me undo my hair, makeup, costuming, and jewelry. I was back in bed before 10 pm as if the whole night hadn’t happened.

 

Duet Partners!

Sunday morning, I was still fatigued and nauseous, but luckily the fever was still gone. We headed to Chris’s parents’ home in Spicewood for the baby shower, but before getting there, we stopped at the Hill Country Galleria to browse the only Old Navy in town with a maternity section. I made my first ever maternity purchases and now have some reasonable clothes that actually fit properly. Also, between a coupon and a sale, we managed to cut the bill in half which was a definite plus. Had it been summer I probably could have made do with my current clothes, but now that it’s getting chillier out, I really needed some warm pieces that could offer the appropriate coverage!

Once we got settled in at Chris’s parents’ house, the baby shower itself was a blast. Although I was really lacking my usual amount of energy, I still managed to have a good time. The gorgeous weather allowed for us all to chat with friends on the deck while overlooking the cliffs and hill country. And we even got to play our non-traditional baby games outside. The first was a round of “pin the sperm on the egg” in which people got to pick a girl or boy sperm and then blindly stick it to an egg drawing on the front of Chris’s parents’ house. Richard won with a girl sperm and his prize was quite fitting – a pregnancy test!

After opening gifts, we then had a beer chugging contest out of baby bottles. Surprisingly enough, our contestants had an extremely difficult time with it. They each had to finish 4 ounces of liquid but it seemed pretty painstaking for some of them – I think the spectators had the most fun with this since it provided pretty solid amusement. With all the dribbling and drool it was pretty clear that we should have provided bibs… next time! Chad and Lauren ended up finishing first within neck and neck of each other, and Chris’s dad was close behind. We were thoroughly entertained and it was a great way to wrap up the afternoon before going back home for more sleep.

The next morning, I called in sick to work and slept for the majority of the day. I think it was just what I needed to get functioning again. That afternoon Chris and I went to see Brielle and then went to Casa de Luz for dinner before our childbirth class. It was the first time all weekend I was able to keep down an entire meal so I was relieved to be on the path to feeling normal again.

And as of yesterday I was back to feeling better – or at least as good as one can feel when 30 weeks pregnant. It seems like the baby knew it hit some sort of milestone because all of its movements managed to intensify between last week and this week. I thought everything I had been feeling before was pretty well defined but now there’s a whole new level of rolling around in there. Brielle thinks baby is head down at the moment, but she couldn’t get a solid hold so we’ll need to confirm at the next appointment. A couple weeks ago, the baby was obviously transverse but I listened to a Hypnobabies CD pretty continuously and practiced visualizing baby head down whenever I could. I guess positive energy goes a long way!

And now it's time to start some serious cooking. Happy Thanksgiving!

Lots of Accomplishments

Last weekend, I turned 27 and Chris threw our first party in the new house. We were finally able to unpack our decorative items so the place is starting to feel like home!

The birthday-related events wrapped up just in time for the presidential election on Tuesday. Over lunch that day, Chris and I walked a block from our house to the community center to cast our votes. After having watched PRICELE$$, a documentary on campaign finance, I learned that legislators spend much more time fundraising than improving society, so I was fairly apathetic about voting. I didn’t see how one measly vote could compete with lobbyists and PACs, especially when the majority vote is dictated by the limited information that is available. What happens when you substitute real journalism for copied and pasted press releases? Well, Prop 37 was defeated in California. Chemical companies spent over 40 million dollars buying all the information sources in the state and tricked the masses into thinking it was a bad idea to label GMO-foods. With all this manufactured consent, I don’t know if human and environmental needs will ever take precedence over unethical, profit-driven corporate interests. I voted for Jill Stein as an objection to the tyranny of a two-party system that puts on a show every few years to make people think they have a say in a corrupt government, but who am I kidding? Maybe I’ll have the energy to join in on a grassroots movement one day. At least little things show that change is possible, kudos to the states that made progress with marriage equality and the legalization of a harmless medicinal plant. I suppose society is bound to shed the shackles of nonsense one day.

Once the election buzz died down, life went back to normal for just a little bit. But then on Thursday night, Chris’s parents called to let us know that the family dog, Carsyn, had been up seizing non-stop and that she didn’t have much longer to live. Chris met them at the vet on Friday morning but I couldn’t bear to go. They ended her suffering and now Carsyn is chowing down on pizza and key lime pie in doggy heaven.

The next day, we went to a carnival at Home Slice Pizza after doing brunch with Tracy, an old college friend who was in town for a wedding. We weren’t at the carnival for too long though since Chris and I anticipated coming back several times over the next few days. Chris’s brother, Chad, had signed up for the annual HOES (Hands on an Eggplant Sub) competition. After taking third place the last time he competed, he was determined to win it this year. The premise is simple enough: the last contestant to remove his or her hand from a giant eggplant sandwich wins free pizza for a year. Back in 2010, Chad stood for almost three days (with a few minutes to use the restroom every 10 hours), before calling it quits. We were sure he would be the last man standing this year and we bid him good luck before heading back home.

Winnie and I got some belly dance practice in during the afternoon since our performance at Carousel Lounge is coming up soon. As promised, here are some pictures of me at the October 27th show.

Saturday night, Chris and I went to Miah’s birthday party as well as a little get together at Rose’s new house in South Austin. Then after a brief stop at Home Slice to check on Chad, we were off to San Antonio. We intended to see him as soon as we got back the next day, but apparently all the other contestants left during the night. Around 6 am we got news that Chad had won. I guess we’ll be eating a lot more pizza over the course of next year!

And here we are on Sunday with me at exactly 29 weeks.

29 Weeks - San Antonio 11/11/12

What are those medals around our necks? Well, last year after Chris and I ran the San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon, we decided to save some money by doing the early-bird registration for the same race this year. But after finding out I was pregnant, we looked into deferring the registration to next year since I didn’t think it would be the best idea to run that far during my third trimester. Apparently that was out of the question so Chris’s dad agreed to train and run in my place. In the meantime, registration opened up for a 3 mile “mini-marathon” so that’s what I ended up completing with Chris’s mom while Chris and his dad ran 13.1 miles.

When Chris started the race, he wasn’t very confident since he hadn’t trained nearly as intensively as he wanted to. But in the end he really pulled through. Not only did he beat his old time, he also hit the under 2 hour mark by 17 seconds! I’m really proud of him and all the other half marathon finishers. Here we are with some of my running buddies from work. Most of us participated in the Run to the Sun race earlier this year (an overnight 95 mile relay from Enchanted Rock to Austin) so seeing them all at the finish line festival made me miss running that much more. I see a jogging stroller in the near future.

Third Trimester Begins

Three months until the baby is due! It still hasn’t quite sunk in, but I’ll let you know when it does!

Check out the growing baby bump:


24 Weeks



26 Weeks



27 Weeks

So, this week was a fun one. Chris and I went to the Texas Renaissance Festival for our very first time. We’ve been meaning to check it out for several years now and last weekend we finally made it. We even got a chance to re-use old pirate costumes that we got for Halloween a few years ago since it was pirate weekend and all. Saturday (Oct 20th) involved driving out there, wandering around the festival area, admiring everyone’s costumes, and camping with Krystal, Mark, and their friend Justin. The next day, we followed a pretty intense schedule going from show to show. The high point was when the boys competed in a fish and chips eating contest. Surprisingly, Chris won 2nd place while Justin came in 3rd. Before you start wondering how much weight was gained, let me clarify that this competition was set up in a way that gross overeating wouldn’t occur. Everyone got a reasonably portioned basket of decently tasty food and it was a race to finish off the contents. Chris was a little disappointed since he was seconds away from placing first, but still, this was all pretty unexpected. In the end they not only got a free meal (the original reason for entering the contest) but also a goody bag of souvenirs and tickets for next year!

Once we got back from RenFest, we buckled down and put some more time into the house. Now we officially have a living room and can sleep in the master bedroom instead of the guest room! Check out how far we were as of two weeks ago:

 

 

 

And now as of more recently...

We’re happy with the progress that’s been made so far and all that’s left to do should be fairly manageable. Now we get to turn our attention to things like Halloween, my birthday, performing at Carousel, the baby shower, Thanksgiving, holiday parties, Christmas, New Years, and then the baby!

These last few days were a prequel for all that. My coworkers threw us (and another mom-to-be) a mini baby shower at work on Thursday.

Then on Friday Chris and I got all dressed up for Rishee’s Halloween party. Unfortunately the only picture I have is with my costume only partially complete, but hopefully some better ones will surface soon. You can thank Chad’s girlfriend Nagisa for the inspiration. Chris and I were “undead and unborn” with him being my zombie baby daddy.



Baby's First Halloween

Saturday was another eventful day. After attending a very informative homebirth seminar on hospital transfers, we headed right back home so I could get ready to perform with my belly dance troupe at Star Co Coffee in Round Rock. The show was a good one and I even had my very first solo. I originally had choreographed the piece with Winnie as a duet, but she’s out of the country and Lily thought it would be fine as its own thing so that’s what happened. Granted I never thought I’d be 6 months pregnant for my first solo performance, but from what I could tell, everyone enjoyed it. We’ll perform the set again on Saturday November 17 at 7:30 pm at Carousel Lounge (1110 East 52nd Street Austin, TX 78723 – no cover) so I hope to see you there! That’s all for now, hopefully I’ll have good Halloween and belly dance pictures to share next time!

Baby Registry!

With our baby shower coming up on November 18, I’ve gotten some questions on where Chris and I have registered, so I thought I’d put that info right here on the blog for all our generous friends and family. The bulk of what we’ve picked out is on Amazon, but we also set up a registry at Baby Earth in Round Rock for people who prefer shopping at a physical store. I opted to go with Baby Earth instead of some more well known places because I’ve heard numerous complaints from friends who had a hard time with returns and exchanges at the big box retailers. I also tinkered with myregistry.com, but I found that it doesn’t always load linked registry items properly so the best use for that site is monetary gifts. People have also asked if we have a theme and I’d say that we’re going for an earthy and organic nursery. The clothing I registered for falls into that category too, but hand-me-downs might make more sense. Also, if you want to come to the shower (it is co-ed!) and haven’t received an Evite, please let me know so I can get you the details!

In setting up our registries, I found the whole process to be quite overwhelming. Who knew picking out baby stuff could be so difficult? In researching mattresses, bath products, and so on, I came across many troubling articles on all the hazardous chemicals that are emitted by baby-related things. Labels that say “natural” and “made with organic materials,” are strategically designed to alleviate consumer worries without necessarily ensuring a safer product – it takes deep digging to distinguish between sleazy green-washing marketers and genuinely good manufacturers. Regardless of the brand, you’d imagine that extensive testing would be done on all baby products before they were sold, but like with everything else on the consumer market, most things are generally recognized as safe until proven otherwise. And only after something is linked to causing harm do regulators start setting up somewhat arbitrary limits for what is considered “acceptable.” Also, if a certain chemical is deemed terrible enough to ban, a new potentially more dangerous one can be used to replace it so the cycle continues. Considering my college level physiology textbooks consistently discussed knowledge gaps and unknown biochemical pathways in the human body, I cannot fathom how anyone could accurately calculate the cumulative effects of all the toxins in this world and then set quantifiable safe exposure limits for each one – especially in regards to embryos and infants that might not exhibit problematic symptoms for many years to come. Replacing synthetics with tried and true natural alternatives is the simplest way to eliminate this concern.

In the example of DES, mothers thought they were doing something good when they took this approved, doctor prescribed “miscarriage-prevention” drug (a synthetic form of estrogen). Over twenty years later did they finally see its results: widespread infertility and cancer among their grown daughters. It took 30 years for the FDA to tell doctors to stop prescribing DES and studies on the grandchildren of the victims are just now starting. This sad story goes to show that we as a society put too much faith in regulators and industry. What if every single pregnant woman in the world had taken DES in that time period? What would have the implications been for us, our children, and the human race? Whether we like it or not, we endanger ourselves when we blindly trust a profit-based world to consistently look out for our well-being. With all the stuff we are exposed to these days, we are all a part of a science experiment and there’s no telling what the results will be several decades from now. Isolated short-term “testing” can’t accurately predict long-term effects, but it’s easy to fall into the trap of perceived safety. Harmful things can and do happen due to the slow nature of good science – funding and publicizing solid research is a beast of its own. With conflicting interests and variant data, it takes years for the scientific community to come to an agreement on things. Throw industry lobbyists and politics in the mix and it’s no wonder that regulations can’t keep up with modern advancements.

Ever since I became pregnant, it’s like some weird protective instinct kicked in. I find myself hyper-aware of various things in the environment that didn’t matter as much to me when I wasn’t carrying a little one. To alleviate my concerns I tend to do a lot of research, but I usually end up finding that I’m not alone in my qualms and that scientific data is sparse. One day, when future science finally discovers the root causes of many of today’s unexplained chronic illnesses, I have a feeling that several will be tied to the many conveniences of modern society. As much as I enjoy technology, there is so much that’s unknown about how everything works together: chemicals that leach out of plastics and synthetic materials (PVCs, phthalates, other endocrine disrupters), VOCs, preservatives and additives in foods, GMOs, pesticides, fluoridated tap water, carcinogens in skincare products, chemical fertilizers, mercury, microwaved food, groundwater contamination through fracking, cell phone radiation, synthetic vitamins, the list goes on and on. Many of these things are unavoidable in today’s world, but since we enjoy the immediate benefits, it’s easy to dismiss safety concerns by saying each individual thing has a trivial or unknown effect on the body. Not many people consider what the cumulative effect over a lifespan or multiple generations could be. Humankind will probably end with everyone coming down with cancer and reproductive problems.

So with all that said, I’ve also come to accept that this is the world we live in and a lot of problems are beyond my control. For things I can control, like consumer items for the baby, I plan to keep things as natural (plastic/synthetic-free), minimalist, and reusable as possible. I already have a hard time dealing with clutter and stuff in general, so this works in my favor. Also, a lot of products for toxin-conscious individuals are now on Craigslist and considering how expensive this stuff is brand new, it is really nice to have the option to buy used. Being okay with used stuff may not be customary, but Chris and I have never been very traditional people!

Is it a boy or girl? Questions about Ultrasound Safety/Necessity

I was surprised when I learned that for women with an uncomplicated pregnancy, ultrasounds are not a necessary part of prenatal care. But even though the FDA discourages using them for non-medical purposes (like identifying the gender), no one seems to mind that women these days get an average of four or more ultrasounds over the course of their pregnancies. The following comes from the FDA’s website:

"When ultrasound enters the body, it heats the tissues slightly. In some cases, it can also produce small pockets of gas in body fluids or tissues (cavitation). The long-term effects of tissue heating and cavitation are not known.

Because of the particular concern for fetal exposures, national and international organizations have advocated prudent use of ultrasound imaging. Furthermore, the use of diagnostic ultrasound for non-medical purposes such as fetal keepsake videos has been discouraged."

This is disconcerting because it feels like society heavily advocates the use of sonograms without really caring about the long-term consequences. Machines keep getting more powerful, but research papers keep saying that there isn’t enough safety testing being done. Just like with tobacco and alcohol, it takes decades after damage has already been done before the government steps up and deems something “unsafe.” History repeats itself you know! Take this example with X-rays:

"X-rays were used on pregnant women for almost fifty years and assumed to be safe. In 1937, a standard textbook on antenatal care stated: 'It has been frequently asked whether there is any danger to the life of the child by the passage of X- rays through it; it can be said at once there is none if the examination is carried out by a competent radiologist or radiographer.' A later edition of the same textbook stated: 'It is now known that the unrestricted use of X-rays through the fetus caused childhood cancer.'" (from http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ultrasoundwagner.asp)

Another article I read expanded on this notion:
"No one believes that ultrasounds are as dangerous as prenatal X-rays. But the point is that many things in obstetrics are adopted without fully studying their safety and efficacy, and the safety concerns of critics are often ignored for years, harming many babies in the meantime. X-rays is but one example; others include the 'twilight sleep' drugs used during birth for many years, aggressive use of forceps and fundal pressure during birth, drugs such as DES and thalidomide, and many others.  History proves that just because doctors say something is safe doesn't mean it is, and this has been especially true in obstetrics."

It would be one thing if fetal ultrasounds were proven to be risk-free, but if there could be unintended consequences, why chance it? In 1993, the FDA significantly increased allowable exposure limits to account for the stronger signals being used in newer machines, so the argument that ultrasound has been safely used for the past 25-50 years doesn’t quite fit the current technological climate. Scientists have already shown that babies can potentially hear something as loud as a subway train when an ultrasound is being performed. There is even research attributing potential birth defects and neurological conditions to the overuse of fetal ultrasound: http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ultrasoundrodgers.asp

On another interesting note, using ultrasound for early diagnosis of a problem doesn’t do much to improve fetal health since babies can’t be treated in utero anyway: http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ultrasound.asp

People have been asking me if I want to find out the gender of the baby before it is born. Sure it would be fun to know, but if I’m going to find out in 3 months anyway, why bother? It’s not like I need to stock up on gender-specific clothes and accessories, with how fast babies grow I’d much rather use hand-me-downs for the first several months anyway. And neutral nursery décor will be great for if the baby’s future siblings are a different gender.

So in short, I plan to limit my ultrasounds to important reasons like pregnancy-related complications. The big question for me all along was this: Do the benefits outweigh the risks? As of now the answer is “no”, but on the bright side, there will be one more thing to look forward to on the baby’s birthday!

Some Normalcy at Last

We’re breathing a little easier these days now that the house is slowly turning into a more livable space. And we’re feeling a lot less guilty about going out and enjoying ourselves. On Friday night, Chris and I did dinner downtown at Haddingtons. Despite it being a bit pricier than we expected, the food ended up being really good and it was a really nice date. We followed it up with a great ACL after-show at La Zona Rosa. We stopped going to ACL a few years ago when we discovered that SXSW was countless times better, but got the best of both worlds that night with Punch Brothers and Trampled by Turtles in a nice intimate venue with great sound. It was a good way to enjoy some quality music without the nuisances and hefty costs of the somewhat overrated ACL festival. Apparently living in Austin for so long has made me a bit snobby when it comes to live music since we tend to see a lot of good shows.

The weekend went by pretty quickly. On Saturday we somehow spent several hours at a baby wearing class at the Baby Earth store in Round Rock. I never realized how many different options there were in the baby carrying world (or that there was an international club/organization devoted to baby wearing), but we learned quickly that the best way to choose a carrier is to stick your baby in each type to see what the both of you like – not easy when your baby is still inside of you. Luckily people seemed to have no qualms about handing us their infants when we tried different styles, but since different babies have different preferences there’s really no telling what will work best until the baby is born. Either way, we learned a lot and Chris couldn’t seem to get enough. Playing with other infants makes him want our own that much more. Lucky for him he doesn’t have much longer to wait – we’re less than four months away from having a newborn in our hands!

Sunday involved more house-related shopping. But between getting cabinet hardware at Ikea and ceiling fans at Lowe’s, we were able to stop by and say hello to our friends Eryn and Alex. They just went through a natural water birth at Austin Area Birthing Center and now have a beautiful 2 week old girl that we were able to meet for the first time. Later that afternoon, I got some exercise on the trail with Chris and Richard and that evening we went to Pharah’s for Josh and Carol’s wedding anniversary. The last time we saw them, their little girl Suria was just learning how to walk, but now she’s toddling around pretty effortlessly. It’s kind of crazy that we’ll be going through all this in the next couple years!

On Monday, Chris and I spent a couple hours talking to Brielle at our prenatal appointment. We have a lot in common with her and I am really looking forward to her catching our baby. Also, after talking to her, we were relieved to hear that we didn’t need to pay for a doula. Eryn and Alex highly recommended that we hire one (we even met their doula by coincidence since Brielle shares an office with Get Babied), but Brielle assured us she could do all the massage and hands on stuff a doula would do and even bring an apprentice to help if we wanted. She explained that different midwives had different styles and that birthing center policies could make it difficult for a midwife to also act as a doula. But with our home birth, she actually wouldn’t have much to do if we did hire a doula so fortunately that’s one less thing for us to worry about!

Monday night after dinner, we did more catching up with friends. We went to a farewell party for Pia since she was going to be flying back to Chile the next day. At the party, Jaidev reminded me about a slow-cooked chicken dish I hadn’t made in ages so the next day I picked up the ingredients to make it for dinner that night. Chris and I had been eating at restaurants for the majority of our meals and although we enjoy the time together, we were getting pretty sick of the food and the expense. So Tuesday night after picking our friend Ruby up from the airport, she and Jaidev joined us for an impromptu hearty fall dinner at our house. Acorn squash, chard, and pearled couscous made for fun accompaniments and it was the best I’d eaten all week. Jaidev brought fresh figs and organic frozen yogurt for dessert - I’m thinking this kind of thing should happen more frequently! And hopefully it will now that the house is a little more presentable.

Over the course of the last several days, Chris and I finally got some of the furniture that was stored upstairs moved down into the family room. Decoration is sparse to non-existent at the moment, but I’d take that over tools and construction debris any day. Also our clean and functional kitchen has done wonders for my sanity. Unfortunately Rafael never returned to reframe the archway, finish painting, or take care of the details with the baseboards, so we may need to look into other options. Although I liked the precision cutting work his group did with our floors, I don’t know if I can say the same for their ability to paint and seal. Chris showed them how we get straight lines on textured walls with tape and caulk, but they chose to freehand and didn’t do quite as well as we tend to do. But at the same time, we don’t have nearly as much time as they do.

On Wednesday night, Chris went to a Sleigh Bells show while I got my second prenatal massage with Mandy. Then on Thursday night, we decided to sell our tickets for Awolnation and Imagine Dragons. I love both bands, but I saw Imagine Dragons at an unofficial SXSW show earlier this year and Chris saw AWOL the year before. Also I think when Chris originally bought the tickets he anticipated us going after my belly dance class, but the start time of the show got pushed up and I wasn’t too keen on missing both class and rehearsal since we have a performance coming up soon. So while we did an early dinner with Blair and Sean at Mandola’s, Chris posted the tickets to Craigslist from his phone. We didn’t have high expectations since doors were supposed to open in a couple hours and he was asking higher than the purchase price. Well, we were wrong and should’ve asked for more money – a few minutes after he posted, he got several calls and emails. And within twenty minutes, someone met us in the restaurant with cash (more than the original asking price) and we were good to go. After belly dance, I met back up with Chris, Blair, and some other friends at Black Star Co-op for Blair’s birthday. When I showed up they were finishing up a very in-depth brewery tour from the master brewer Jeff. Jeff was really cool and actually knew some of my work friends since he previously worked with a lot of them at a biotech company. And with his chemistry background he nerded out on technical stuff with Blair and Miah since they both are into home brewing. It was good to see a happy birthday boy.

And just like that another week has flown by. But we’re going to put off home improvement just a little longer. With the gorgeous crisp fall weather, it’s going to be a perfect weekend for camping. We wasted a great travel opportunity Labor Day weekend since we were so wrapped up with the house and now I find myself regretting not doing more over the summer. Considering fall is way shorter than summer, it’s time to take advantage now or else I’ll regret it come winter!