Well, That Was Easy...

I must admit, I was a little miffed when I read that I had to select a pediatrician in order to pre-register at the hospital for Raiden's birth. One more hassle to go through, and (more annoyingly), one I hadn't thought of or researched yet! I spoke with one of the doctors at the Women's Center, and he listed several that were all excellent recommendation. The options seemed staggering.

Thankfully, a friend from church recommended one of the same ones, and she mentioned that he was  supportive of some of the more "crunchy" (natural) choices she was making with her kids. Those who know me know that I crunch like a mouth full of organic gravel, so I determined to check out who I remembered as "the doctor with the Zs." (Azzouz)

My husband and I went together after he picked me up from my OB appointment (all's well!) and we went to Bright Pediatrics for the consultation. After we were finished, I was happy to not only check off another preparation item, but also to know that we have a very capable pediatrician available who doesn't run at the first sign of crunching! :)

I was happy to see that he asked us several questions and gave some advice to help support us as we went along. I was also very happy with the answers he gave, which I have paraphrased (to the best of my preggo brain memory, so don't consider these to be direct quotes in any way) here. If anyone wants to use these questions when they interview potential pediatricians, feel free to do so!

Q: For the office: What types of insurance do you accept?

A: Medicaid, PeachCare, BCBS TN BlueCare, and other community providers

Q: What is your policy on immunizations? I'm hoping to delay/selectively vaccinate.

A: Vaccination is great and I recommend it. However, I respect your decisions and we will work out a vaccination schedule that works for you.

Q: What is the 1st year visit schedule?

A: Hospital visit in first two days, follow up in 4-7 days in the office, then 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, and 12 months.

Q: What standard do you use to measure weight gain?

A: We base off of the AAP, though each baby needs to stay consistent with his own gain curve.

Q: What are some symptoms that I should definitely call about?

A: In the first two months: fever of 100.5 and up, hacking cough, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Q: What are some symptoms that freak people out but usually aren't serious?

A: We get a lot of calls for low grade fever and stuffy nose. The fever, after two months, usually is treatable with children's Tylenol, but call if it persists or gets too high for your comfort. Do not give young kids sinus medicine except for saline spray to alleviate congestion. 

Observations:

Does the office seem clean/orderly? (yes, and there was plenty of seating and it was busy, but not crowded)

Were you seen in a timely fashion? (yes, considering it was a Monday right before lunch!)

Does the doctor like kids? (yes, he had four of his own and was very proud of them!)

How about you guys? What are some questions you have or would ask a potential pediatrician?

It's the Third Trimester!!!

Here I sit at 27 1/2 weeks and I must confess, I'm alternating between restlessness and downright panic in this odd cycle where very little makes sense.  Oddly enough, it's all normal--the aches, the appetite rearing its head at strange hours, and being walloped in the gut for bending over or getting stressed.

A few things I've noticed:
The most comfortable seating is not a La-z-boy recliner, it's an exercise ball. A few minutes of bouncing and lounging around, and back pain all but vanishes, like magic.

An evening spent lying on top of (or having one on top of me) a rice heating pad is better than a spa day. It's relaxing and glorious.

Top Gear is a fantastic series. It's funny, has RIDICULOUS camera work (especially for a car show!), and makes clever observations about the world in general, all while test driving very cool-looking cars. I'd love to see an episode on mommy vans.

Not having a nursery while going through nesting is a pain. I'll stop there on that one.

"Advice" has a strange meaning now. I wish I'd kept a list of things people have told me to expect. In fact, here's a breakdown of a few things I expected (whether because I read it or was advised) and how they've turned out so far. I have 11 1/2 weeks to go, so there's still time...

Some typical symptoms I've mysteriously avoided so far:

Cravings: I had preferences and one short-lived aversion, but nothing I HAD to have.
Violent mood swings: There have been evenings where I've been sad and upset. I have been grumpy at times. But it has been nothing worse than PMS symptoms.
Horrible nausea: I have 10 minutes of nausea followed by tossing my cookies if I have
     A. Not had enough sleep,
     B. Eaten horribly, or
     C. Worked nonstop for 3+ hours in the garden in the heat.
Hemorrhoids/UTIs/yeast infections: I technically had one UTI before I knew I was pregnant. I've never had the other two.
Constipation: One sandwich made with fiber-full bread or a breakfast of bran, oatmeal, or French toast, and all is right. I try to include fiber-rich foods every other day or so, just to make sure it all stays in motion.
Braxton Hicks Contractions: Nope, that was just gas. Nope, he just walloped me. No BHCs.
Hot Flashes/Staying too hot: People said I'd be miserable in the summer. I still wear a jacket to church.
Swelling: My OB grabbed me by the foot a few weeks ago and exclaimed, "You still have ankles!!!!" Yes, yes, sir, that I do. I have ankles. Thank you for pointing that out.

Some symptoms of which I've had plenty:

Hunger: I've rarely been ready to cook an entire 5-course meal at 11:30 at night before. Now that I can't, I want to sooo badly.
Back aches: I'm going to a chiropractor to help get my spine and pelvis in order for labor. Thankfully, the discomfort is manageable, though it's not a picnic.
Dislike of noise and stress in environment: Good grief, I hate weekends. There is a lot of noise in my environment, and the more people are off work, the worse it gets. Independence Day was ungodly, and it had nothing to do with fireworks. I'm seriously considering putting up a hammock in the storage building.

Really, honestly, it hasn't been awful. Every time I try to think of more symptoms I've had, I have to add another to the list of things that haven't described this pregnancy.

Anyway, I'm starting to delete more than I'm keeping, so I think it's time to go organize some stuff.

Guilty of Contempt

A friend of mine posted this link in our mommy group a few minutes ago: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/06/13/dont-just-wait-until-theyre-teenagers/

The following excerpt is from this article. While I don't agree with everything in it, this particular paragraph on behavior modeling really toasted my proverbial poptart: 

Civil children come from civil environments. Many parents feel free to speak to their children with a level of incivility they would not use with anyone else they know. They bark orders. They raise their voices. They use sarcasm and contempt: "Seriously? That's how you cleaned your room?" They poison civil language with contemptuous tone: "Ryan, please put your shoes on." They patronize. They roll their eyes and sigh. They construct a cocktail of word choice, tone, and body language that they would not serve to a co-worker, friend, or stranger on the street. And then they serve it liberally to an under-aged consumer, the smallest neighbor they are called to love preferentially: their own child. Yet they are shocked to end up with an adolescent fluent in the language of contempt.

Yikes.

Now, I know some homes where husband and wife scream and yell at each other constantly. Some people were raised in an environment where this is the way conflict was handled. It bothers me. It seriously bothers me. I refuse to model that example to my son. Thankfully, screaming and yelling was rarely part of my childhood, so while I have little tolerance for it, I also have little example of it, either. So far in our two years of marriage, David and I have never raised our voices against each other.

But that's not what this article is talking about, though the opening began with that.

The reason this paragraph stood out to me is that I picked up on something much more subtle that was modeled to me, and something that I still struggle with as of last night at 2 in the morning. It's passive-aggressive anger. It's choosing to be darkly silent and cold toward those who have displeased you. You know Jenny's really upset when she's utterly quiet and clinically precise with her tone and mannerisms.

I have been blessed with an incredible husband who has helped me greatly on this by taking the high road and calling me out. He can tell that something's wrong and he'll kindly ask for me to open up to him. When I talk to him and express myself, I make myself vulnerable to that anger, but in an environment where there is love and understanding available to draw me closer, whereas before there was loneliness and bitterness embracing me as I secluded myself to brood.

The uncivil body and verbal language being described here is me to a T. "Seriously?" is one of my favorite unhappy words. Sarcasm easily transitions from being jovial and gentle to stabbing and biting. Closed-off body language is the most infuriating thing my husband can experience from me: "you don't find me worthy in those moments to share what you're feeling."

What could be more hideous to see from my child? Why do I do that to my husband? If I model that type of behavior to my son, that's exactly what I can expect back from him. Where I often rely on my husband to call me out and take the high road, I have got to make the choice to take the high road myself and lay down my pride for the sake of these incredible men in my life.

I think it's time for me to lay down this sin and ask for Christ to forgive me and give me His love for my family. 

My Top 10 Pros and Cons of Pregnancy so Far

Pros:
My husband LOVES touching my hair. It feels thicker and has more body now.
I got a whole new wardrobe for free (to me). These maternity clothes are cuter than the ones I had!
Lots of back rubs and snuggles.
A lovely glow.
Getting to feel Raiden kicking and moving.
Getting to see awesome ultrasounds.
Lots of glorious sleep!
No time of the month for NINE WHOLE MONTHS!
Having the excuse, "I'm growing a person, what did YOU do today?"
Large...tracts of land.... ;)


Cons:
A whole bunch of doctors' visits that do little or nothing fun, and quite a few un-fun things.
Having to eat constantly...it gets old very quickly.
Temporarily losing that schoolgirl figure.
Temporarily losing libido.
My eczema is worse.
Back aches and stretchy pains.
Can't garden as long at a stretch or eat sushi or half-cooked meat or drink booze.
Occasional bouts of PMS-like grouchiness.
Occasional gas and/or nausea.
The bump gets in the way of almost everything.

22 weeks and I found a cool update!

How Far Along: 22 weeks!

Size of baby: 1-ish lbs. <3

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained around 3-5 lbs so far. 

Maternity Clothes: Right now, I'm in a conventional everything but shirt, depending on the garment.

Gender: Boy

Movement: A few times per day, usually around mealtime and bedtime.

Sleep:  <3 sleep. I'd sleep 9-10 hours/day every day if I could. I usually can.

What I miss: Rolling over not requiring an act of Congress, sushi

Cravings: Breakfast, salty foods, protein-rich foods, and macaroni.

Symptoms: I eat a lot, I sleep a lot, my back gets achy, and POOF! Out stretches the tummy!

Best Moment this week: Going to visit my family for Memorial Day on the spur of the moment. I packed while they drove up to get me! 

Name: We are almost entirely set on Raiden Christopher. I love it so much!

In Other News: I had my first ever chiropractor appointment this week. Hopefully getting adjusted and following his advice will help me to have a better time when it comes to labor and delivery as well as an easier time with my body changing during pregnancy. 

Oh, Halfway There!

This is a picture from the ultrasound yesterday. Our little minja is most definitely a boy. The ultrasound tech told us we could buy blue and throw away the receipts, he'd put the odds at 100%.

So far our name-hunting journey has led us to Raiden as a first name, and a possible middle name of Christopher, though we're both thinking about it before finalizing that decision. David was definitely right, our choice of first name has brought the gamers out in force. (Raiden, since it's Japanese in origin, is the name of a couple of popular video game characters, most notably in Mortal Kombat.)

Today marks the beginning of week 20, the halfway mark. I've been one of the "lucky ones" who had little to no nausea, and even now only feel poorly if I A) do not take my prenatal vitamin, B) overdo it in the garden, like hoeing for 2 hours without stopping, or C) get sleep deprived. If I do overdo it in any of these areas, I feel nauseated for about 10 minutes, toss my lunch in the bathroom, then am immediately fine to go get a new lunch.

This picture was taken about two weeks ago. I don't look much bigger now than I did then, barely a discernible bump unless I wear really tight clothes. A new dad told us that the time until 20 weeks or so looks more like "that lady had too many hamburgers" and less like a baby. 

Speaking of baby, I feel him frequently now, especially after meals and when I'm trying to go to sleep. He thumps around happily and I'm glad he's exercising, even if it means I lie in bed for a while until he settles down so I can sleep.

Right now, the biggest concern I have isn't for the baby's development (which has been perfect), my own mothering, or delivery. It's been location. Not knowing where we'll be living or where David will be working kinda stinks, especially because I want so badly to collect the baby furniture in one place. These past 20 weeks have flown by, and summers always go by super fast for me, so I know it will be no time at all before I'm holding my son and need a place to lay him down. If that means a pack and play in our bedroom, that's fine by me, but I want to prepare for that emotionally and physically. If that means its own nursery in a new house, I want to prepare for that.

Honestly, though, I know we are where we are supposed to be for right now. I'm doing everything in my power (that I can think of) to be prepared for when we take our next step. I'm learning so much about being a mom and getting fun ideas of things to do with our son for later.

Well, that's about it for now!

16 weeks and not a dull moment yet!

So, I thought I'd share an atypical day in the life of this preggo woman. My husband and I are house sitting for his parents this week and it's been loads of fun.

My camera documentation began when I took this photo to demonstrate how I was barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.

You can clearly see both my feet and my baby bump. I was cooking up a batch of hamburger and hot dog buns and I took a trip into the laundry room to relieve the freezer of some hot dogs. Then I saw this:

Yup. It's three cats all trying to kill a giant rat. The scene was hilarious. Before I continue, let's introduce the players, and go ahead and make your bets on who killed the rats.

Bynx-The "Momma" cat (the white and black one), an experienced hunter, but getting a little old
Gisko-Bynx's daughter, a mighty huntress who often brings back catches and leaves them on the doorstep
Little Bit-The playful and fearless Bobtail who has made a kill or two
Pepper-The cross-eyed grey Balinese who sleeps all day
The yet officially unnamed puppy-who is about as big as the rat (part terrier, part Australian shepherd)
Lick-The giant tongue who lays around and is scared of bugs (part lab, part pit bull)
David-The husband who was playing Skyrim when all this started
Jenny-The preggo woman
Minja-The unborn baby to whom the blog title refers.

Made your guesses yet? The rat does die at the end...and one of these characters finishes it off.

I saw the cats chasing the rat as it hid behind the litter box. The sight was hilarious, so I called David in to watch. We watched and laughed as Pepper stared down the rat, cross-eyed, while Little Bit did most of the leg work. Bynx corralled the rat, but didn't make any moves in its direction.

Finally, Little Bit caught the rat and flung it around, hissing and growling as it bit back after she bit it. Soon she'd had enough and let go. The rat ran into the bathroom, then into our room and behind one of David's speakers. The cats had apparently had enough of this bigger-than-usual foe, so they stood back and watched instead of pouncing as it ran around.

Then David grabbed an empty trash can and tore off part of the pizza box from last night's dinner and spanked the rat until it walked into the trash can and he took it outside. But not before I snapped a picture!

This is a 13-gallon trash can and the rat was as long as the bottom was wide, easily.

So, David dumped it outside.

And....

Lick killed it. The otherwise useless tongue that is afraid of butterflies finished off the injured rat. And we grilled it. Just kidding on the grill bit. We did grill some magnificent hamburgers and chicken, though.

These are the delicious homemade hamburger and hot dog buns. Now we have to buy some hot dogs, since apparently there weren't any in the freezer after all. Maybe I can make some rat hot dogs. Nah, too much real meat. :)