Wool, Gender...

I've had good intentions to write a post that included a photo of the first present I bought for our expected buddy: two pairs of merino wool baby booties, colored orange and green--as gender neutral as I could get...

I'm obsessed with wool and it's inherent ability to keep animals (including human animals) warm and dry... Anyway, they are kinda cute, and despite all the reviews that complained about them being too small, I bought them anyway. They were on sale too...
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All is well around here. C hasn't been burdened by nausea so much, but did learn that peanut butter granola for breakfast will make her puke her brains out a few hours later... wooops.

Not much else to report. Trying to get an ultra sound scheduled before Thanksgiving, at which point we hope to find out the sex of the baby. I haven't put a lot of thought into it beyond being anxious to know and to start narrowing down baby names, or at least rule a few out. It seems pretty hip these days to not find out and be super gender neutral about stuff, but I don't see any harm in knowing. I don't plan on forcing football on a boy, or Barbie Dolls on a girl. No matter what I plan on impressing our child with punk rock, skateboards, bikes, and gardening... I do have some slight concerns about a future baby shower and receiving gifts that are all pink or all blue...
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Oh, and C was looking on a Chinese Gender Calendar or something, and determined that, based on the month of conception, our baby will be a girl... weird...

Visiting family, Health, House, Work

It's been a hot minute since any update. As this is a journal of sorts, I owe it to myself to check in.

Well. Things have been good. Mostly quiet. C's nausea seems to be subtly waning away into nothingness.

We were at a family function over the weekend and everyone there knew the news of our pregnancy--which was nice because we could talk freely about it. The moms were able to share stories and were curious to hear about C's experience.

Just before that event we had stopped by C's cousins' house to visit them and their 2-week old daughter. How freaking small! Like, freakishly tiny. I was blown away--like, I had never seen a newborn before. It was the first time I got a little freaked out, like, "This is gonna be us in 6 months!" A new piece of furniture that it seems we don't yet have the space for. We were able to share our good news with them and they were happy for us.

I need to get my butt to work and finish our basement--finish the drywall, add some flooring, and get a bathroom installed down there. After that we can start on a baby's room...
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Fears about H1N1/"Swine Flu" are rising and I'm trying to keep optimistic about everything. So many things can go wrong between now and forever that I just can't let those fears dwell in my head space.
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C and I got in a little argument yesterday about my job and the pressure to work "above and beyond" as a non-exempt yet supposedly "highly-compensated" salaried employee at a fledgling company (this means I'm expected to work over 40 hours a week without over-time pay). I believe any other job in the same line of work will come with similar demands/expectations. The alternative? Quit and become a stay-at-home dad. Maybe get a part-time job. I agree that we could probably take the cut in total income... Is it possible? Would it work? Not yet comfortable with the idea of quitting my job, but can see that it would suck to leave the baby every day in the hands of strangers I'm paying to do what a parent should be doing.

Vacation: Part I

Hello from South Carolina. We've been on vacation in Myrtle Beach for 5 days now. We left Saturday evening, stayed in a hotel near the Virginia-West Virginia border, and arrived on Sunday afternoon. Things have been relatively great: C's nausea has been pretty low, she's been sleeping relatively well, and nothing has been terrible. Ha. That doesn't sound like a good report, but honestly it is. We're having fun with my family, the weather has been awesome, and above all we are really enjoying ourselves. Early on, C joked that feeling good on this trip was a sign that she needed to quit work. I think there is some truth in that, no doubt.

We've been keeping the trip pretty low key. We did take one risky adventure: horseback riding. We signed a waiver that warned pregnant women should not risk riding horses. Just like all other warnings, it's never clear if they mean women of all stages of pregnancy or not. According to... the internet... its acceptable to ride a horse during the first, if not also the second trimester. The risk comes with falling or getting kicked. So, we wore helmets to be safe. No joke.

Other than that I over-packed groceries for the trip. Multigrain Cheerios, Fiber Plus pancake mix, wheat bread, pitas, trail mix, bananas, caffiene-free soda, ginger ale, granola bars, chips, protein drink, V8 juice, popcorn... We haven't touched half that stuff, but a few of those things have been very handy to curb morning sickness--especially handfuls of the Cheerios in the morning.

So far so good.

Sharing the news

On a walk with Ald, C asked when I was going to tell my dad and stepmom. I decided to do it right then, but couldn't figure out how to divulge our secret creatively. C said we should tell them to get on their computer and go to my (other) blog, adayinthegoodlife.blogspot.com, and then tell them to change the "y" to a "d". It was perfect. My stepmom picked up on it right away: "You're a 'dad'?!" After maybe as many as 20 seconds all I could hear out of Dad was, "Shit!" They were both super pumped to realize the news. For most of the conversation, C and I had our heads pressed together to share the speaker of the phone. They were really happy for us and sent lots of love and blessings, even to "Prince Alden".

Telling our parents has been really exciting and fun and very encouraging. While everything has been so secretive lately, this is has been a huge relief and such a positive reinforcement.

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 Today I got this text from C: "Super puke in hallway and men's bathroom... 10:45 is my doom time!"
Bummer.
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I am realizing that morning sickness is to be pretty standard for a while now, as it has been. I'll try to keep discussion of that pretty minimal and will be thrilled to write about the end of it.

Coughing

As few as two days ago, C developed a dry cough that seems only to be a problem in the middle of the night. I don't believe it's really part of a cold, but for as persistent as it has been, I have no clue. The only real concern I have about it is the loss of sleep from which both of us are starting to suffer. A couple varieties of cough-drops are scattered throughout the house and in various bags. Hopefully she'll take my advice and take some honey on bread or in warm water.

Anyway, not much is new. She threw up yesterday but I feel like the discomfort that comes with the coughing has kept her complaints about nausea to a minimum.

Last night I found her looking at baby products online. A pack'n-play/bassinet combo? Car-seats too. I wasn't too surprised at the price of those things and wouldn't hesitate to spend more money on better quality... gear. I'm a gear-head in my own right, so I guess that's no surprise, to myself.

August 21 (Friday): Part II

Just got a text message from C: "So sick. I don't understand how to deal with this and have any sort of normal life.."
What a bummer. I wish I could do something to make her feel better. The least I can do, I realize, is to do anything she asks to help her feel as comfortable as possible. And to do it without complaint.
One thing I forgot to add earlier is that I'm nervous about being home this weekend, around my parents and siblings, and to not tell them. It's really a bit premature to go spreading the news, and although I'm super excited and want my family to be excited, I just don't want to jump the gun. C has her first doctor's appointment on Tuesday (Aug 25), so we'll hopefully know a lot more by then. If only the appointment was before our trip to Cincy...

August 21 (Friday)

Talking to C on Google Chat. She threw up for the first time today. Not every day has been so terrible, but today's nausea has been the worst apparently. Not sure what would make her feel better. Feeding her lots of bread and ginger-filled things. I think we've done as much as we can. We've managed to get to the gym a few nights this week for some exercise, and have been taking Alden on at least one walk per day. I think getting out has been keeping her mind off the sickness.
We're going to Cincy this weekend--uncle's wedding--and I'm worried it's just not going to be any fun to be around a lot of people--especially since we're trying to keep it a secret, mostly.

August 16 (Sunday)

C's Bday. She's feeling sick again--as she has been for the past 3 or 4 days. Just straight nauseated. Trying home remedies like ginger ale mixed with lemonade. Apparently Canada Dry Ginger Ale doesn't have real ginger in it--just "natural flavors" and "caramel color" so I picked up some Reed's Original Ginger Brew from the grocery store's Natural Food section. Bread has seemed to work to settle C's stomach too.
I've been feeling really guilty about the nausea she's been experiencing and all the discomfort that will be weighing her down over the next 9 months, not to mention the trauma of child birth. I'm just counting on there being truth in all the good stories you hear about pregnancy and bonding with the baby growing inside. Hopefully this period of "morning sickness" passes quickly.