Waiting for Christmas

Remember that feeling of waiting for Christmas morning to arrive? The anticipation, the excitement, and the wonder of it all made the wait seem like forever.

That's exactly what pregnancy is like, especially the closer you get to the due date.

The Joys

Anyone who has ever had the joy of carrying a child knows that pregnancy is not all kicks and glowing. Today I am enjoying the joy of the sciatica pain. In addition to that I've learned I am anemic (which explains my exhaustion as of late).

It is fun, however, to watch String Bean talk to and about Ooh-Ah. "Night, night, Ooh-Ah!" and "Ooh-Ah crib," among other things are often said at our house.

I do realize, however, that my pregnancies have been so much easier than many of my friends' pregnancies. Morning sickness? Nearly non-existent. Except for the sciatica, nearly no pain at all.

It is more difficult to be pregnant when you have a toddler who insists on being carried.

Toddler Wake-Up Call

There are things in life that only a mother gets to experience. Take for example, my short-lived nap yesterday.

First, I'll admit I shouldn't have been taking a nap on the couch because Mr. Bean wasn't home and String Bean was wide awake. Second, I'll admit, I shouldn't have poured a full cup of ginger ale and put it on the coffee table beside me before falling asleep.

Despite my mistakes, I should mention that it was not my intention to fall asleep with a glass full of ginger ale on the table. Early morning + late night + pregnancy = One tired mom.

I can't say for sure, but I think my nap lasted a total of 1 minute. I awake to String Bean standing over me, a sensation of cold wetness on my arm, and the screams of "Pill! Pill! Pill!" echoing in my ear. Seems I looked thirsty and String Bean was giving me a drink, but spilled it all over me, the couch, the floor and herself in the process.

What a lovely way to wake up from a nap!

I can give you an exact count of the number of times Mr. Bean has been spilled, on peed on, pooped on, puked on or otherwise led to demise by our toddler. Two. The one and only time String Bean flung her poo, he stepped in it. The one and only time she pooped in the bath tub, he was in there with her. (Thank goodness I do not have any poop stories such as these to share.)

Can I even begin to count the number of times these same maladies have hit me? Not even close. Too numerous to count. Too dreadful to remember.

Oh, motherhood.

Mr. Bean is in BIG Trouble

As you know, I am pregnant. I'm about 8 1/2 weeks along which is the peak of the morning sickness time according to Dr. Google. Yesterday for the first time I stood over the toilet hoping to puke. I didn't and the feeling passed.

I woke up this morning to an air assault on my nose and a virtual punch to my stomach in the form of Mr. Bean's cooking. He made some shrimp dish whose smell permeated every corner of our home.

Mr. Bean also did not feed String Bean this morning, which he normally does, so when I got up, I had the stench of the shrimp and then opened String Bean's yogurt. Yogurt makes me gag whether I am pregnant or not. Combine the two and you have the perfect storm!

I went into the bathroom and dry heaved a few times. String Bean ran into the bathroom (since she loves to follow me in there) and started mimicking my dry heaves. Then, I started puking. The look on String Bean's face said, "Mom, I know I'm not an expert here, but this can't be good and I don't like it." When I finished, I sat back to see if the nausea was truly passed or if I'd have a round two. String Bean looked at me with much compassion in her eyes and closed the toilet seat and signed "all done."

I was all done. But Mr. Bean is now on my list and is banned from the kitchen before noon.

*shakes fist*

String Bean's Big News

Big Sister status should be bestowed officially around May 3, 2010!

Trying to Conceive

A coworker asked me today if I had any resources for trying to conceive (TTC) as he and his wife have decided it is time to start a family. Rather than keep all these resources to myself, I thought I'd share them with you!

Two Week Wait is an excellent community for those looking for support while they start their family. The name comes from the 2 week time period between ovulation and the time a home pregnancy test could be positive. This community has a large amount of women who have fertility issues, but a fair amount who are just starting the process of starting a family and who want the support of others. As an added bonus, there is a pregnancy community for those who graduate from the TTC community.

Pregnology is a great site for helping you calculate when you'll be ovulating, when your next menstral cycle should be, when your due date might be, and a calculator to measure how far along in your pregnancy you are. I like this site because you can plug in your stats and bookmark the site to keep tabs on where you are in the process of TTC or pregnancy.

Fertility Friend is a site that allows you to chart your basal body temperature and symptoms of pregnancy while TTC. There is a free place to store data, but for the computer analysis portion of the site there is a fee.

Amazing Pregnancy offers tons of articles on TTC and pregnancy.

I am of the opinion that you should not have to pay for information or support while trying to start a family which is why I used the sites I mentioned when TTC our daughter.

Are there free sites you recommend to my coworker's wife as she starts the journey?