30 weeks
thursday 25 june
Childbearing essentials. In the form of an instructed course. Two Saturdays in the city. An appointment with the midwives in between. Somerset, Pittsburgh, Johnstown.
Weeks where we have to spend so much time away from the house make me feel like I'm running behind. It's getting warmer, but has only been unbearably hot a couple times in the shower and occasionally near my computer at about five pm. Dead set in a west facing window.
Surprisingly, I feel pretty good.
Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been without challenges. The level of
unreasonable intensity with which I have been feeling emotions hasn't
crippled me, but it has given me a renewed distaste for the teen
years. Hormones. A lot of them. Ganging up on me and my husband - they
outnumber us.
Communication is the best investment to make in a relationship. While
sometimes a lot of hard work, it really makes a difference when things
become challenging. No matter the reason.
Pregnancy has been very kind to me. I have only had a few cases of
heartburn. My nausea tapered off around 13 weeks. The headaches didn't
last for more than a couple of weeks. The snuggable wiggling of our
daughter has only kept me up a few nights. I drink a lot of water. I
crave it. I still only sleep with two pillows. Relaxin is having it's
way with my tailbone, hips and pelvis - but I suspect that has more to
do with the fact that Ada lays sideways sometimes. I measure about a
week and a half ahead and our baby is developing well.
I've only gained four pounds. I feel pretty much of the time. I
believe that the things you think about affect. The swelling I have
experienced has been relatively minor, though I did take off the toe
rings I've been wearing for the last decade the day before yesterday
because they were too tight and itchy.
I still have ten weeks to go. Seven midwife appointments. A bare
minimum of eight more pounds (probably more). Labor. Birth.
Breastfeeding. A newborn. Sixteen clients. A reception - with enough
family together that things could get weird as they have a tendency to do, at 34 weeks.
So for now, more honeymoon bliss. And dairy-grade chocolate milk.
25 weeks & 3 days
saturday 23 may
Nesting the hell out. Seriously people. Maybe it just gets worse at the end, or maybe that's when you can't ignore it any more. I've figured out why Heather Armstrong tackled a kitchen remodel during her third trimester when pregnant with her first daughter. Standing at the sink washing dishes daily while your baby is competing for space with your counter makes getting a dishwasher the most logical thing imaginable.
I do know that because I spend an extraordinary amount of time in my house, I spend a lot of time getting the house ready for the baby. Would you believe I've made a list to organize these tasks into something my super awesome husband won't get overwhelmed with? Things get checked off the list regularly, about two per week - but the list grows. And changes. And includes laundering the slipcovers on our couches. And more, even then there is more.
This week alone I have rearranged the contents of my under-sink kitchen cabinet (side note: I now want to paint my cabinets.) to find a massive leak. Which got fixed and also lead to me contact papering the water damage. While I was under there I discovered a can of espresso spray paint. I used found spray paint on ugly painted pink basket given to me by landlordess. New! Dark brown basket! Perfect for nursery! We got a ladder bookshelf out of the shed full of landlord/ess' stuff - cleaned, dusted, polished and now stacked with our food supply. Cans, rice, frosted mini wheats - food stuff. Hung an award Nathan got for software development the better part of a decade ago. All this was happening while I was in Pittsburgh for a midwife appointment, running all over Somerset changing my last name, getting the car serviced in Johnstown, grocery shopping twice to last us the month, laundry, and work! Keeping our clients happy.
This week has been a little hectic. We haven't had as much time as we normally like for production, but we've met all our deadlines and our bills are all paid. I can't explain what kind of good that feels like. We've spent the last two years barely surviving while running a company requiring almost ZERO for overhead. The tides are turning and after working our asses off, it feels really really good.
Lastly, Ada has really been digging Daft Punk and Nilla Wafers. We watched Interstella 5555 last night and we wiggled for a solid twenty minutes. If I stopped wiggling and the beat was still going she'd keep right on. As for Nilla Wafers - something magical happens after you open them in this climate. Just enough moisture or something. Stupid good people.
mother's day 2009
tuesday 12 may
We celebrated Mother's Day. We plan on celebrating Father's Day. We have a tendency to enjoy opportunities to celebrate ourselves.
A lazy Sunday morning in bed, a nice lunch, and then Nathan rearranged our bedroom for the summer the way I wanted him to. We talked about it for a couple weeks, deciding what would move where and now it's done. I'm not incapacitated or anything, but I am starting to understand the limits of my pregnant body. I used my leg (my one leg!) to help push a lightweight vanity that I can lift off the ground while not pregnant and I felt my daughter protesting, and that somehow correlated to my husband asking me (again) to please let him do the lifting. Alright, you're both right.
I've also found that I am now able to fit into fall out of pants I put away three months ago because they were starting to feel tight. My next midwife appointment is next week, so I'll be able to find out what the official weight gain is so far. The last time we were there it was 4 pounds. The mathematics around my minimal weight gain and considerable adjustment in pant size don't really go together, or make any sense. You see this though? This is me not complaining. Our daughter is healthy, moving and (still) growing. These other things are some of the more delightful side effects of a normal, low-risk pregnancy. A dream come true for the Smyth family.
mr. & mrs. smyth
wednesday 06 may
A celebration of ourselves, something we take the time to do on the regular. We still take two weeks off at the beginning of August to celebrate the anniversary of our awesomeness. I don't even think that's a word.
We chose a hilltop at sunrise for the ceremony. The entire thirty minutes of arriving, walking up the hill, marrying, and departing were absolute perfection. Each moment counted and in just the way we wanted them to. The amazing thing about a micro-wedding is that there were no expectations other than our own. The rain was a beautiful, warm, refreshing gift. Everything about it was just what I wanted, and more than I could have imagined. Lovely.
Due to lower light, and our inability to turn into statues at will many of the shots are blurred. It doesn't really matter to me, because the wedding wasn't even the point. Our marriage is something created of love and work. It is the thing I am most proud of.
coming fall 2009: ada rae smyth
thursday 30 april
likes: the musical influences of ani difranco, elliott smith, and missy elliott. daddy's lessons in rhetoric. orange juice. spinach.
dislikes: people who talk too loudly. or high pitched. synth pop. deviation from regularly scheduled activities. sweet bread.
The wedding is tomorrow, so expect an update in the next week or two. Looks like it's going to rain - which is actually better than you might think. The cloud cover makes for some beautifully diffused pure, even light. Lucky us. Happy Beltane people!
halfway
tuesday 21 april
We hit the halfway point of this pregnancy a couple days ago. So far the best thing to report is that the tail bone discomfort of late seems to have evaporated. The unfortunate thing about this is that Nathan is now experiencing it which seems strange, but I've learned that when you spend literally every second of your life with someone - it's not that weird when you're thinking the same thoughts or feeling the same pains.
The baby can hear in utero now and this has been entertaining in many ways. I started making a playlist of things to play for the baby, but so far the kid responds to two things. Ani Difranco and Missy Elliott. An interesting combination that only reinforces that this is indeed our child. When we were still emailing each other via Yahoo Personals, Nathan told me he mainly liked beats and phrases. Think what you want, but the way Misdemeanor flips those things is beyond my ability to comprehend. Ani spins a delicate web of so many things. We both really respect what she is and has been doing since the early nineties. Even in the first four chords, this kid is snuggling around soaking it in. Go you, Hizzur - your taste is impeccable.
I feel really good all around. I still haven't gained any weight, but I'm getting the feeling that's about to change. The day I hit 20 weeks I experienced hunger. Every couple hours I felt like I needed to eat something. I haven't been that hungry since, but I know it's a glimpse of what's to come. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the hips that seem smaller and the fact that our baby is healthy and thriving.
