Drum roll please…….
It’s a GIRL!!!!
Category Archives: and then there were 3
I slept hard all night last night without even getting up to pee. If the kids woke up, I didn’t hear them. We woke up this morning to a blanket of ice and snow that took over 30 minutes to scrape/melt off of my car. I never did get it off of my side mirrors. Hooray for March!! (oh, that was sarcasm……)
Yesterday, after starting off quite badly, continued to get worse. I had to let one of my associates go, which is rare in a specialty group such as mine with senior associates. Unfortunately, it was more than warranted. Seeing anyone lose their job, sucks. Being the one to do it sucks more. Firing someone with whom you have worked for over 4 years; someone with whom you have a personal connection to the point where you know their family, sucks even worse than that. Firing someone who is so nice and so sincere, that on his way out the door for the last time he says “Thanks for everything Sara, good luck with the baby” is like a punch in the gut. I felt like throwing up all day long.
I met Hub and ED at Tae Kwon Do last night to find ED crying hysterically. Apparently, he was in trouble for kicking the wall. The teacher asked him once to stop, and when he did not, Hub stepped in. After all of the progress on Monday, you know, the progress that prompted us to pay $600 to cover the next 6 months, he refused to take the class yesterday. There is only one other child in the class and he doesn’t want to do it when she’s there. We are working on it. The teacher is doing a private lesson for him this afternoon. This poor child has inherited my childhood wallflower personality. He gets uncomfortable and embarrassed so easily (which is why it took him 4 months to adjust to his new daycare) but in familiar situations, he is a completely different kid. We still feel like Tae Kwon Do is what he needs, but it sure is frustrating to see him behave this way after doing do well.
I feel like I need to point out that I don’t think that I can go to Tae Kwon Do anymore because of the teacher, and his man feet, that get way too close to me for comfort.
In a bout of pregnancy induced stupidity, I almost climbed in to someone else’s car. It was the same style and color of mine and when I walked up to it and saw the number pad under the door handle I did not think “oh, this can’t be my car; we don’t have that”, but instead thought “Hey, when did we get these???” and proceeded to try and unlock the car with my keys. Yes, I am an idiot.
Finally, ***FINALLY!!!!!*** tomorrow morning is my appointment. It is at 9AM, so as soon as I am back at work, (we are taking the kids and will probably get breakfast afterward) I will let you know what we found out. Use your superpowers and will the baby to be gracious for me. I’ll be doing the same thing!!!
Oh, and P.S. please say some prayers for my blogging pal Bananafana who is 33 weeks pregnant and had some complications last night. We really need for her and the baby to be just fine. You can read all about it here.
15 for Friday
1. Yesterday was hellacious, though I did find a cute blouse at Target to wear with the blazer I already had (unbuttoned, of course) and I spent $35 instead of the anticipated $100 or so. I even wore earrings and make up—and heard from ED—“I am not kissing you goodbye with those things in your ears!” and inspired panic in CA because she couldn’t find her clip on earrings to be just like Mommy. I can’t win. The visit went well, but after a day on my feet in heels, I was dead by the time I got home.
2. ED took his second Tae Kwon Do class yesterday—he doesn’t want to interact with the class at all; he wants to do his own thing and then do the kicks and punches when everyone else has left. We’ve told him that tomorrow is his last chance. If he participates the right way, he will get his uniform and can keep taking the class. If not, he is done.
3. CA starts her gymnastics tomorrow—YAY! It is a parent participation class though so we’ll see how it goes. My pregnant ass isn’t getting on a balance beam.
4. Between the kids classes, a chuck e cheeses play date and Sesame Street Live, we have a very busy weekend ahead of us. This is the second year we are doing breakfast and Sesame Street with my 2 cousins and their kids. It’s a fun time.
5. Tim Horton’s is pissing me off and not because I haven’t won on RRRoll Up the Rim to Win yet. I have been ordering an onion bagel with butter every morning. The bagel ends up being nearly dry…just a smear of butter. So this week, I started ordering extra butter and still, nearly dry. By yesterday I said “can you make sure there really is extra butter on it??” ‘Sure we can!’ I can not win. I am tired of dry bagels. But I also don’t want to make my own breakfast in the morning.
6. I’ve seen a few people writing sweet things about their husbands. Here is what constitutes sweet for Hub and me: Him: Man, I still can’t believe you’re pregnant! What a whore!!” Me: “ME???? You should probably learn to keep it in your pants!!” and we both laugh hysterically. Our relationship is based solely on sarcasm and humor.
7. I ordered lunch from Panera (and a drink from Starbucks) and it is taking forever!! I want to eat now! Asiago Roast Beef and French Onion Soup! And Green Tea!! YAY!!
8. Last Sunday, my MIL came over for dinner. I was arguing with ED about something and told him that he wasn’t going to get any dessert. He looked me dead in the eye and said “I don’t need your cookies; Grandma always brings me a treat!!” He is pushing it with his attitude and he is only 4! I don’t even know what to do because honestly, I’d like to laugh in his face.
9. Then there is CA who is obsessed with my breasts, only she calls them buttons. And asks “Why are your buttons so big, Mama?” Sigh……
10. Less than a week until we find out boy or girl! I’m dying!! With my luck, because I’m so excited, they won’t be able to tell. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I keep having dreams that it is a boy (probably because I’m stressed about names for boys) but all of the old wives tales and Chinese gender predictor say girl. Either way, whatever, I just want to know! I need to buy our matching Old Navy outfits soon!
11. Then I see the neurologist on Friday about these migraines. I’m thinking I might ride them out another month or so, rather than starting some new drug. We’ll see.
12. My lunch just came and my soup has 3 croutons on the side. Seriously. THREE! And no spoon. WTF? I’m not having good luck with food, it would seem.
13. I have a whole lot of blogs to catch up on. I’ve actually most of them, I pull up my RSS reader on my phone (Hello Saly, you are a loser. A really big loser) at home. But I’ve not commented. I’m all about doing that today.
14. You may have picked up on this, but my pregnancy craving has been onions. I picked up a big bag of the pre-chopped frozen ones when I got groceries this week and I have every intention of sautéing them in butter and just eating them like that. Hub joked that when my water breaks it will smell like onions. Maybe it will!
15. And now I’m going to eat! I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!
10 For Tuesday With ?’s for You. Please Help!!
1. Clearly, I need to find a new OBGYN. When I walked in for my 4 month check-up today, scheduled for 8:30AM, I was asked “you know Dr. F usually doesn’t arrive until 9:30, correct?” Um, no. I was unaware. Why then would they schedule me at 8:30? I sat for an hour and 5 minutes for my 5 minute appointment. So here is the question. Have any of you changed doctor’s mid-pregnancy? Is there any protocol? And why the hell aren’t you all here so I can get a good recommendation?? What should I do?????
2. Speaking of the appointment, it went well. I could hear the baby kicking all over when she listened for the heartbeat, which was good at 144 BPM, and I lost a pound. My Ultrasound is next week at the hospital. YAY! I was referred to a neurologist for my headaches because they are not stopping. Dr. stated that I may need a beta-blocker and a neurologist needs to prescribe that. They are making the appointment for me. Have any of you ever taken a beta-blocker either during or outside of pregnancy? I was assured they are perfectly safe but still……any new drugs make me nervous.
3. Short of being dusted, which I am doing this afternoon, my cube is spic n span clean. I have the requisite 2 photos (down from, oh say, 30) in frames, and nothing other than bank info hanging on my walls. It screams “I am a robot!!”. It was also strongly suggested that I put together a suit for Thursday. Sonofabitch.
4. Misty got the impression yesterday that we, as a family, would be ok without me working. I had mentioned that as long as my leave was paid for (I get 8 weeks fully paid maternity and up to 16 weeks paid time off before I deliver if it was medically necessary) I would be good, so it was my fault—I was fed up with the crap yesterday. I make pretty good money and have decent benefits—all things that are necessary when your husband is self-employed since his money is not guaranteed and benefits paid for completely out of pocket are very expensive. If my office does close, I am banking on a severance package and unemployment for a while. Honestly, the responsible person in me would take severance pay and immediately get another job. I also really like working outside of the home. I just wonder if having 3 kids will change that perspective any.
5. Speaking of my good friend Misty, on her recommendation, I ordered Barbara Kingsolver’s “Prodigal Summer” which finally arrived yesterday. I am only 2 chapters in and I LOVE IT!! So far, excellent book. I’ve been looking for something non-crappy to read forever. Thanks darling!
6. ED starts Tae Kwon Do tonight. I think I am more excited than he is.
7. Afterward, Hub is taking him home and I am grocery shopping by myself. Oh yeah!
8. I mentioned to Hub over the weekend that for Mother’s Day this year, I would really like a weekend away—as in by myself—not on mothers day, but another weekend. Later in the day when complaining about how our TiVo is old and only records one thing at a time I said you can by me a new one instead of my weekend away. His response: “you were serious???”
9. In every pregnancy I have dreamt about my ex-boyfriend before Hub. Never cheating dreams or anything like that, and there is always the knowledge that hub is in the picture, but he and I are just hanging out, talking. I had one last night, and we were sitting in the hall of our high school chatting like old times. It was weird. I wonder what it means and why it occurs in pregnancy. We were great friends and had a very strong connection even after we broke up, through college, and then eventually lost touch. I know what he’s up to though, and I have no “what if” type feelings. I just want to know what it’s all about.
10. I really had nothing else to say, but wanted to end this at 10. Have a great day!
Excercise During Pregnancy
I have been feeling like a moose lately which is odd because since I barely ate anything in my first trimester, I really haven’t gained any weight. What I’m finding though is that the baby bump is pushing up that fat left over from the previous pregnancies, and well, I just feel gross.
I started thinking about exercising which is not my strong point in non-pregnant life, so it’s for damn sure a long shot now—but as I thought more about it, it occurred to me that I actually do get a lot of exercise in any given day. Here is a sampling:
• Going up and down my basement stairs 6 times in the morning because I can’t stand any of my clothes.
• Sprinting the ¼ mile between the parking lot and work (coming in and going out, and also sometimes on my lunch break) because it is actually 2 degrees outside
• Vigorously rolling cat hair and coat feathers from my clothes for 5 minutes a morning
• Power walking from my desk to the bathroom 8 times a day.
• Chasing my kids through the halls at daycare (which is a complete circle) because they think it’s funny to each take off in a different direction and see where they meet up.
• Getting an aerobic workout in bed every night (no, it’s not what you think) what, with all of the tossing and turning
• Carrying a 25 lb 2-year-old or a 40 lb 4-year-old back to bed up to 4 times a night
It’s actually a pretty well-rounded regimen, huh
I was going through my old diary account and came across this entry from when I was about 4-months along with ED:
I heard baby’s heart beat!!! Saturday, July 19, 2003
I did, I did!! it was 143 beats per minute, and per old wives tales, that means a girl. How fun!!
The midwife says it sounds like a very happy baby in there! She found the heartbeat EXACTLY where I always feel baby kicking me. How funny. I can’t wait until my ultrasound. I need to know what this bundle of joy will be!!
I treated myself to a decaf Starbucks on the way to work, and had an amazing day knowing for sure that baby’s heart was beating and that I wasn’t imagining those little kicks. It was a triumph. I only wish Ed could have been there; he was working out of town.
I’m going to a giant craft show with my parents tomorrow, and I’m pretty excited. I don’t get out and do too many things any more. Besides, they always feed me.
It’s funny how our relationship has changed since I’ve been preggo though. They always greet me and see me off with hugs and kisses. We haven’t done that since I was about 5.
On a side note, if my mother refers to my baby as ‘our baby'(our including her….) one more time, I’m really going to slap her. She wants to know if she can be called Nonnie now. I just roll my eyes in silence.
I think that’s about it, I want to organize my clothes so that m maternity clothes are accessible, and everything else is out of the way for now.
TTFN!
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It’s funny how hearing the heartbeat is still an amazing thing, even the 3rd time around. It further amazes me that I worry as much this time as I did the first time. I wonder if it ever stops. I know we’re ok, but I worry about this baby constantly. Will it be healthy? Will it end up in the NICU like CA did? Will it be gigantic like it’s brother? Will it be a champion nurser like both of it’s siblings. How will it change our family?
Of course, only time will tell. I just wish I could shut my brain off in the meantime.
Further Proof That the Third Baby Will Kill You
Here I am yesterday–15 weeks along
The jury is still out, but there may be a 2nd baby growing in my ass.
Seriously, my ass can’t be that big, right? Look at my legs in proportion–right?? It’s got to be the shirt. TELL ME IT’S THE SHIRT.
More on the Name Game
I got to thinking more about baby names last night, mostly because of Donna, who pointed out that Hannah is the Hebrew translation for Grace. So I would actually be naming my daughter (who might still be a boy we won’t know until March) “Grace Grace”. This, of course has killed me! I now need to find a NEW perfect middle name……sigh.
Hub and I have been kicking around Carter for a boy. We like Cooper too, but I worry about him being called “Cooper the Pooper”. I mentioned Cade and Hub said you can do what you want, as long as it’s not Cade, so I guess that’s a no. My concern with Carter is that it doesn’t go with our other names. This really shouldn’t be hard, right?
I couldn’t sleep last night, so I decided to make a list of all of the names of children I went to Kindergarten with (circa 1982-1983), kind of as a base line, figuring that they were common names, so maybe I could pull out some middle names. After this though, I got to thinking. I wonder what would happen if I compared these names to the names of the kids in ED and CA’s classes at school—kind of my own name trending.
Here is what I came up with:
My Kindergarten Class
Girls
Sara (duh)
Susan
Jill
Kelly
Jamie
Jennifer (2)
Leanne
Jessica
Lisa
Julie
Adrienne
Boys
Kevin (2)
Eric
Christopher (2)
Nicholas
Curtis
Wesley
Chester
ED’s Preschool Class
Girls
Celena
Madison
Emma
Mea
Marissa
Boys
Edmund
Brock
Liam
Griffin
Hayden
Siddharth
Matthew
CA’s 2-year-old Class
Girls
Caitlyn
Madisyn
Kelly
Zoie
Samantha
Boys
Liam
Joey
Ian
Davin
Max
After that, I pretty much decided that there was no hypothesis to make and that trending was not for me. It definitely did not help me in my own naming process. More than anything, it helped me fall asleep.
I think I’m going to stop thinking about baby names all together until we know what we’re having. I think it will make everyone a whole lot happier.
Does anyone have big Superbowl Plans? I’m making pulled pork in the crock-pot and my brother and SIL are coming over. I really don’t care much about the game itself, but I think it will be pretty cool if New England wins it all. We’ll probably have nachos and dips and lots of garbage to. The only thing that would make it better is ice cold beer………Maybe next year!
Negativity
1. The baby portion of my belly is pushing up the flabby belly left over from previous pregnancies, creating this obscene ridge. It is horrific.
2. Also, my boobs no longer fit in my bras.
3. The breakfast nook I ordered arrived today, more than 3 weeks before our kitchen will even be started. That was fast! And now we have to store it!
4. Hub went to Target to pay on our charge yesterday, and I had him walk over to the baby section. He found a bedding set (Classic Pooh) with the comforter, sheet, bumper and dust ruffle marked down from $89.99 to $19.98, and bought it. At full price, I probably wouldn’t have picked Classic Pooh, but it is adorable. And I like the idea that this baby will have something that only belonged to her/him out there in the sea of hand-me-downs it will encounter.
5. I had a really bad night with the kids last night and did a lot of yelling, which caused me to do a lot of crying after they had gone to bed. They deserved to be in trouble, but I felt horrible about the way I went about things.
6. ED told me yesterday that he was calling an 18-wheeler to come and get me and he was going to pack me up in the back and send me away for ever. I told him to enjoy life with no Mommy which caused him to burst in to tears. Sigh.
7. He also told me that he wants to learn to swing on those rings like the American Gladiators do. Double Sigh.
8. I have gone to the bathroom 4 times during this post due to drinking a large Dr. Pepper. Annoying. Even more annoying—of the 7 sinks in the work bathroom, one does not shut off automatically. Every time I go in to the bathroom, someone has left it on. WTF people?
9. I am really tired of my job and the assholes that come along with it. Really tired.
10. One of my best associates was feeling really sick today and was shaking and white and pasty and thought she was going to pass out. Her mother came to take her to the hospital to save her the embarrassment of being carted out in an ambulance. I walked her out to the front to make sure she got in the car ok. Apparently, rumor has it that I fired her and escorted her out of the building. Again, assholes.
11. I hate it when people pronounce “escalated” Esc-YA-lated.
12. We just got a “Melting Pot” restaurant here. A bunch of us have reservations for 2/16. Exciting, right?
13. There, now I’ve ended on a positive. I feel a little bit better.
Baby Names, OB Visits and Such
I was agreeing with Devan last week that naming the third baby is excruciatingly hard. I’ll admit I haven’t put a whole lot of time and effort in to it; it’s been more of rolling things off of my tongue and filing them away. For me, and probably everyone else, deciding what a child will be known as for their entire life is a hefty decision. I want to feel passion and wild excitement for the name that we choose.
We were kicking around two girl’s names, which I believe that I have shared before, Abby and Olivia. I like both of those names just fine, save for the possible ramifications of Olivia being paired with my last name, but when I think about living with them, I’m just not wild with glee. CA’s name (to be deleted later which is yousnoozeyoulose) still gives me “the feeling” today. I am in love with her name, perhaps more so because I am in love with her, but you get the picture.
It was different with ED (whose name is yousnoozeyoulose, the same as Hub), because I did not necessarily care for the name, however, Hub felt the wild excitement over it because it was his given name, and he was named after each of his grandfathers. It is an important family name, and being important to him made it a necessity when it came time to naming our 1st born son, and honestly, he is nothing but an ED.
While I still have no feelings or prospects on a possible boy’s name, I came upon a girl’s name recently that I am in love with. I can’t stop thinking about it, and I think that it is “The Name”. (For this reason, of course, we will have another boy, and I will be screwed….) I hesitated to mention it to Hub thinking he would say no faster than I could get it out of my mouth, but he didn’t. He was actually ok with it. He figures I’ll change my mind 100 times between now and August, but I don’t think so. I can not picture our baby girl (who may not be a girl) with any other name.
So do you want to know what it is? I don’t know if I want to tell you. I was afraid that speaking it out loud to Hub would somehow change my opinion, or he would tell me something horrifically associated with the name, but he didn’t. I trust that you won’t either. You won’t will you?
I had my 12 week appointment today, and everything went well. The heartbeat was strong at 156 and my blood pressure was low, per usual. My next OB visit is 2/26 and then my anomaly screening and ultrasound is 3/6, which means 6 weeks before we can find out what we’re having. 6 weeks, GAH. Best of all, I can start taking pepcid again, and when I mentioned the migraines I’ve been getting she suggested Tylenol Sinus rather than plain Tylenol since they all start off as sinus headaches. It was a productive and quick visit……YAY!
Oh were you waiting to hear about that baby name? Here it is. The middle name is not set in stone. Tell me what you think, but only if it’s good. And hey, if anyone wants to help me with some boy’s names, just in case, have at it!
H A N N A H – G R A C E
Incubation Nation 