Crappy
Okay this sucks. I came down with something, probably the common cold, and I can’t take anything for it except Tylenol. Tylenol helps with the headaches but I am getting fevers coming and going, my body feels broken and tired, and my throat itches uncomfortably... and the runny nose of course.
Actually, I had been feeling bad on Thursday night, then Friday it worsened but I figured I could take care of it by Saturday (I work sundays at the museum). Well it’s Sunday and I feel worse. I’ve decided to take the day off and not go until Tuesday since I have a meeting at 10. I was going to give a workshop today but I’ve already called participants to cancel and resume on next Sunday. I’m just hoping my boss got the note since I need someone else to cover for me and open and close. I really rather just stay home, maybe macrame something. I don’t want to push it, since the last time I had a cold I had it for 2 weeks (when the museum was opening I didn’t take any days off for 2 weeks and I was running around the almost finished museum with a high fever, so I just didn’t get better). I can’t be sick for 2 weeks now.
Happy
It has been a while, what with work, exhibitions, the summer approaching and writing curriculum and helping with program coordinating and tours when I get home I just want to do nothing. I watch some TV during dinner time which I call ‘bonding time’ with the husband and then he goes off to watch cricket and other feeds from his country over the internet and I get on my own pc to just browse stuff. Nothing in particular really.
Hubby and I talked about having a baby and decided it was a good time as we are both old enough and have been together for a good number of years and feel that our marriage is strong enough to be able to go into this next level. That was 3 months ago and I am now 3 months pregnant - the doc said 3.5 since he counts as of my last cycle, but I know better. I found out I was pregnant 2 weeks after my hubby and I got to work since we timed it just right (there are only about 2-3 days of actual fertility time in a month, wow, you would think that with those odds there would be less pregnant teenagers in the world but Nature works in mysterious ways, eh?). Only about 1 out of 10 women get pregnant on the first try. I’m one of those lucky ones. Hubby did his good pre-baby regime too, though it was for very different reasons from having a baby. He started a low ‘everything’ diet to keep under control things such as cholesterol, sugar, pressure, and weight. He lost about 60 pounds in about 14 months by eating very good things like all his greens, no fried stuff or extra battered, and cut down on the processed sugars and he started playing (and still does) Racquet Ball on a daily basis at the gym with a few weights added. He started this regime since waaaay before we even thought about having a baby, as last year we hadn’t even begun to discuss it. My health was also rather good. I didn’t do anything like what he did (actually I gained about 10 pounds since the 2006 holidays since I don’t cut the carbs) but I did stop eating any junk food when he did. Being a woman… and having been in diets since I was like 13, I know how difficult it is to follow a diet when people around you eat chips and chocolate and French fires and all that mouth-watering, yummy-but-health-detrimental stuff. But I am a vegetarian, so I would eat all my veggies and pastas (I guess that’s the part that doesn’t let me lose weight right?) while hubby stuck to his salads, healthy chicken soups, and fruits. No red meats for the most part (only when he really craved them) as he was concerned about the cholesterol and other things.
Soooo he was very healthy and I was healthy too (albeit plump and chunky) when we decided to give it a try. We would wait till the time of my next cycle to see if it worked and if it didn’t we’d wait 2 more weeks and try again (we were trying for my most fertile days to really be able to keep track of my actual baby months). It worked out very well.
At about 5 weeks I had my first sonogram and I saw my baby. It was a little dot on the screen that would glow in and out – the baby’s heart. It was beautiful. Up to that point I felt really, truly pregnant. One sees the test, hears the doctors, gets more tests but it isn’t until I saw that little glowing dot on the screen that I said “it’s really happening.” I was growing a life.
This Tuesday I had my 2nd sonogram. OUR BABY’S GOT EVERYTHING! It’s got a head, a body, legs, arms, and what I think are ears. And it moves in there so much. I was watching the screen (my mother goes with me to all my doctor visits so she was crying on the background) and the baby suddenly stretched a leg and it floated to one side. Then it reached out with the little arms. I saw my baby move the head and touch it with the hand and continue to kick around in there. The baby’s is doing its things in there, probably exploring. Mom said it is going to be a very active baby.
I’ve been keeping track of my weight… oh and I am no longer a vegetarian. Mah baby loves its meat. Well… grilled burger meat only, and not all the time. Sometimes I just get a craving for a particular brand and we have that, but other than that I stick to the healthiest food I can have. Mom prepares lunch for us everyday – she didn’t like us going to restaurants during our lunch hours and said she wanted her grandchild to eat home-made at least once a day. I’ve gained about 4 pounds since getting pregnant and I am very happy about that. According to my doctor because I am obese I shouldn’t gain more than 10-15 pounds overall during my pregnancy. That means I am only allowed to gain actual Baby and Water weight. That fat, I already have. Normal-weight women can gain up to 40 pounds, but women like myself should really not gain anything in the fat department. I don’t want the risk of having an extremely large baby or get diabetes during pregnancy. It’s dangerous for both baby and myself.
Both our families and friends know by now and keep congratulating us. We are very happy. Hubby’s being very good, making sure I don’t miss the vitamins and helping take care of the pets – ooooo no longer the babies anymore! Nah, they are still my babies and will have to share the love. That’s another things we need to research on – introducing baby to Chico, Tushi, and Max - Did I mention we got another doggie? We rescued him from the streets. He is about 8 years of age and had horrible eye infections from a street fight. The one really, really bad eye is better now. He needs daily medicine and artificial tears, so he’s an expensive doggie but he’s the nicest boy in the world! We really enjoy having him at home. He’s been with us since Christmas.
So that’s been me these months. Working and happy expecting our baby.
