Maternity Clothes

I've officially out-grown my pants. It happened over one unfortunate trip to the washer and dryer. I was even thinking to myself as I threw all of my pants into one load, "This is going to be the end of these pants... they are going to be too tight after this". All I could do was just deal with it, I couldn't make them pass as clean for one more day. I had to put the skinny jeans on the shelf back in November, but I still could wiggle my way into others. I have a few pairs of pants from my "fat" days two years ago, but they fit only in the tummy area and look absolutely ridiculous in every other aspect. I could 'rubber band' my pants, but as I see it, I'm going to have to wear maternity pants eventually anyway... I can either buy them now and get a few extra weeks of wear out of them, or buy them in a few weeks. Boy, am I glad I broke down! Maternity pants are the most comfortable pants ever. Please know this is coming from a person who refused to wear jeans until high school because I couldn't understand why people would want to wear such uncomfortable pants. I more than highly recommend wearing maternity pants at the first sign of snugness when you become pregnant. Not only do you not want to stretch out your "real" clothes, but it makes you feel a little more pregnant than fat. Thank you, GAP Maternity. 

Shirts, are a much different story. Most of us ladies wear and buy shirts that fit us and I am one of these ladies, not leaving much room for lil bun in my selection of form fitting attire. I still haven't gotten over this part and I can't figure out where everyone is buying cute maternity shirts that don't look absolutely ridiculous until you are 7-9 months pregnant. They go down to my knees! I did get a few stretchy shirts and a shirt with the "ruching" on the side to grow with me, but I'm not buying 6 of the same shirts in different colors just yet. The common suggestion of wearing your baby daddy's clothes just doesn't apply to me for obvious reasons. Hopefully this will change in the upcoming weeks and I can look cute and pregnant like everyone said I was going to! 

I have exactly one year from November to fit back into my skinny jeans... no pressure! =)

It's a boy...

and it's definitely MY child! After an almost 45 minute ultrasound we finally found the important parts... unless it's a girl who is going to need corrective surgery. I get to say "Told you so!" one more time... almost everyone thought it was going to be a girl... except me. I swear I saw his lil peep last time! 

How am I positive that it's MY child? Besides the fact that I'm carrying it, our little guy was not only sleeping for his show today, but sleeping in the most contorted and tightly wound ball possible while criss-crossing his legs. We almost did not get to find out the gender! The doctor even had me stand up and do a few jumping jacks to try to wake him up and move him around! No such luck. At least we know he has excellent sleeping skills... we hope for them to stay that way... 

The good news is that everything looks fine. The okay news is that we have to go back to get a better look at the spine (one of the REAL reasons for getting this ultrasound). The bad news is that with all of the drama and stage fright, we forgot to get the pictures to show everyone! =( 

Never fear... we have to go back anyway... cross your fingers for uncrossed legs! 

What the.... Milk? AAARRGGGG!

I've heard about pregnancy brain, had a few ditzy moments... that I passed off as ditzy moments... but today... just a few minutes ago, I experienced official pregnancy brain. 

As it happened... 

Cooking dinner, Scooby Doo macaroni and cheese, a habit I haven't kicked since college. Peer into the fridge and notice there is just enough milk to finish the job. 

Look to the left... 

Mmmmm... brownies on the counter! Must eat one! Mmmmm... that was yummy! I need a glass of milk! 

Fast forward 6-8 minutes...

AAARRGGGGG! I drank the milk! I'm such a doofus! AAARRGGGG! 

Off to Walgreens for overpriced milk... anything for Scooby Doo macaroni and cheese. This should definitely get interesting... and entertaining to all watching! =)

Mamma Che Buono

Mmmmm.... gelato.

Some of you are aware of the odd situation that Jerry and I are in with his job, for the rest I'll make it short and sweet... Jerry's boss is a lunatic and has him spend approximately 75% of his time in Miami, regardless of logical reasoning. I've had multiple breakdowns, psycho-chick reactions and almost one call to 911 (I was POSITIVE someone was breaking into my house, but it was just an electrical short). Through all of this, Jerry has been extraordinarily understanding and has tried his best to calm my hormones. Lucky for me, we FINALLY got to spend an entire weekend together, probably the first since September. The poor guy is probably more ready than ever to return to Miami since I practically clung to him this weekend like I clung to my parents when they first left me at pre-school. 

Not wanting to waste the weekend inside, I dragged him to downtown West Palm Beach to go discovering... and we discovered our new favorite activity... criticizing parents doing stupid things and vowing to "not be that parent". I'm not talking about letting a baby cry or the kids playing in the fountain (regardless of the temperature in the 60s) or even the kid who chased the pigeons right into my food, we were specifically looking for "stupid parents". We found our first in the parking lot... two parents letting their child tie his shoes in the middle of the road in oncoming traffic. We spent a good hour talking about how we would never let our children do that and laughing about how Jerry would scoop them up by the head and drag them to the side.

Our next parental faux pas we found at the best place in the world. Mamma Che Buono... mmmm. It is a gelateria that sells more yummy desserts than any pregnant lady could ever eat. I will be going back there before the week is out and probably every week until I die, or run out of money. Yum-o. Back to the faux pas... Jerry and I were eating our delicious desserts outside when I noticed a child in the gelateria had left his Razor scooter right in front of the door. I literally watched 3 people trip over it. It took every ounce of my being to not move it or go in and ask the child to move it. Jerry told me to just leave it... I SO didn't want to, and next time I won't. Then I saw the kid come out and ride it to his parents who were sitting RIGHT THERE! A 13 year-old who is a little lax in the common sense department doesn't really surprise me, but the parents were right there? This made me even more angry for not doing anything, because they would have at least thought about their child's actions (good or bad). Oy. 

Everyday, more and more, I realize why my job is so hard and why it isn't ever going to get easier.  When my mom worked for a daycare many years ago, she used to rant and rave about how there should be a test for people to take before they become parents. Where as that may never happen, those people with common sense may need to stop worrying about others will think and speak up. I'm not a big fan of Hillary Clinton, but she did say one smart thing 10 years ago or so... It takes a village. 

Literally translated, mamma che buono means "good mother who". I'm not going to hold my breath for people to realize that we need to start working together to raise the next generation, that day will probably never come, but at least while I'm waiting there is yummy gelato to eat. 

12 Week Scan

Yesterday, Jerry and I went to the doctor to get our 12 week ultrasound and testing (now I look like a heroin addict from the doctor stabbing me with the huge needle). I made sure Jerry went because I know he, like most guys, is expecting to get most of the baby information from me. I would consider myself a pretty reliable source with access to Google, friends, a pregnancy forum and What to Expect When You're Expecting, but... I'm just as new to this as he is and he needs to be there in case I misunderstand (sometimes I should be blonde). I strategically leave the baby books and magazines lying around the house, and I have seen him pick them up, but the two of us are on the same page... there is such a thing as too much information. Just tell me what is normal, and I'll tell you if I'm there or not. We're not reading everything, we'll go crazy, and there is no reason for me to be thinking about how this baby is coming out juuuuust yet. 

Well, I knew what I we were going to see on the scan from my research, but I left Jerry in the dark a bit. I'm pretty sure he just expected to see a little dot since I'm not really showing. Much to his surprise, and mine too, there was a little human jumping around inside my belly! It was pretty awesome. We're not criers, but I think I saw a little tear in Jerry's eye across the dark room. Or maybe it was just reality hitting! (I also think I saw a little peep... but we'll wait until December 15th for confirmation!)

Here's the new and improved baby photo!

www.whocanisue.com

All pregnancy cravings are similar... the ravenous urge to eat only one specific, not always easily accessible, item. Jerry has been pretty good about bringing me random food on his way home from work, but since he has been in Miami for the past few weeks, I've been on my own with my crazed self. So today I decided that I wanted Pizza Hut. Mind you, I have tried to stay as far away from Pizza Hut since high school due to some serious belly ache issues that usually arise after eating there, but... gotta listen to what baby wants. Finally, I muster up the closest (not so close) Pizza Hut and order online, too far away for delivery, so I head out on the road. I was a little annoyed at having to make the journey, but an interesting thing happened on the way home. 

There I was on the corner of Ghetto and Fabulous (aka, anywhere in South Florida) when I found myself stopped at a stop light. When I looked up, I saw a billboard that read...   

www.whocanisue.com 

  

That was it. Just the website. (I think... the pizza smell was really distracting.) 

Now, finally, I realize what I have already known. I'm curious as to "who i can sue", but having common sense, morals and a sense of humor about myself, I know that for almost all situations I have been put in - I have been partly responsible for and don't feel justified in even glancing at the website. But the billboard put it into perspective for me a bit - something I have been saying about parents and their children since I started teaching - where has responsibility gone? Why are these children having SUCH a hard time with problem solving? There my answer was in big, bold, bright lights...  www.whocanisue.com. Who can I make pay for my issues? Who can I blame to make me feel better? Who can solve my problems for me?

It really makes me sick. When I tell people that my #1 issue with teaching is the children's lack of responsibility and the way children don't know how to respect each other, the first response is "yea, but they're poor" or "yea, but they don't speak English". But, after teaching a few summers in Celebration and Windermere (think... Tiger Woods), I can tell you, socioeconomics have nothing to do with it, language has nothing to do with it, excuses have everything to do with it. Like I said, I was on the corner of Ghetto AND Fabulous. Smart marketing move, since www.whocanisue.com appeals to the vain and morally challenged of any tax bracket. Heck, it even sparked my interest, but thankfully it made me ask myself "how can I make sure my child is responsible for his/her actions?" instead of "who can I sue... I was on birth control!" =)

(I take full responsibility for missing my pills... you're welcome, Yaz.)

BLeh!

One of the biggest lies you learn when you are in Middle/High School and start learning about being pregnant is that you will have morning sickness. It's not a lie because you don't get it, it's a lie because not everyone gets this symptom in the same ways... and therefore should not be just limited to morning, or in my case, sickness. I've only been sick twice, never in the morning, and that is more than enough, but it's the ways in which it happened that are worth mentioning. Every other day has been a CONSTANT battle with nausea and food aversions. It's really annoying. 

The first sickness happened before I took the initial pregnancy test. Why didn't I think something was up, you say? Well, at the time I was teaching 1st graders and one of them had decided to come to school with a stomach bug the day before. (Come on parents... please don't infect 20 people by sending your child to school because they are crazy and you can't handle them at home.) Anyway, I went outside, came inside a few minutes later, felt all weird, and BLeh! For the record, I did think "Hm, that's not normal", but like I said earlier, I thought the stomach bug was on its way. Lesson: thinking "hm, that's not normal" probably means "it's not normal", listen to Oprah.

The second time was yesterday. And I'm angry about it. All I wanted to do yesterday was just lie around the house and do NOTHING. I've made a promise to myself that I will take as much of my weekends back as possible and not feel bad for not grading my tests for Monday or  making pretty posters and games for my students. I'm at school at least 1-2 hours past my contract, everyday, I'm not giving them my weekends too. Anyway, being a bum, when dinner time came I had no motivation to go to the grocery store to buy food to make a meal, so it was either going to be delivery or come up with something I already had. Delivery won. Until... my stupid internet isn't working properly and won't let me on to certain sites... ironically any site with food delivery phone numbers. (Comcast is SO lucky the plan is under Jerry's  name or they would have had Angry Pregnant Sarah on their phone.) Off to the kitchen I go. Looking amongst my extremely random food supply, the only appetizing thing just happened to be instant pudding. Knowing I will feel fat and guilty later, I decide to compromise and try to force myself to eat some pasta first. Just cooking the stuff made me... BLeh! Not good, pasta has always been my "I don't want to cook anything tonight" safety net. What did I have for dinner... instant pudding. And I didn't feel guilty. =)  Lesson: don't force yourself to eat anything you really don't want.

Why be upset about food? I am so proud of my metamorphosis out of the "Picky Eater Club" and in the past few years have made it a point to actually give my taste buds something to get excited about. Since becoming pregnant, much to my dismay, I have resorted back to my 15 year-old self. Eating dinner is an even bigger process than before, I just CAN'T think of ANYTHING that I want to eat. Absolutely nothing sounds tasty except extremely random things - instant pudding for dinner? Grapes, cinnamon buns and garlic bread for dinner? I did crave one normal thing, a bacon cheeseburger. But, I forgot the ketchup and couldn't eat it. Jerry was so concerned that I would get upset he even searched his car for ketchup packets, with no luck, and offered to go get some (no, I didn't let him go to the store for something stupid). 

Restaurants? Forget it (except Mimi's, I'll always love Mimi's). Jerry and I went to a restaurant, I looked at the menu, and couldn't find ONE thing. All I wanted was their bread, just like 15 year-old Sarah. I almost cried because of a menu. I suffered through Jerry's meal, tried to pick at mine and got ice cream from across the street after. 

Ah, then there is the grocery store. This is just a disaster. I have to go in with a list, stick to it, and find the food as fast as I can. Almost everything looks and smells disgusting. I've even resorted once or twice to grabbing a bottle of Ginger Ale from the cooler before shopping to drink while shopping. 

In all honesty, I've had this morning sickness thing pretty easy compared to some people, and it is really more annoying than anything. I've heard nightmare stories of people being sick all day, and I've even seen a few co-workers in the past running for the bathroom. Please know that I am SOOO GLAD that was not me. As a teacher, running to the bathroom and leaving 20 kids alone is frowned upon and I'm thankful that I didn't have to come up with an emergency plan. I just can't wait until I can get back to eating like I used to, and stop carrying these TUMS around! 

Until then, off to the left over pudding... =)

Announcement!

If you haven't already heard the news, I'm pregnant! Jerry and I are nervously preparing for our new arrival coming this May. We found out our wonderful news September 13th, when I took a pregnancy test "just to see". Well... I didn't even need to wait the three minutes the test required, I was/am pregnant. As I was still on birth control* and babies were no where to be seen in our near future, you can imagine our surprise. After a week of "oh my goodness, what are we going to do" talk and panic, we decided that people rarely die from having babies. We rented almost every "having a baby" movie from Blockbuster (thanks HBO for showing "Knocked Up" regularly this month, you saved us $4) and watched them analyzing the characters every move. Still not convinced, we decide to talk to friends. I'm more interested in what Jerry's friends are going to say, because well, I know what my friends are going to say, and I still think that most men would rather swim with sharks than have children. Surprisingly, the majority of people he confided in actually think that having children is a good thing, and that we are going to be awesome parents. +10 points for men. Soooo... off to the doctor we go! 

I'll try to put all of the original Baby Mama Drama into a nutshell, because it's just not exciting and it reminds me of the stupidity of people far too much... so here goes. Due to recently moving to West Palm Beach and getting new insurance and all that boring stuff, I didn't know where to go as far as doctor offices, so I just went to the closest Doc in the Box (Walk in Clinic, they are on every street corner) I could find, just to get confirmation and maybe a good OB/GYN recommendation. To make a long story short, I was so early on in my pregnancy that when they took a scan they couldn't see anything, and actually uttered the words, "We don't know if you are pregnant" and "It might be ectopic."  Lesson: don't go to walk in clinics. Ever. If I know I'm pregnant, and you don't, you are stupid and wasted a billion years (and $) in med school. 

(Enter my real doctor) After making about 100 calls and choosing a doctor purely based on how soon they could get me an appointment, we head off to the Institute for Women's Health and Body in the ritziest part of town. The office looks like a mansion from the inside with leather couches and dim lighting - I'm sold, this is the place for me. Then we meet doctor. We are both apprehensive still, as the shock has not fully passed. If you have never met Jerry, here is a picture. Keep in mind, you know me and I'm a normal size person, not 4'6.

When Jerry stood up and shook his hand, all 6'8 of him, the doctor looked at me and laughed. He then tried to compare his (maybe) 5'10 self and his wife's (apparently my size) delivery to what mine would be like. Nice try, doc, but... if our child walks out of my uterus I'm not going to be surprised. Strike one. He then notices that I was on birth control, and giggles when he hears the brand and tells me that it is notorious for this happening. Strike two, not what I needed to hear. Immediately, I turn into teacher Sarah reminding him that we're not here because we planned to be and I'm scared out of my mind. So, doc reminds me that I'm not a spring chicken anymore and that if I waited 4/5 years until I was "ready", I might miss my chance. This is the reality I needed and after the hormones calm down, I realize that I would laugh at me too - doctor can stay. Off to the ultrasound I go... 

Six weeks and a few days - ish. He gave me the exact measurement, but all I heard was that my due date was moved from May 15th to May 24th and that was most likely the reason for the original mix up - I was much earlier in my pregnancy than expected. 

So, here we are. Almost 10 weeks pregnant, still scared, but thankfully almost ready to be excited. I'm sure this will be an adventure we'll never forget, I'll do my best to keep everyone "posted" =)

*Note to birth control users - Yaz is apparently notorious for this "oops", take your pill according to the directions word for word. As I was not notified of this issue, I hope to help at least one person stay on her path to planned parenthood.