This Mommy Runs on Caffeine

This Mommy Runs on Caffeine

March 27, 2009

I know, I know, bad blogger Pregnant Chick! I haven’t updated since Monday (It’s been a rather busy week and I was waiting for inspiration to strike!) and I had an email this morning wanting an updated picture of BabyW. Well, unfortunately we only had a Doppler heartbeat done at this rather routine appointment. I was very much looking forward to seeing her, but no such luck. It was pretty cool though as Jason got to hear the heartbeat for the first time (I had the hardest time describing it to him from my last appointment!) and he said it was the best anniversary present ever! Awwww!
Dr. V seemed to be very pleased with the lack of weight gain (so far) and progress of the baby. I did have to go repeat some labs that didn’t get done earlier…. The blood glucose was especially fun. I got to go watch Jason eat lunch while I fasted for an hour after drinking orange flavored nasty crap. Think flat Sunkist with a faint baby aspirin after taste. At least it was refreshingly cool, and I pretended that it was a nice wine cooler as I slammed it in less than 5 minutes as directed by the nice little lady at the lab. The results were fine- although trending towards a sweet tooth, my blood sugar is normal! Other results were fine, and DH and I got a good laugh of the NEGATIVE results for a particular one which had a long scientific name. I guess they just don’t want to go splashing syphilis around as the name for the test, eh? LOL! So, fans of BabyW, we have to wait a whole 25 more days for another check up and then the next day will be the BIG ultrasound where they really will confirm BabyW will be swathed in pink. If your curiosity is getting the best of you, click here to see details on what Week16 entails. Despite my other post (see below) I’m not opposed to dressing her in pink, I just do not desire the nursery to be pink!
Aside from an occassional headache or two- which could also be allergy related- and minor fatigue, the symptoms from the first trimester have subsided and each day is pretty much a non-event. Although, I did feel the baby move twice this week- once on Tuesday and once on Wednesday! It was a quick flutter and there's no other explanation for the feeling except that she was making herself known! Similar to the size of an avocado, she can still do backflips and such without me feeling much. AuntyL said just wait until I get an elbow to the ribs....
Jason and I had our official anniversary celebration at The Spaghetti Factory and then over to Rick’s Dessert Diner for the night cap. <-- A bonus to being pregnant is dessert! We agreed to a maximum $ amount for presents, so I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a James Patterson book- perfect! Unbeknownst to me, we would get another present later in the week (hold your horses!)….
Work has been busy this week with a new training class starting- working later on a few of the days although necessary, was not easy. Thank goodness for daylight savings and lots of light otherwise I would have been completely wiped out. It feels like working through quicksand sometimes with less energy and fighting through afternoon fatigue. But I always look forward to Frappacino Friday! ( :
We have a busy weekend planned- cleaning out the garage in preparation for the big community yard sale next weekend, a birthday celebration and I’m hoping a little picnic to celebrate the nice weather! Fear not, blogosphere, I have inspiration for some weekend posts, so you will have some light reading for your Monday morning coffee break! Until then, Happy FRIDAY!!!

March 23, 2009

Two Milestones in One Day!


Today is a special day: Our 7-year Wedding Anniversary and the Four month mark of hatching BabyW! I would like to start by saying a very Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband- I can't believe that we've been married for seven years already! You are truly a blessing in my life- you make me want to be a better person; you lift me up when I am down and support us through all of life's ups and downs. I couldn't ask for a better teammate (I'm your biggest fan!) and I know that you are going to make a terrific father. One of my best memories of our wedding day was seeing that amazing rainbow; I think this is the pot of gold!
We are also nearly half-way through (so, I'm an optimist!) and things are going pretty smoothly!
Since the morning sickness had subsided, the time has actually gone by very quickly (prior to that every day felt a little bit like dog years!) and I can't believe that we have hit the four month mark already! We have another regular check-up today and I am looking forward to seeing and hearing BabyW again! (Yes, I'll fill you in on all of the details when I get back!) In fact, other than an occassional headache and fatigue, I am feeling pretty good. My energy level certainly isn't back to what I was used to before I became a science experiment, but I am getting something accomplished every now and then!

We took BabyW to her very first concert on Saturday night (Blake Shelton/ Jason Aldean/ Luke Bryan/ Lost Trailers/ Keith Anderson). So, it's in utero- but they say that the baby can actually hear already! I think she liked it too- I know Mommy and Daddy certainly did! It also took ME almost all of Sunday to recover from my popcorn and Pepsi induced hangover! ($5 for a bottle of Pepsi--- that was certainly better than $27 for parking.. which is why we rode BART!)

I will post another entry when I have some more BabyW news this afternoon/ evening!

March 18, 2009

Welcome Ivan Maximus Whitlock and Aaliyah Rose Saleem!!!

It must be spring! ( : There are babies everywhere.... some new arrivals to the 'family':

My cousin Jason and wife Kimberly welcomed son Ivan (first picture) on March 1st- 8 lbs., 8 oz, 22" long and college friend and fellow cat lover, Jennifer, and her hubby Khalid, welcomed daughter Aaliyah on March 12th at 8:07am. She weighed in at 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 19 inches long, and according to proud mama, was a stubborn girl and decided she didn't want to have her head squished and arrived via C-section!



Another new arrival for our neighbors, Alex and Annette- welcomed their first child, daughter Stella on February 10th.
(And we're counting down.... 25 weeks to go for Baby W! LOL)

March 17, 2009

I Could Probably Sleep Standing Up!!

I had to drive to the Bay Area today for a meeting; actually had to wake up to an alarm clock (oh- the horror!) and be there by 9 a.m. Okay, in a *normal* world, piece of cake! In a preggo world, not so much- right now it's mostly because I feel so fatigued- later, I'm sure it will be because I'm impersonating a Macy's T'giving Day Parade Balloon! Doh!

Luckily my drive home was quick (can I say that preggers hormones makes it very hard to tolerate idiot drivers) but, sans daily afternoon siesta, and this pregnant chick is wiped out! I pull up in my driveway and try to muster up the energy to get out of the car and go into the house (first clue); the thought of cooking dinner (corned beef and cabbage and all of the trimmings, but insert chicken for the corned beef! LOL- you ever smelled corned beef while preggers???) was a challenge. Fast forward to me sitting at the desk checking e-mail while I wait for DH to return from a jog; and I'm startled awake by him coming in the front door! WTH? This makes the second time that I've fallen asleep at the computer!

I have had to start taking my afternoon nappys in my car at work- I've never been so tired- even in my college hey days (Katie?- sleep when you're dead?!), I can't remember sleep so welcoming!

Although I do have to say that I am so thankful for the morning sickness subsiding to a non-existent level- the fatigue seems to be elevated.

My DH just giggled when he woke me up and said, "you're going to be sleeping standing up pretty soon!" Maybe so.... LOL. Just another day in the life of Pregnant Chick!


Oh, Happy St. Patrick's Day- drink one for me, will ya?


March 16, 2009

Do You Know How Hard It Is To Find Non-Pink Nursery Stuff????

Okay you're going to say that until the baby arrives, there's always a chance of it being opposite of what *they* say. I know, but I have to say that this 'mother's intuition' here is positive that it's a girl- and the last ultrasound, the NP said that there was a likely chance that BabyW is a girl. The needle/ thread test worked four times that it's a girl, and bordering on TMI, so does my ovulation chart! LOL


There are those that say, "I just want a healthy baby," but I know that's a load of baby poo- if most women are like me, they are leaning towards wanting one gender over the other. Though, biologically I know it's a hard fact to change once you're little egglet is fertilized. I want a girl. Will I be disappointed if BabyW bucks mommy's intution and comes out with franks and beans, maybe for a brief fleeting moment. (My DH is just making sure that I don't get too disappointed if that is the case...) BUT, I can just feel it..... not to mention I've heard a random comment from multiple people: oh, you had bad morning sickness- it's a girl; your nose isn't flattening out (WTH!)- it's a girl; your it's a girl! Thanks for the encouraging words! We should be able to confirm next week after the required genetic testing that us 'old' freaky moms-to-be have to go through if we are going to be 35 when we deliver! (WTH- again!) So, getting to the point of my rant? I have an idea of what I want for the nursery- and it does not involve pink in any way, shape or form. Do you know how hard it is to find a crib set (not that I am going to get it now anyways!) that doesn't include pink? There are the very vague neutrals that obviously don't, but I want polka dots and those, my friends, have a shade of pink in them somewhere. I did find a set that I did gravitate to- YAY!- but guess what- it's freakin' discontinued! Probably a good thing since it's also around the neighborhood of $300 for a bumper, quilt, sheet and ruffly thingy..... probably has some gold in it somewhere too. This is one way to make a preggers woman cry! I might be even be able to be talked out of the polka dots if there is something else that catches my attention, but it has to not be all frou-frouy- and definately NO PINK!

Here's the colors that I want:

Lavender, sage, and tan....



Here's what I found that I kind of think is cute: (and is discontinued!)
BWAH! I probably wouldn't go with all of the matching stuff though.... and so the hunt is on for something not in PINK.....

March 10, 2009

Like I Really Have Time for All This???

So, the DH (dear hubby) and I went to what looks like the first of many 'preggers peoples' classes. It was a two-hour class basically on how to be pregnant through 20 weeks- what to eat/ not eat (um, I don't eat fish; and I can't really still stand the thought of eating much anyways!), what the baby looks like as it's developing, nutrition (nutrition?, I'm lucky to still eat anything- too much protein makes me gag right now!) and other classes they want you to sleep, um, I mean sit through.
Well, since I am at 14 weeks, I can say that #1) this information would have been more helpful much, much earlier in the pregnancy, and #2) I didn't learn anything that I haven't already read in a book or on-line. So, there were 120 precious minutes that I will never get back. The one cool thing was seeing the actual sizes of the embyo at 10, 12, 15, 20 and 30 weeks- the growth was amazing! I would have preferred to hear about ways to alleviate common pregnancy-related symptoms (like morning sickness, headaches, etc.) and when I might start feeling better! Next time, do a podcast so I can just listen and actually multi-task (very difficult with a preggo brain, by the way!) Also, it reaffirmed that the litter box is a no-no due to toxoplasmosis, but all the talk about cats made me get all emotional over BooBoo (still, again, ugh!). The other good news is that we had a nice dinner out (yes, I had an appetite- those breadsticks are the best!) at Olive Garden, and I met a possible new recruit for PC! ( ;
My health organization recommends that we also attend a 'late' pregnancy class after 20 weeks- that should be 'fun'- except we do get to tour "Club Med Labor & Delivery," which will be the only good reason to take it. This amongst the 12 hours of the labor and delivery class, the numerous doctors appointments, lab tests, etc. (Pile this on top of all of the time we spent just to go through the fertility part, and we're looking at hundres of hours spent at a hospital or clinic.) Yes, I know, it will continue once Baby W joins us, but at least I'll get to touch, feel, and kiss the reason for it... right now, all I can think of are the hours that I'm missing precious preggers sleep! Just within the next three weeks, I have three appointments- but those are always fun to get a little peek at the baby!
By now, you are saying what's the big deal? Well, there probably really isn't but since I'm pregnant, everything matters! ( : and no, I am not overreacting! I think I'll go take a nap now............

March 6, 2009

RIP Little BooBoo Kitty: 10/24/2000 - 03/04/2009

My 8-year old beautiful and sweet kitty, BooBoo died unexpectedly on Wednesday. He went outside with the rest of the fur-critters when I let them out Tuesday before work and didn’t come back in when the others did. I didn’t really think anything of it- on occasion they stay out longer, but always come back at ‘dinner’ time. When I got home from my dad’s later that evening, Jason said he hadn’t seen him- this cat is like a dog and usually always comes when he is called or when you shake the ‘crunchy’ bag (their treats). We searched for him and called but no BooBoo; I didn’t sleep very well last night thinking about him and came downstairs around 3 a.m., but still no kitty. So on Thursday when I let the dogs out around 7 a.m., I walked out into the yard and when I turned around I saw him lying on the patio but he already was gone. I don’t know what happened; since he didn’t come in for his crunchies in the morning, I am assuming that he died suddenly right after I let them out on Tuesday even. He looked as if he just died in mid-step and just fell over- we did some research on the internet and found that there are many cases where a cat can die suddenly of cardiomyopathy, heartworm disease, aneurysms or toxin exposure. Since he wasn’t showing any signs of poisoning, it was definitely something internal; unfortunately we aren’t in the financial position to be able to afford a necropsy.

I knew that there was a strong possibility that something bad had happened, but when I found him it was still such a shock: I started to hyperventilate and tried to go upstairs to find my husband. I barely made it down the hall but I just couldn’t fight through the tears anymore and laid down on the floor in the hallway. I can’t really remember another time that I’ve felt so grief-stricken- not sure if it is the pregnancy hormones or the fact that I raised this kitty from birth; we had his mom and dad both- and she was kind of psycho and didn’t take so well to motherhood, so Baby Boo was my baby in that respect.

BooBoo (named because he was born right before Halloween) was part Siamese and tabby; his beautiful black coat would shine in the light- and you could see faint tabby stripes even. When he was a kitten, he would jump on me when I was in the bathtub and lay right on my stomach- and when he got too big, he would just lay on the edge of the tub curled on a towel to keep me company. Every where I was, he followed and utilized me as his human pillow.
Every night he slept with us- usually curled up on my legs, or even when I was on my side, he hugged me and rested his little chin right on me. Always had to be touching me in some way, either sleeping directly on me or with his head or a paw in my hand- like a living cuddly stuffed animal. He was very un-cat-like in this respect as he liked to be near you. He also loved to be under the covers- I think he got cold easily. (His most recent favorite spot was to wrap himself around the space heater in the living room- surprised he never burned himself!)

He did have his psycho Siamese moments though- he would randomly swat at you for no reason- not a nice little “love pat” when his sharp claws were extended; but we blame that on the psycho mom. The first Christmas that we had him, he singlepawedly took down the tree at least three times, crushing every bulb on it! (Fishing line and an eye-hook fixed that!) Thankfully his dad has two speeds- eat and sleep- and mellowed that kid out a bit.

I even tried to have him ‘altered’ (yes, that’s the euphemism that they use to cut off their little boy parts) twice. Apparently prior to moving into our first house, I had him fixed but forgot about it when I found out one of the three cats had been spraying in the house- so I took BooBoo in to solve the problem. I got to work and they called me to come pick him up- I stated that was fast and they said that they wished all pet owners were as responsible as I and had their cats double-fixed! Anyways I had to take him back to work with me in his carrier and he yowled. I let him out and proceeded to then ‘lose’ him in the office. He was actually tucked under my desk deep in the corner, sleeping and since he is black, blended into the shadow perfectly. Come to find out that it was actually the female (psycho Siamese) that was spraying… I witnessed it! Ugh.

When we moved into our current house four years ago, BooBoo had a field day catching mice at night- we would open the door to go to work and there would be 10-20 mice (often not in one piece…. Ewww) waiting for us- some were even placed strategically near the cars as a going away present. We were going to get little mouse stickers and start a kill wall for the cat. After that summer, we didn’t find too many rodents running around; actually once we heard the coyotes hunting we nixed the nighttime field trips. (Speaking of, I have to say that I’m relieved that he wasn’t killed by the coyotes and went suddenly and I assume with little pain…..) That didn’t prevent him from licking his chops everytime he walked by the hamster cage

So, he wasn’t exactly as much of an angel as his mommy thought- number one, he preferred to go pee in the bathroom sink- eww, I know gross- but turn on the hot water and it’s fixed- so better than the carpet! The funny thing was watching him try to bury it! Speaking of carpet… He also shredded two large holes (2 feet?) on either side of our bed- I think it was a separation anxiety thing…. One still hasn’t been fixed and the other will not be the same! I’m considering laminate flooring! He also came very close to his 5th or 6th life when he scratched me in the face- nearly my eye. I’ve never been so mad at him! My face recovered, but I knew when he had this little scowl to just push him down.

And he had a hate-hate relationship with our rescue dog- when we got Cinnamyn, it took him nearly two years to even come downstairs; and up until yesterday he was still very apprehensive of the big mean dog (oh, he loved our dalmation- they were buds) and hissed like a devil cat. Then he would proceed to run, and of course, Cinny proceeded to chase- reminded me of an old cartoon with the RoadRunner and Wil E Coyote.

This morning, I half-expected him to follow me into the bathroom and take his place on the rug outside the shower…. It’s amazing how a little critter can become such a part of your family and leaves a void when gone. I’m glad I know that he didn’t suffer, but will yearn for some more time to pet him. This cat will always mean so much to me; there are many people who may think it crazy to be so devastated over the loss of a pet, but in essence they are really a part of the family- there for you, day in and day out. So BooBoo: may you always have a large spot of sunshine to lay in; may you be blessed with a bottomless supply of crunchies and an endless supply of mice to catch; a catscratch post that never goes threadbare; a forever-clean litterbox and a comfy bed to rest your precious little head at night. Just know that you were loved very, very much. GodSpeed little guy.











March 2, 2009

The End of the Beginning- 13 weeks!

Today marks 13 weeks in the Life of a Pregnant Chick. I have to say that it's been memorable.... and that word sounds as vague as I am intending it to! My intent of this blog was to muse daily on whatever symptoms the Wheel 'o Preggo dealt me for the day, BUT that was sidelined by the only two things that I could really do: work and sleep (well, I wish work could have been optional- but there's bills to pay!)- so I'm going to do a little wrap-up and then hopefully the second trimester will be a bit more blog-friendly!


For the first few days once we found out, we were just kindof in amazment that we were finally preggers..... and then I spent about a week ravenously hungry (that doesn't last long!) and tired (I think I may have even attempted to sleep-eat!) and then this level of exhaustion set in that I can't even begin to explain. (Our next door neighbors' just had a baby on Feb. 10th and she says now she is really tired!) I spent the next few weeks just sleeping when I wasn't working... and there were a few times that I had to go out and take a nap in the car! Wake up, get ready for work, drive to work while attempting to not fall asleep, work, nap, work, drive home, sit down on couch, fall asleep, go to bed, rinse and repeat.... I ate a few times here and there! (My dear husband just kind of checked my breathing every now and then!)



Now comes mid-January and the "morning" sickness sets in- I want to know what sick and twisted individual called it morning sickness!!??!! I rarely had it in the morning, but in the afternoon, evening and night. I remember a few times that I woke up from a dead sleep with this random overwhelming feeling of nausea. Every afternoon I would just start feeling like dookie (a scientifically accurate word, of course!) and my appetite took a nose dive. The thought of eating made me feel ill, but if I didn't nibble on something then I would be really sick. Such a vicious little circle, and I started to call the baby picky little thing because nothing made her happy! I slept alot to stave off the nausea- if I was sleeping- I didn't get sick. I do have to say on the plus side, that all of this has helped me lose over 15 lbs! I could write a best-selling book on the new Pregnancy Diet.


Okay, before I ramble much more, let me say that I am overjoyed to be having this baby- we've been waiting for so long; but the first trimester sucks! I know, I know it will get better- but every day feels so loooong! So the nausea has subsided a bit in the last week or so- realative to weeks 6-10, but that has been replaced by a killer a.m. headache, fatigue and insomnia. How the heck can those two go together! LOL. I know in the end this will all be worth it and I will read back and laugh, but holy moly girlfriend! And of course she is the reason why: