I'm Moving Back Home!

So it's been fun to lead this secret double-life over the past 13 weeks, but it's time I head back over to my regular blog. Please continue to follow me at The Original Bean!

Opinions are Like...

Well, you know the rest. And now I'll be singing Salt-N-Pepa in my head all day.

But really.

So I've been running while pregnant. My OB said that it was fine to continue. Actually, BOTH OBs said that. And a midwife. Not just "fine" to continue, but "recommended." And so I keep putting one foot in front of the other. A little bit more slowly, and with the introduction of walk breaks every mile or so to keep my breathing relatively normal. No more pushing up the big, steep hills.

Not only have I been cleared to keep running, but I've been cleared to train for and run the Pig, should my body cooperate. Of course, no decisions have been made yet, but I went for 7 miles on Sunday and could have gone longer. It was a good run. Except for the tiny nagging voice that has now crept into my head, courtesy of someone saying "oh, I had a friend who ran while they were pregnant and her baby died."

Thanks for that. WHY would you say that to someone? That, right there, is quite possibly the worst thing that you could say to someone who suffers from an anxiety disorder.

14 Weeks - Lemon Week

Lemons are fitting, since I've been chugging lemonade like nobody's business. I'm so bored of water.

How far along: 14 weeks

Total weight gain: A pound. Definitely a pound. Maybe two.

Maternity clothes: Finally felt safe enough to unpack and hang up all of my borrowed maternity clothes. I think I'll be moving over to the pants full-time next week. The shirts are still a little big, but only because they're 9 months worth of stretched out. Not sure what I'm going to do in the meantime, yet.

Stretch marks: Nope

Sleep: Getting better.

Best moment of this week: Ran 7 miles on Sunday! Also enjoyed some amazing cupcakes and a cup of Ben & Jerry's while I was in DC. But the BEST part was finding out that our test results were all normal and that we'll be having a girl. Charlie is so excited, he's been telling all of his teachers and friends.

Miss anything: Running really fast and drinking beer

Exercise: Switched it up this week and moved back to free weights. Still running, too.

Movement: 99% yes

Food cravings: Chips and dip

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing! I successfully drank an entire cup of non frou-frou coffee yesterday. Yum!

Have you started to show yet: Absolutely

Gender: Girl :)

Happy or moody most of the time: Cranky, as always

 

Looking forward to: Thanksgiving with the big family! Aunts and Uncle and Cousins and Sister and Grandma all coming out from New Jersey. It's always a total clusterfuck, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Results are In

I called the MT21 test company on Tuesday night to find out who I was supposed to get my results from. They told me that my OB would actually be the one to call me, and that my results would be to them to Thursday (today!). 42 hours including one incredibly sleepless night later, and I have the test results. All negative! I cried with relief while I was on the phone with the nurse. I had panic attacks all night worrying about all of the things that could be wrong. Barely slept a full 20 minutes. Of course, I had to leave my house at 4:00 this morning to get to the airport for my DC trip, so I'm absolutely exhausted. Had to go to dinner with our development team, which always ends up being a late night. I can't wait to go to sleep.

In addition to our stellar test results, we also found out what the sex of the baby is! The ultrasound tech was right at our NT scan last week. And since this blog is still a secret, I can say it here without the guilt that I haven't told the rest of the family yet...    We're having a GIRL! There are six grandkids between our families and they are ALL boys. I'm so excited that Charlie is going to have a little sister! I can't wait to tell him when I'm back in town on Saturday.

I also can't wait for the family to come for thanksgiving, because after the girl news is made public I'll be moving back to my old blog. I'm looking forward to sharing the news with everyone!

13 Weeks - Peach Week!

I love peaches. They're probably my absolute favorite fruit in existence.

How far along: 13 weeks

Total weight gain: I think a pound. Again, it swings wildly day-to-day

Maternity clothes: Realized that all of the maternity clothes I have are stretched out from 9 month bellies, so I picked up two new ones at Target. Still in my own pants/skirts, with bella band

Stretch marks: Not at this point

Sleep: Difficult, probably due to stress. I wake up a lot at night

Best moment of this week: Completing a 6 mile run on Sunday! More to come about that in another post. I'm also headed back to DC on Thursday, so hoping to sneak in a cupcake or a trip to Ben and Jerry's

Miss anything: Running really fast

Exercise: Still kettlebells and running. I'm getting bored with kettlebells and will probably be revisiting P90X soon. Also about to start a team for this year's Undie Run!

Movement: Still not sold on what I've felt or not felt

Food cravings: Cheetos

Anything making you queasy or sick: Still a no on coffee and  yogurt

Have you started to show yet: Absolutely

Gender: My "feeling" varies wildly. I'm so impatient about waiting for test results. I just want to know that the chromosome count is correct, but I'm also dying to know if the u/s tech was right or not

Happy or moody most of the time: Bitchy and teary. I cried this morning on the way to work and now I can't even remember why. Some song, it's probably a good thing I can't remember

 

Looking forward to: Test results from MaterniT21! Waiting for those so that we can tell Charlie. I can't wait to tell him!

NT Scan

We had our NT Scan done on Tuesday. The whole day was super stressful for me - voting in the morning, NT scan in the afternoon, the loooooooong wait for election results - but thankfully, we got good news on both counts. Our NT measurement was 1.1, anything under a 3 is considered good and low-risk. Baby Plum was bouncing around and waving. It looks so much different than it did 5 weeks ago. Human development is so cool. We did get a gender guess, but I've decided that I'm going to try to forget about it. It's very, very early, so it really could still go either way. I don't want to convince myself that it's something and then have to re-think everything if/when we find out it's the opposite. Either way, we should know before thanksgiving thanks to the MaternT21 test.




Supposedly, the results will be ready in 5-10 business days. I don't know how I'm going to wait that long.

We Did It!

Four More Years!

I'm so thankful that women are finally standing up and making their voices heard and taking a more active role in politics. We added FIVE women to the Senate! That's pretty amazing. We still have a long way to go, but progress is progress. Not only that, but we've also elected our first openly-gay Senator. Way to go, Wisconsin! And as if it couldn't get any better? Maine, Maryland, and Washington State voted to legalize gay marriage. I'm so, so thrilled for so many of my friends who have been waiting years to be able to marry their partners. Hopefully this is just the beginning for equal rights under the law.

It was a great night, but I'm really paying for it today because I stayed up so late. I honestly thought it was going to be a nail-biter, even with Nate Silver's (now-proven to be statistically robust!) projections. I was prepared to go the distance and wait up watching until the wee hours of the morning, but there was no need.

Even today, I'm still jumping for joy inside. I hope that this is a sign that people are starting to recognize that treating each other equally and with respect really is a good goal to work toward.

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12 Weeks - Plum

I want to like plums. I really do. I love the inside of them, but I can't get past the weird flavor of the peel. It's not really sour, I can't put my finger on exactly what the issue is, it just has a weird bite to it that I just don't like.

How far along: 12 weeks

Total weight gain: Maybe a pound? Not really sure. It swings wildly day-to-day

Maternity clothes: Got a ton of clothes from friends and co-workers! Yay for the maternity clothing swap cycle. Unfortunately, most of it is a little too big for me, still. I may be making a trip to target this week.

Stretch marks: Not at this point.

Sleep: Probably not a good question today, as I was up waaaaaaaaaay past my bedtime watching Obama win the election!

Best moment of this week: Peppermint Mochas and the NT Scan we had yesterday. More about that tomorrow!

Miss anything: Liquor, especially after the election stress of yesterday

Exercise: Kettlebells and running. Finally starting to get back into the swing of things. Went for an outdoor run yesterday morning just for a change of pace, and remembered that treadmill running doesn't equal sidewalk running. I thought I was going to die. I did, however, get the all clear from the OB to attempt marathon training.

Movement: Not sure. I think maybe, once, but I wouldn't swear to it.

Food cravings: I've moved to the real junk cereals this week - Cookie Crisp.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Slowly improving, but yogurt is still a no-go

Have you started to show yet: Yes, but not flaunting it yet

Gender: I have a "feeling," and we got a guess at the NT Scan yesterday. Either way, we'll know in about 10 days

Happy or moody most of the time: Still rather pissy and very weepy. I cried a lot yesterday, mostly about the election. Cried again in my car this morning while they talked about the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and how people lined up in the freezing cold and dark just to cast their votes

 

Looking forward to: Waiting impatiently for the results of the MateniT21 test. It's going to be a long 10 days.

Happy Election Day!

I'm coming to you from the swingiest of swing states. And I don't mean like THAT, I mean like Ohio - the land where they inundate you with campaign ads on TV, on the radio, lawn signs lining the road, mailboxes stuffed full of mailers - THAT kind of swing state.

I'm losing my ever-loving mind. There's so much at stake these days in terms of women's rights and basic human rights, in general. Keeping the government out of our uteri, and all that jazz. Four years ago I had a 12 week old baby. I dressed him up with an Obama sticker, took him to the polls, and dropped him off at daycare while I went to work to earn a paycheck, like so many millions of other women do. I came home that night and stayed up late to watch Jon Stewart and Colbert call the election. It was so exciting. Once it became clear that Obama was going to earn the 270 electoral votes that he needed to secure the Presidency, the phone calls started. I celebrated with friends and family members from all over the country. It was incredible - we had taken a huge step forward.

I hope that we can do it again, today. Sure, the economy is still not as robust as it was in 2007. But, we had a huge hole to climb out of, and we're slowly but surely working our way up. I sound idealistic and naive? Ok, but my husband was laid off as a result of the economic crash - so I'm not saying that from a place of untouchable privilege. We had to adjust to a different standard of living and figure out how to manage without that portion of our household income. But we did it - that's one of the reasons I've always been happy to be a working mom. I knew that there could come a time when I would need to support my family, and I wanted to make sure that I could do it. And to be fair, the husband sure made the most out of it. He started his own business, something that he had always wanted to do, and it has been largely successful. And I do recognize that not everyone has that option - not everyone has the knowledge, the expertise, the second income that makes it possible to live that kind of dream. But not everyone has the option to "borrow money from (their) parents," either, as one candidate suggested during a campaign event.

More importantly, I hope that we can recognize that women's rights are incredibly important and that the government has no business dicking around in our personal business. My contraceptive choice is my business, my reproductive choice is my business, and my hot-button issue has nothing to do with getting home early enough in the evening to make dinner for my family. Moms (women!) need support - we need supportive employment policies, allowances for time to pump breastmilk for our babies, affordable childcare and healthcare options. We need to be recognized as economic and intellectual equals - we need to be paid the same as a man doing the equivalent job. We need to not be penalized or "mommy-tracked" for producing the next generation of humanity. We need to stop the mommy wars, too - stay-at-home-moms and working moms need to come together to make sure that we are all treated fairly and that we all have access to the basic needs of our families. No one should have to choose between feeding their family and getting medical care, and it's a sad state of affairs that so many people do.

And so for those reasons, as well as so many others that I couldn't possibly find the time to blog about, I cast my vote for the Obama/Biden ticket. I want four more years of a party that will fight for what is right and what is just. Four more years of progress, four more years of fairness, and four more years of helping to protect and care for those who need it most. I'm so thankful that we're able to fully support our families, and I have no problem helping to support programs who help others in need.

Now I'm going to hibernate under the bed until the results start to roll in. Poke me when it's safe to come out!

I Don't Even Know Me Anymore!

In the past 24 hours I've become a different person.

I had a luncheon meeting yesterday and the lunch was SO horrible. Just disgusting. Mayo-covered turkey sandwiches, limp veggies, and the worst cookies ever. Seriously. So I went home hungry. SO hungry. And thanks to my friend Rachel, I've been craving Sweet Tea. She swears that McDonald's has the best. So I sold my soul and hit up the drive-thru on the way home. I felt so dirty sitting in that line. I figured - while I'm already compromising my integrity, I may as well get fries, too! So I did. Unfortunately, the Sweet Tea did not live up to my expectations. Neither did the fries.

 

 

Second, I've been disloyal to my beloved Dunkin Donuts. I still can't drink regular coffee. Tried and failed last weekend. Tried and failed yesterday. So I've been visiting the dark side - the dreaded Starbucks. But not just ANY Starbucks coffee will do. Just the Salted Caramel Mocha, again something that I was peer pressured into by a friend :)

 

 

So last night Charlie had a sleepover with his grandma. The pickup location was originally Panera, but as I drove down the road I remembered that there was a Starbucks just a little farther up, and the Salted Caramel Mocha started calling my name. When I arrived, however, I was met with the sign-board annoucement that the PEPPERMINT MOCHAS had returned!! And this was the best news, ever. I LOVE Peppermint Mochas.

I feel dirty, but it was absolutely every bit as good as it looks. All $3.75 of it.