Precious Sleep

The one piece of advice that I received the most after the birth of Baby Elise was,"Sleep while the baby sleeps!"   Easier said than done.  While I am sure that most people when exhausted can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, I am the type of person who when I'm awake, I'm awake even if I'm running on empty.  It doesn't matter how tired I am, I can not fall back asleep unless I over indulge in Jagermeister, which would not be a pretty sight. I felt like there was so much to do and not enough time to do it.   It also doesn't help that the baby can't really communicate with you.  The hungry cry, the "Change my diaper, I'm soaked," and the "I'm just crabby" cries all sound the same at first.

Eggplant Fever

Beautiful and delicious!

One of the great things about belonging to a CSA is the fact we get fresh, in season produce every week.  I never did get our own vegetable garden in this spring so shopping at roadside produce stands and the CSA is how I've been buying the majority of our vegetables this summer.   The CSA had a bumper crop of eggplants, tomatoes, and various peppers, so I decided to find some new interesting applications for our harvest.

She's here!

Baby Elise joined our family exactly four weeks ago today at 4:46 p.m.  She decided not to arrive on her due date so we had to make a trip to the hospital for a non-stress test to make sure the baby was okay.  Due to the gestational diabetes my midwife had told me that if she didn't come before 42 weeks that they would induce me by rupturing my membrane to get things going.  I left the hospital feeling frustrated.  I wanted to avoid having my membranes ruptured as much as possible.  Up until this point I was all "Water birth, no drugs, all natural."  Little did I know that this labor would be anything but normal or natural.

Registering & Getting Ready for Baby

Well,  Baby Elise should be arriving in 25 days.  We've already had the baby showers and we're at the point of doing the final preparations of getting her room and all the needed supplies before she comes home.  I had a great time seeing my family and friends despite the fact that I am not always comfortable being the center of attention.

The showers were the fun part, registering however when you're not around babies all the time can be a stressful experience.  Did I register for all the things I need, did I register for enough or too many big ticket items (keep this in mind for people who go in on group gifts),  will everything I register for be available by the time the shower rolls around?  I decided to register at Babies R Us and Amazon.com.  I have had nothing but wonderful experiences with Amazon, plus we have Amazon Prime, so free two day shipping is always handy.  I waffled between registering at BuyBuy Baby & Target, but settled on Babies R Us because there was no BuyBuy Baby close to my out-of-state relatives.  Thinking back on things, I wish I had registered anywhere besides Babies R Us.

Gestational Diabetes Fun

It's been a month and a half since I was officially diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes.  My sugar levels have been pretty normal so far, except for the few cheat days I've been allowed (work picnic, baby shower, Memorial Day BBQ.)   Even when I cheat I haven't been able to make myself be terribly bad, I haven't had a piece of cake since my diagnosis.  I've never really been a sweets craver except for my Americone Dream ice cream, I do miss tortilla chips like crazy though.

I've lost 8 lbs. since being on the low carb diet, which seems crazy to me.   The diet is pretty restrictive, for example, breakfast can't exceed 30 carbs,  two hours after I need to check my blood sugars and then I can have a 15 carb snack.  Lunch and dinner are 40 carbs and my snacks after each meal and blood testing are also 15 carbs.  I have found that if I eat closer to 20 carbs for my late night snack that my fasting blood sugars are below the 94 that the dietitian set the limits for.  I have done some reading and found that if you don't have enough carbs your liver will produce extra for you at night and that can spike the sugar levels and cause an increased reading in the morning.

I do have a list of forbidden foods that I'm looking forward to eating once the baby is here.  I want a rootbeer float and onion rings from A & W (there is one on the way home from the hospital.  I joked with the hubby that I want him to stop off before we get home with the baby.)  I have also wanted sushi, so that is also on the hit list.  Lastly, a large bag of lime flavored Ann Arbor Tortilla Factory chips and a bowl of guacamole and a tall glass (or pitcher) of lemonade would rock my world right now.

My midwife told me that as long as my sugars stay normal that there should be no problem with having the baby as natural as possible, which is the ultimate goal.  I would feel like a failure if I had to have a C section (unless the baby is breech or is in serious danger) or if I had to use painkillers.  Hopefully nothing changes before now and mid August. *keeping fingers crossed*

Views from my garden...

We've had two warm and muggy days here in the Magical Mitten State.   I was able to enjoy the A/C and do some nesting because a co-worker wanted to take my shift.  I also was able to snap some pictures of my garden's spring blooms.  

Eventually what I hope to have is a cottage-look garden.  Lots of foxgloves, columbines, perennials that will spread and fill in for minimum maintenance. I have a long way to go, but I think that by documenting the garden in photos this year will help with planning the mass planting for fall bulbs and next spring's perennial planting.  Hopefully next year I can work on my shade garden where my hammock hangs too. 

Columbine

Please excuse the lack of proper mulching and sad looking yew behind the columbine.  When we first moved into the house, the yews had been gnawed down by the neighborhood deer population.  Thanks to spreading coyote urine around the yews, it looks like they may actually resemble a bush someday.

When asshats attack or people say the darnedest things to you when you're pregnant..

I'd like to say that I think of myself as a pretty mild-mannered person.  I try to be polite to strangers, for the most part if I come into contact with someone I've never met I tend to be quiet and observe.  I guess that's why I've been so floored by some of the ignorant and ridiculous things people have said to me since I began showing my baby bump.

I work in retail, so I come into contact with people all the time.   I don't know if perhaps because I am so available to them they feel so free to say things, or if I have a "humiliate me, I enjoy it" sign on my back.  My first awkward encounter happened during my fifth month, my bump barely visible.  An older man approached me, asked where something was and as I started walking him to the item's location, he said,"Oh you don't need to take me over there in your delicate condition."  I brushed off the comment told him I was tough and took him over to the product.  After he thanked me for helping him he grabbed my stomach and asked when the "blessed event" was.  I normally don't get grabbed like that, if someone is grateful I've helped them I've gotten hugged, but that's the extent of it. I was flabbergasted and if I wasn't at work I probably would have reacted much worse than I did.  I backed away and told him that I had personal space issues and to unhand my unborn child. 

I thought because I didn't have any strange things happen during my sixth month that I was home-free.  Well you know what happens when you assume and boy did I get hit with a barrage of stuff during my first week of month seven.   This merely was just the quiet before the storm.