Shake Rattle and Roll! v.2.0

Oh my god, we just had one hell of an earthquake. 5.6 on the richter scale, and over 10 seconds long. It was centered about 20 miles from us, but we never would have known that while it was rumbling through our apartment building. This one was much bigger than the last one we felt -- the one that woke us up in the middle of the night. This one rolled through the building shaking everything. Henry and I were just glued to the couch, totally not sure what to do. I kept thinking it was over and then we'd be hit by another wave. It really was a scary one, and I was sure it was The Big One. Once it was over we went to search out the cats, who were both cowering under the bed. I was so glad that Riley had come home last night, and wasn't still out. He'd never have made it home after that! Things seem to have calmed down now, but holy cow, that shook us up (har har).

I was really happy to go to acupuncture tonight. My practitioner is finally back from her wedding and honeymoon, and I was so glad to see her. Her sub had been ok, but not great, and after my treatment tonight I felt better than I've felt in weeks. She's really been an incredible gift to me throughout this pregnancy, and I shudder to think what it would have been like without her help. We talked a lot tonight about induction, and although we did not take any steps to induce tonight, she agreed that as soon as I am ready, she'll start working the induction points. So exciting that she can do that. She thinks the baby will be early based on my pulses. We'll see if she's right! So far she's been right about everything.

Henry has started to put the crib together, and I stopped by IKEA tonight to pick up a few storage items. They have some really cute things there for baby rooms, so I also picked up a couple of mobiles and a rattle that looks like a big, blue fish. I'm really enjoying the nesting -- it is fun, and I feel all cozy when I'm doing things like folding teeny weeny socks and stashing them away, knowing that in a matter of weeks we'll be stretching them over the toes of our very own little person.

25 week, 4 day check in

I think it has been a while since I posted anything much. I've been feeling a lot better as of lately, although unfortunately this weekend I've come down with a cold, and I can't do any of the things I'd normally do to feel better. Henry has been a superstar, keeping me on the couch, making sure I have enough fluids, and even going out to get me this wacky thing for washing out my sinuses.

I'm happy this week because my acupuncturist decided that I can cut down to one visit a week instead of two, and we'll be focusing on getting my energy back up, following such a long bout of sickness. She needles my head, my wrists, my elbow, and points in my shins and feet that are all in relation my strength. And since I started to feel like I've had PMS for six months straight, she's working with that as well. And as usual, she's made me feel like a new woman. She invited me to come to a workshop this weekend where acupuncturists were learning palpation -- a technique for feeling the fetus through the abdomen and taking measurements. I was a "model" and several practitioners worked on me. It was really interesting. They were able to feel the edges of my uterus and even listen to my placenta. It never occurred to me that my placenta would have a sound! They also predicted gender based on my pulse -- they think 'girl'. Things really have been growing exponentially in the last several days. I'm feeling kicks higher and higher in my torso, and my rib cage is starting to expand. Time for a massage!

On Friday night while Henry was off at train club, I went out to my parents' house where my mom helped me put together the face of the quilt I've been working on for the baby. I cut the pieces out a couple of months ago, but haven't had the energy to get the squares put together. While I sewed, my mom pressed the seams flat, and in the end we had the whole thing put together. I am pretty proud of it and can't wait to get the whole thing together. I went out today and got some brushed cotton for the back -- it is really soft. I just need to get some batting now, and I'll be set. Of course, my own sewing machine remains on the fritz, and I still can't bring myself to get it repaired, because the repair will cost more than the machine cost me to begin with. I wish I'd just started out with a new machine to begin with!

Henry had to move all his websites to blogs this weekend. Check them out! Choobase.com, U2NewYork.com, Trackmybucks.com, and Quotepedia.blogspot.com.

24 Weeks!

We are 24 weeks pregnant today! Things are cooking along really well. At our prenatal appointment last week we found that the baby is measuring about 10 days ahead of schedule, but the doctor didn't want to change the due date. Personally, I just think that the baby has its daddy's big head! We've already seen in the ultrasounds that it has its daddy's nose.

We were able to straighten out the doula situation, thank goodness. I don't feel that we ever really got a clear answer from the first one as to why she didn't want to work with us, but who cares. The doula we've got now is terrific, fantastic, and we love her. Now that we have her on our side, I feel like things are starting to line up for getting this baby out come November. We've got our doula, we'll be transferred to the midwifery clinic in Walnut Creek in a few more weeks, we've got to sign up for childbirth classes and figure out where exactly we are going to put the baby after it comes out, but today I am not feeling too worried about any of it. (I reserve my right to worry about it again in the future!).

As for me, I am still feeling so much better. Things are still touch and go a bit. My OB did give me an anti-nausea medication, but I'm only taking it when absolutely necessary. I am still seeing my acupuncturist who in my opinion is like a magic healer. She's promised to have me off the medication in another week and a half. That would be so super. I've had a lot of doctors throughout my life, but my acupuncturist is the first one I've had who I really believe is a healer. I remain blown away by what she has been able to do for me. We've continued to do the gua sha treatments at each visit, and each time it becomes more difficult to get the bruising, and much easier to bleed the area, both facts meaning there is less stagnant blood in my body and I am getting better daily.

In other news last night we met up with several of Henry's relatives -- the Catlins and Paganos were in town on their whirlwind tour of California. It was so nice to see them all (there were 14 of them travelling together!) for an evening. We had a casual dinner at Taylor's Refreshers in the Ferry Building. Debbie and her girlfriend talked to me at length about their labors -- they have had 5 kids between them -- and assured me that natural is both doable and the way to go. It was great to have people tell me to avoid the drugs for a change -- seems like everyone is pushing epidurals on me, and I am not interested!

And then, we are (ok, I am) a bit concerned that a neighbor may be trying to steal Riley! He's been staying out till six in the morning lately, and the other night Henry saw a cat that looked an awful lot like Riley going into a neighbor's apartment that we can see from one of our windows. He didn't get a really good look, and there is another cat on our block that looks a lot like Riley, so I guess we still need to give them the benefit of a doubt, but for now, Riley is staying in. Don't steal my cat! Cat stealing is mean! Our other cat, Munchie, won't leave me alone -- she flops across my belly at every opportunity and lets the baby kick her. I think the baby will recognize her when it comes out.

And my parents are finally home from their Romanian wanderings! It has been weeks since I have seen them, which is really weird for me. I am hoping that they will both be recovered from their colds by Saturday so we can have some family time.

22 Weeks

So, at 22 weeks and 3 days pregnant, I finally felt ready for a so-called "belly shot". Things are really taking off in there, with lots of movement and "pops" around the clock, and the occasional Braxton Hicks contraction. I'm definitely in the second half of pregnancy, and trying to remind myself daily (sometimes hourly) that I am over halfway through this marathon.

The acupuncture I wrote about last week really did seem to help -- for about three days. I felt truly fantastic, and then things got really bad again. I didn't have another appointment until Thursday and in the meantime, I just had to get through my days. I got really upset -- it is horrible to feel horrible again after feeling so good. I had been warned that because acupuncture's effects are cumulative that I would probably have some bad days again, but I wasn't prepared for how awful it would be. I was so relieved to go to my appointment for another treatment come Thursday. I've felt pretty good again since then, with a few bad moments thrown in, but all in all I do think the acupuncture is still working. We've got a prenatal appointment this week, though, and I'll be glad to review all this with my doctor, as she's been out of the loop for the last few weeks. And its in the last few weeks that this has gotten really bad.

For fun, Henry let me take his belly shot too. He does this thing where he pooches his belly way out and manages to look more pregnant that I do!

The greatest part of feeling good has been noticing things that I had forgotten about when feeling sick -- things like the fact that it is summer and the farmers' markets are busting out with amazing fruit. We went down to the farmers' market at Jack London Square this morning and picked up a bag of gorgeous nectarines, a quart of blueberries and a few others yummy things that just screamed SUMMER. We took everything home and whipped the nectarines and blueberries up into a pie, that we then took to enjoy with our friends Marco and Christine and their twin girls. Yumm, yummm...

Another great benefit to feeling better is being able to realize that in 17 weeks (or so) I'll be giving birth and actually being able to start planning for that. We have wanted all along to hire a doula to assist during the birth. She'll provide labor support for me and for Henry, and help us both through the experience, and also act as out advocate with hospital staff. She'll help me avoid medication if I don't want it, and hopefully avoid an "emergency" cesarean. We interviewed two candidates this week and it was really hard to pick one, because we liked them both so much. They each had incredible experience and credentials. In the end we went with the one who exudes this incredible confidence, because I feel that if my own confidence starts to fail during labor, she'll be able to pump me right back up and help me finish the job.

The 'Joy' of Pregnancy

So obviously I am happy about being pregnant. But everyone who knows me or spends any time at all with me knows that I've had a very difficult time with morning sickness. I've tried all the home remedies I can think of -- ginger, lemon drops, ice, protein, small meals, frequent snacks, extra vitamin B6, sea bands -- and nothing has worked. I've been really resistant to trying any medical intervention because there are no class "A" drugs that are approved for battling nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. Things clearly have not been getting better, in fact this week there were moments where it was clear to me that is was just getting worse.

I had been hearing great things about using acupuncture to treat morning sickness for weeks, but had been hesitant to try it. Not only am I a needle-phobe, I've had some ridiculous notion that I just need to struggle through the sickness no matter how long it lasts. Maybe it was when I was projectile vomiting at work this week that I realized I don't have to be a martyr about this -- my health had become compromised, and I was starting to feel downright depressed and sad that the only memory I would have of my pregnancy would be of being sick, tired, and just trying to make it through.

Thanks to a lovely woman in my prenatal yoga class I found an acupuncturist in Berkeley whose entire practice is devoted to fertility and pregnancy support. I called her for an appointment, told her what was going on for me, and she wanted me to come in immediately. I found just in talking with her that I trusted her, and truly believed that she would be able to help me.

At the appointment, the practitioner did a really thorough background with and we talked about how this pregnancy has been going for me. It was clear that she really understood the exhaustion I was feeling, and how badly I need to stop throwing up. She explained that what she wanted to do with me was take a fairly aggressive stand, as she was worried that I am not as hydrated as I think I am and was also worried that I may be anemic (and told me to have my doctor check that at my next prenatal).

As part of the aggressive treatment, she did this thing gua sho (I think). This involved scraping the back of my neck and between my shoulder blades with a ceramic spoon until the area was all bruised up (intentionally!). She explained to me that that area is largely associated with the pressure points that correlate to the digestive system and the process would stimulate those organs. When she got the level of bruising she was looking for she lanced an area on my neck 8 times and bled it a bit. I felt as though all the extra heat in my body went to that area and began to escape -- I started to feel normal body temperature for the first time in weeks. I know the procedure sounds pretty brutal, but it actually felt terrific. Next, she had me lie on my back and she placed a needle in my forehead, in each wrist, and in each shin. She left me to rest with the needles in for 25 minutes. When she came to remove them I felt as though I had had a two hour nap.

I'll see her twice a week for the next two weeks and then we will scale it back to once a week or every ten days, depending on how I am responding. She did say that improvement would likely be gradual. We'll do the scraping at least two more times, and the next time we do it it will be all up and down my back. She also gave me some herbs that I'm to take daily, told me to try the B6 again, and changed my prenatal vitamin. She also counselled me to eat protein at each and every meal (and that it is ok if the only protein source I can deal with is cheese), to eat every 1-2 hours, and to stay away from food and drink that is straight out of the fridge.

I can't say that I won't end up taking zofran in the end, but for now I am feeling well enough to just wait and see how the acupuncture plays out between now and my next prenatal appointment. I'm a bit surprised just how much better I do actually feel. I'm writing this about 24 hours after the appointment and I actually think I can say that for the first time since getting pregnant I don't feel sick at all. I'm very happy I went.