On Not Being Pregnant Any More

Now, I am not saying I miss being pregnant. Do not misunderstand! I am so glad I am not pregnant any more it isn't even funny. But I've been surprised by how quickly it all was over. Does this make sense? I spent weeks and months becoming more and more pregnant, and then all of a sudden it was over, and that has been kind of weird. Even though as an experience I didn't enjoy it very much, I was surprised after the fact to find how much of my identity had become about 'being pregnant' during that time, and how abrupt the shift to post partum has been. The physical sensations of being pregnant ended so abruptly -- the nausea was gone, the acid reflux over, the sciatica, the aches and pains, the belly itself. The only physical symptom that lingered was swollen feet and ankles, but a few days ago I noticed that my normal feet were back. Hooray! I missed my feet! Another thing that didn't go away quickly was the emotional stuff -- I've still cried a lot post partum, but that has more to do with the hormonal crash and sleep deprivation I've been experiencing (and even that seems to be abating now).

One thing I miss quite a bit, is feeling the baby move around inside me, especially the little windshield wiper action he used to make in my ribcage with his feet. I loved that that experience was mine and the baby's alone, and I kind of miss having that. There are moments when I feel a physical twinge inside me, and it feels similar to a kick or a tap, but I know it is just my body still returning to normal after all the stretching out, but I find that I have to remind myself of that.

Another thing I miss is all the time Munchie spent hanging out on my belly waiting for the baby to kick. She's starting to act normal again, but for the first week and a half or so she was not interested in any of us, hid a lot, and was not wanting to spend any time on any one's lap, let alone mine. I can't blame her, as it was pretty chaotic around here, but I really missed my cat! She's acting more herself now, and even sitting on us again, so I think everything is returning to normal in that department. Hooray!

Phew!

He's home! That was quite an adventure he had... He seems totally fine, aside from the fact that our normally orange buddy is now more gray than anything, with some big black spots. Actually, it looks a little as though he was sleeping on a barbeque grill.

We are so glad to see him, but he is soooo grounded.

Riley, Come Home!

Man, the Fuzzy Pumpkin has gone missing. We are pretty used to him spending the night outside. Usually he wakes us up at around 5:30 to be let in by howling beneath our bedroom windows. But today, he didn't! I came home to check for him at lunch, and no Riley. When I got home this evening, no Riley. Henry had left some food out for him when we left this morning, but it doesn't look like it has been touched. I feel very sad and worried, and I'm hoping hoping hoping that he is just on an extended walkabout and will be back soon. Of course, it is now the time of day that he likes to go out to begin with, so now I'm worried we won't be seeing anything of him until at least tomorrow morning.

Please, if you are reading along, think some good thought for the Pumpkin, and help send him home. We miss him so much already!

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.

Take that, Munchie!

Henry got back at Monster/Munchie for the bite she gave him the night before. Poor thing had to break out the industrial strength band-aid for that one!

A Cat in the Tub is Worth Two in the Sink?

Riley has developed a habit of not really wanting to drink water unless it comes from the faucet in the bathtub. He follows us in there at breakneck pace and meows and stares at us until we turn on the water. The only annoying part of this habit is when he wakes me up multiple times in the middle of the night by ripping our dust ruffle to shreds. Why he thinks that is going to get me to go honor his wishes for tub-fresh water, I don't know, because believe you me, I do not succumb under such circumstances! Bad cat!

Speaking of bad cats, our other feline, Monster (or as we call her more habitually "Munchie") has been developing some nasty habits of her own. She bites us! She gets all lovey dovey snuggly, and then chomp! When this first started to happen to me I was wondering if she was reacting to the pregnancy, as I have read that sometimes pets can be sensitive to those changes in an owner. Now we are just starting to thing that she's a biter. I probably should be worried about this in the context of how she is going to treat a baby, but for some reason I'm not. She's not a mean cat, she's just a bit high strung at times, and maybe just the slightest bit possessive?