Hello from Portland

By kate on January 15th, 2006

Steve and I are enjoying a fun weekend in Portland. We’re staying at the Hotel Vintage Plaza, in one of their “starlight rooms”. The room has a 45-degree window that gives a view of the sky (for most patrons) or the skyscraper across the street (in our case). The room is decorated with a classy, modern star theme (picture).

We attended what may be our last rock show for a while, and Zippy’s first: a performance of Seattle band “Awesome”, which was great. We spent yesterday walking around, shopping in home decor stores and thinking about how we want to decorate the basement. A relaxing late afternoon followed an ill-advised greasy Chinese lunch, and then we went out for a fancy dinner. Today’s plan: check out of the hotel and spend most of our time at the world-famous Powell’s.

On the pregnancy front, I’ve started experiencing spontaneous Braxton Hicks contractions. I had a few yesterday. These are normal and don’t hurt; they’re kind of the uterus’s way of practicing for labor. They’re so non-intrusive that many times it’s Steve who notices that one is happening (with his hands).

Our midwife appointment on Wednesday was pretty non-eventful, since I’m not having much in the way of complications. One good bit of news is that she confirmed that Zippy has aligned herself head-down, and is not likely to change. This is good! Also, my urine did not contain any sugar, which was a nice result to get after my brush with GD.

Finally, our childbirth classes start on Tuesday (and run for 6 weeks). We’re looking forward to learning more about labor and birth – it’s getting close.

Filed under: pregnancy, travel | Comment now »

General pregnancy update

By kate on January 10th, 2006

Our house is going through lots of changes! We’ve begun the basement renovations (you can read Steve’s renovation blog here). This weekend, we were without heat because our gas was off, so we decided it would be a good time to spend our Sunday moving furniture around (to keep warm, don’t ya know). After I geeked out in Visio for a while, we came up with new layouts for our main floor that leave room for baby stuff. Our bedroom and living room are pretty much done, and we’re especially enjoying our new bedroom arrangement, which somehow seems roomier despite the additional bookcase.

Speaking of baby stuff, we’re finally starting to get some free loans and hand-me-downs, which is great. We got a bathtub, play mat, and bouncing seat from a woman I work with. We’ll be borrowing an infant car seat from my brother, and a “sidecar” (for sleeping) from an old colleague. I’m delighted to borrow everything we can, and pass it all on (or back) afterwards.

We have our next midwife appointment this Wednesday, after which we’ll start going at two-week intervals.

This weekend, we’re having a last child-free fling in Portland. The mini-vacation was supposed to be a surprise from Steve but I accidentally (sadly) found out about it. We’re taking the train down (which is exciting in itself) and planning to enjoy some shopping and fine food.

I had a fun shopping trip for maternity clothes with my Mom and Nicole last week. After watching my wardrobe dwindle to a handful of shirts and pants, I now have a more reasonable selection of clothes, including shirts that are not t-shirts. It makes a surprising difference. I even have a new fancy dress to wear out to dinner in Portland.

As far as the pregnancy itself, I don’t have much to report. Things are still going fine. Zippy continues to grow and move, and has developed a new habit of sticking body parts up under my ribs (not comfortable!). I can usually get her to stop it by stretching my torso to give her more room in the abdomen where she belongs. My belly is now definitely so big that it interferes with my ability to do some things, like carry laundry baskets across my front and wash dishes. At work, I’ve actually started doing more lifting and carrying than I used to, because we let someone go and I’m doing his job until we hire a new person. It’s OK so far.

Being pregnant in the winter is like having a super power. Throughout a weekend with no heat, while Steve was continually checking the thermostat as temperatures dropped to the low 50s, I was generally comfortable and never really cold. I’ve dispensed with my winter coats (even the ones that still fit) in favor of a sweater and thin rainproof shell. It gives me a little something to feel superior about.

We start our childbirth classes next week, and I’m now at the point where it feels like it’s time to learn about labor (before, it seemed far away). I’m looking forward to what we’ll learn as well as meeting other expectant parents.

Filed under: pregnancy | Comment now »

Branding & the Baby

By steve on December 29th, 2005

[this entry by Steve]

Kate and I are fairly anti-brand-name. Whenever we buy a new bag, we take scissors or a felt pen to the logo to make it disappear. I did the same with the stickers on my laptop. I believe the value of something is intrinsic in the object itself, not in the name someone attached to it.

We’re going to apply the same ideals to Zippy’s life as well. We don’t want to set Zippy up for a lifetime of marketing by creating early fondness for Mickey Mouse or Elmo or any of that associated crap. Kate and I have good imaginations, and we want Zippy to have a good imagination, and so we’re hoping to create our own stories and our own mythology to replace the overpriced shortcuts one can buy from Toys R Us.

Like any ideal, this one will probably find all kinds of exceptions once it meets reality. But I still think it’s good to know what our standards are even when we feel the need to violate them.

Kate pointed out that if we’re going to stick with this no-branding ideal for Zippy, we should really start with ourselves. I’ve got a small collection of Spongebob Squarepants paraphernelia that really has no value except that it is Spongebob-esque. Kate has a similar Powerpuff Girls collection. I guess, in keeping with our ideals for Zippy, it’s time to pare our collections down. But there’s no way I’m getting rid of my Patrick the Starfish Christmas ornament.

Filed under: consumerism, parenting, pregnancy | 1 Comment »

Another growth spurt

By kate on December 29th, 2005

In the past two days, Zippy has gone on another growth spurt. My belly feels more stretched and large, and Zippy sticks out most of the time (as opposed to being more toward my back). I can also feel her moving most of the day. There is less kicking, but more shifting around, and it’s often visible. I’m at the point where complete strangers don’t hesitate to ask me when I’m due, which is kind of nice.

Even before this week, Zippy was active enough for other people to feel her moving, finally. I really enjoyed giving both families a chance to get kicked at Christmas.

I’m at a good point in my pregnancy and don’t have much to complain about. I’m still sleeping well (knock on wood) and don’t have too much trouble getting comfortable – my usual two pillows are sufficient. I’m neither nauseous or craving strange foods. My back pain has subsided somwehat (although I’m still taking care to rest and heat it). I’ve adjusted to being out of shape and unable to participate in activities I used to, so it’s not as hard and unfamiliar. The one problem is that the most recent belly expansion has left me with a very small selection of shirts that still fit. I’m hoping to go shopping in the next few weeks, and raiding Steve’s closet in the meantime. He’s kindly sacrificed a few of his favorite t-shirts to the cause.

Today and tomorrow, the Aerialistas have our biggest show of the year at Seattle Center’s Winterfest. I’m really sad to not be able to perform as I did last year, but I’m still a part of the show. I come out at the end to represent Spring (in a costume designed to emphasize my belly). The Aerialistas have been great and really supportive of my pregnancy, welcoming me to be involved as much as I can.

I’m looking forward to January, when my pace will return to normal after a frantic month of holidays and aerial practices.

Filed under: circus, pregnancy | Comment now »

Unwrapping presents

By kate on December 25th, 2005

Filed under: handiwork, pregnancy | Comment now »

False alarm

By kate on December 22nd, 2005

I got a call this morning from Michelle, our midwife, to let me know my gestational diabetes test had come back negative (meaning I don’t have it). Hooray!

One of my measurements was close to the threshold, however, so she recommended I go in for a session of nutritional counseling to be on the safe side. I figure that’s good information/help to have, so Steve and I will probably do that, especially since it’ll be covered by insurance.

Since I’m a data geek, I graphed my results in Excel:

It looks like I’m a little slower than usual to process glucose, but in the third hour I finally get rid of it dramatically. It makes more sense when I think about what I DID in those hours. The first two hours were spent sitting around, and in the last hour Steve and I were on our feet most of the time. That reinforces to me that I need to make sure I get enough exercise!

FYI, those measurements are in milligrams of glucose per deciliter of blood plasma (or mg/dL). My score on the original glucose screen was 148 (the threshold is 139).