Meet Me in St. Louis

Nick and I left Dallas at about 6 a.m. on Saturday and headed North for St. Louis, which is the half-way point from Dallas to Michigan. It was a great day of driving...well I didn't do anything except sit there and read or sleep! It was so nice to literally just sit back and relax! We made it to St. Louis around 4:30 p.m. and checked into the hotel, which was right across from The Arch.

28 weeks in St. Loius

We went to check out the Arch and it was so hot! It was 107 degrees...hotter than it had been in Texas when we left. I could barely stand it! From there we ventured out to find dinner and ended up having an Italian meal in Lafayette Square and the coming back to rest up for our next day's drive.

Glucose screening

Tuesday I went in for my glucose screen at 7 a.m. I was pretty worried about it from all that I read and I hate getting blood drawn. The worst part about it was having to fast and then downing the sugary drink and waiting. It wasn't as bad as I anticipated, but I was very eager to learn my results. On Wednesday morning, I got a call from the doctor's office saying that I failed the test by 6 points and I would need to come back for the full 4-hour exam.

Needless to say, I was not pleased! The thought of getting diagnosed with gestational diabetes and going on vacation out of town for two weeks was really overwhelming. I don't really know much about diabetes, so I got some books at the library. I read though them and still felt like it would be a very difficult challenge for me, especially with my chaotic work schedule and being on the go all the time. Wednesday afternoon, I had a breakdown and was just really worried. I wasnt sure that I would even know the results before we left for Michigan and that made me nervous. Should I go ahead and just live as if I did have GD?

I went in on Thursday at 7 a.m. to start the 4-hour long test. I barely slept a wink all night because I was in such a state of dread. Luckily I had talked to my friend who had GD and she helped ease my fears and other friends were supportive, too. I came equipped with plenty of reading material and my iPhone. It was actually a good time to catch up on my Twitterfeed and also wait for the SCOTUS ruling on the health care bill to come in. When it was all said and done, I headed up the road to a little breakfast cafe and in indulged in a full breakfast before I started on to work for the day. I was very happy to have that behind me, and glad I didn't pass out from hunger.

I was kind of resigned to that fact that I would get a diagnosis of gestational diabetes. When the phone rang on Friday morning, and the nurse said that I DID NOT have diabetes, I was so happy! Yay! We were leaving for our vacation after work and it was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Nick and I celebrated by stopping of at Baskin Robins! Although I am relieved that I wont have to change my diet for the remainder of the pregnancy, I do think that I will make more health conscious choices anyway.

Time Flies

26 weeks and Happy

Have I mentioned lately how fast time is flying by? Well it really is! Today is June 21, so that means exactly 3 months until Baby Bassett's due date! I went to the doctor this week and things are looking fine. The ultrasound image was not very clear, but I seem to be growing right on track. This time she measured my belly, which was 28 in. Next week I have to go in for the dreaded glucose screen and blood test. I am really hoping that I pass the glucose screening...I would  not be excited about checking blood sugars all the time, especially with vacation just days away!

Can you see my little face?

This past weekend was a lot of fun. Elizabeth and I went down to West Sixth Street on Saturday night for a little bar-hoppin', which was great for me because all my drinks (i.e. grapefruit juice and Perrier) were free. Was a cheap night out and fun to partake in some nightlife. As everyone is telling me, "enjoy it while you can!" After that I met Nick and a friend for some salsa dancing at Gloria's, which is just a stone's throw from out apartment. It was a good thing because we were out very late! I told Nick that I don't think I will ever be up that late again--unless I am in labor! Sunday was Father's Day and we slept have the day away.

It's been a long work week and being on my feet has started to take its toll on my body, my back especially. Someone told me that getting in the pool every day helped her prevent swelling and I am going to try to do that. But despite the long work week, I have been feeling pretty happy! We leave for Michigan a week from tomorrow and I am hoping that the ride is pleasant and really hope that by the time we get to Big Rapids, that this Baby will have name!

Adventures in Parking

North Austin Medical Center made my day!

On Friday, I hit the 26-week mark and also realized that we are under a 100 days to go here! Woohoo! It also marked a milestone for me in the parking department.I finally found some designated pregnancy spaces...albeit they are outside a Women's Center at a hospital, but marked clearly none the less. I was in a hurry to get to a crisis a the hospital and parking there always kinda reminds me of what the parking lot at the mall looks like on Black Friday (and it's 100 degrees). I pull up to the backside and see a whole section for "Expectant Mothers Only." Score! I felt a little funny about it since I am not a patient, but the sign had no other qualifiers, so I decided that I deserved to park there. I did take off my work badge, just to make myself a little less discrete. The roller bag and clipboard screams of "vendor" but I don't care, My dress is snug and there is no denying I am expecting! Ahh...the little joys.

Could they have made it any LESS visible?

In other parking news, I finally located the "stork parking" that my friend assured me was at the local HEB Grocery store. You would't know by the looks of it, seeing a tall dark male in a large pickup truck get out of one of the two said spaces, that they are designated for "Moms to be." You actually wouldn't know unless you like me, happened to park in the way back of the lot and walked on top of the spots in your way up to the store and noticed a faint color blue paint, and actually tried to make out the words..."MOM TO BE." Well, Alicia was right about the spaces, but I would put money on it that 99.5% of people who park there are not pregnant and probably half are men!

This week I also started to experience lower back pain. It mainly hurts when I walk or stand...i.e. my whole work day! I would like to try going to yoga 2x a week if possible, but the weeks are starting to fill up quickly. Last week Nick and I went to a Thai Cooking class with our friends, Alicia and Roberto. It was fun, but again, 3 hours of standing!  With only 2 weeks to go before vacation, I can at least see the light... I can make it through 2 more weeks of work. My next OBGYN appointment is on Tuesday. I am thinking I will probably have to schedule my glucose screening before our trip. I am so not looking forward to that!

Surrender

Birth, like death, is not fully controllable. We weren't meant to understand birth or to control it. We are meant to take responsibility for the parts of it that we can, and then just experience it... At some point, we must let go and allow the process to be. Faith is not belief without proof but trust without reservation. Nancy Wainer Chohen

I read this quote this week from Terry Hershey's "Sabbath Moment" and it echoes a sentiment that was shared with my by someone I really admire at work. Nancy describes herself as an "Earth Mama in Ann Taylor clothes." She is a chaplain, spiritual director and executive at Hospice Austin. She is one of those people who you really wish you could be more like. Anyway, Nancy loves talking about birth. She has two adolescent sons and raises her family on their Organic Blueberry Farm outside of Austin. Very cool.

I was talking to Nancy about my fears and anxiety about labor and she told me that she too had similar feelings before her first son was born. She explains that she was telling a trusted friend about this, and also about the work in hospice she was doing at the time. The friend responded, "Oh, you work in hospice? Then you will be fine." Nancy questioned her, "How do you mean?" The friend responded, "Well, because you already know all about surrender." 

Wise, wise, woman!  SURRENDER. Like the quote above states...we weren't meant to control it, we must let go an allow the process to be. So often in my work we explain this to families as their loved ones face the end of life. I have seen with my own eyes, how much patients (and families) who try to control it, end up suffering, struggling, and hanging on....not allowing the natural process to take its course. Of course resistance is often the result of fear...fear of pain, fear of the unknown, and fear of letting go of control. Conversely, those who allow for appropriate intervention, pain relief, and understand the natural course of things, usually have a much better experience. 

Nancy also told me about the morning of her birth. She attended her prenantal yoga class that morning and felt strange. She said the instructor had a picture of a large sunflower at the front of the room. She said it helped her to meditate on that image...beautiful and open for the experience that was about to rock her world!

Nothing's gonna change my world

Lately I have been noticing the ease and freedom of how we live, shop, move about this town. One thing people are quick to tell you when you announce your pregnancy (as if you really needed them to say it) is that "your life will never be the same again." I want to say "Wait...what!?" It's obvious that life will not ever be the same as it was B.C. (before children). But, there is also this tone in the way that they say it which seems like people almost delight in the presumed loss of fun, independence and traveling that you will face as soon as your baby arrives. I know that things will not be easy logistically anymore and of course we will make adaptations, but I don't like how some people act like they are martyrs once they have children.

Today in yoga class we had a substitute instructor. When I came in the class she had the Beatles song, "Across the Universe" playing. Before she started class she said that she loved how she could hear everyone kind of singing or humming the tune to themselves. I do love that song! Then she said she had a realization she wanted to share. She said "Nothing's gonna change your world." I'm thinking "Wait...what!?" She said that having a baby will rock your world, but nothing will change your world. She went on to explain that if you are a joyous person, for example, your child will reflect that joy and likewise if your life is in disarray. I thought about it for a second because this was the exact opposite thing that people had been telling me before (i.e. everything is going to change). The instructor said that we are who we are and we will share that with our babies, not change as a result of them.

I continued to think about it and about couples that I knew BC and now that they have kids. Those who were laid back, happy, positive, non-anxious BC, are still mostly that way. And the ones who were rigid, anxious and overbearing BC, are still that way! There is something comforting in knowing that we can maintain the parts of ourselves that we want, and are not forced to abandon them just because someone now calls us "Mom." And when I think about myself and the life experiences and transitions I have had, like getting married...I am still the same as I was before that! Life is enhanced, but my world is not changed. ((Sigh of Relief))

So as I continue through the remaining 15 weeks of pregnancy, I want to keep this in mind. There is so much fear and anxiety that labor and birthing evokes and this idea of being strong and not unwavering is kind of empowering!

That's the World I Know

La Zona Rosa Concert Venue

Time is flying by! Here we are at 24 weeks. This weekend Nick and I went to see the band, Collective Soul at La Zona Rosa in downtown Austin. Collective Soul was a pretty popular 90's band with several great hits. I hadn't been to La Zona Rosa since college and remember it being the best concert I ever experienced...maybe that's because when I went there were seats! We arrived after doors opened at 8:00. The band came on at 9:15 and ended at 11:30. That's over 3 hours of standing. Never again. The music was really great but I think that will be my last concert to attend where I can't sit down. To make matters worse for me, I have to go to the bathroom a lot more than usual now. Snaking in and out of a packed in concert crows is not really pleasant. Needless to say, we had a good time and are trying to take in all the live music we can before baby arrives in September.

I am still feeling pretty good these days. We have our child-birthing classes set up for August and am working on a hypnotherapy series for July when we get back from our vacation. I think that time will really start to fly by after that! We are having a little cookout this weekend at our pool with some friends and are soaking up the summer time!

Here is a little "Dad Cam" report on pregnancy thus far and here I am at 24 weeks and 3 days!

24 weeks and 3 days