He Has Arrived!

Well, just less than four hours after my last post, I was awoken at about 4:20am on 12/2/08 to make yet another trip to the bathroom when the unexpected happened. . .my water broke!

After an early am drive to the hospital, followed by several hours of really painful contractions and more puking (whoo-hoo!), the blessed relief of an epidural (not soon enough!) and then a crazy medical emergency when my baby's shoulders got stuck and required the assistance of (and I am not exaggerating) 20 people who descended upon me out of nowhere for the last 2.5 minutes of pushing, the Crazelette was born 14 hours and 22 minutes later.

Almost three weeks early, he never the less weighed in at 9lbs and 4 oz and was almost 22 inches long. Clearly, it's no wonder he got stuck!

His entrance was quite dramatic and the poor guy got a broken left upper arm in the process of being unstuck. Then after being released with me, he was re-hospitalized with jaundice the following day for two nights.

After spending his first night in the NICU because of low blood glucose, the broken arm and the subsequent hospitalization for jaundice, I (who got about four hours of sleep in the first four days of his life) became a blubbering basket case. Thankfully, my in-laws came into town just as Craze and I were driving the babe to the ER as instructed by the doctor because of the jaundice. They were a HUGE help and stayed with us for six days.

Now that our little baby is eleven days old, we are all doing well. His arm is healing nicely and he is a calm, peaceful and robust little boy despite all his beginning of life traumas. I have also had some more sleep and am doing much better and am so pleased to be back home where it is quiet and peaceful and no one is sticking my baby with needles, IVs, etc.

Today is, in fact, the first day that I've been home alone with my baby ever, since the in-laws left late yesterday. It has been a nice day where we slept in 'til 10am (after a couple late night/early morning feedings and diaper changes), sat in the kitchen sunshine for a couple of hours (advised for his jaundice recovery) and snuggled up on the couch while Mommy caught up with a TIVO'd episode of Days of Our Lives. I had a big breakfast but at 5pm, no lunch as yet. That said, I have taken a shower and put on real clothes, so things are looking up.

So, while the babe is still asleep, I'm off to the kitchen for a pre-dinner, instead-of-lunch snack. But before I do, I will just say that in looking at my little boy with his head full of wavy light brown hair, rosebud lips and indented chin that look just like his dad and ten perfect, tiny fingers and toes, at 43 years and 10 months, I feel like I'm looking at a living miracle and I really do feel like the luckiest person in the world.

Thanksgiving Not Quite What I Expected While Expecting

So, Thanksgiving took an unexpected turn. . .

After my getting up at 3am, I finally got back to sleep around 5:30 am only to be awoken just before 10am with the worst pain in my right side. It lasted about ten minutes and then went away and I felt fine. Several hours later while getting ready for our fancy Thanksgiving lunch, who should find herself in the shower with the worst pain again? Uh. . .that would be me.

So, Craze calls the doctor on call, who thinks my symptoms sound down-right weird, but tells me to go the the triage unit of the women's hospital since she's worried I might be having a gall stone attack or an appendicitis or something else entirely, possibly related to my liver. Long story short: we drop off the in-laws at the nice down-town restaurant around 2:20pm and head to the hospital for what should be about an hour's worth of blood tests, only to actually be sent home just after 11 pm after almost nine hours of early and quite painful labor. No gall stones, no appendicitis, nothing but contractions every 2-3 minutes on my right side (oh yeah, and vomiting. . .that was fun), but I never dilated enough to be transferred up to the actual delivery unit. And I am too far along for them to give me something to make the contractions stop and not far enough along for them to break my water and get things rolling. Like being stuck between a rock and. . .well, another rock.

So, I got sent home while still contracting and throwing up in the car with a prescription for blessed, pain-relieving Oxycontin and Ambien to sleep. I'm still having contractions now (Day 4), but at least I can take a pill when and if they get really bad and am not hooked up to IVs and monitors like in the hospital. And thankfully, after my first night at home, my vomiting has also taken a blessed vacation.

I feel like I'm really in limbo now. Not sure if I'm going to have this baby any hour, any day or if this will all just stop and he'll wait it out 'til his 12/21 due date.

My in-laws were great, hanging out in the waiting room after lunch until it was time to check out. Then before heading back to Detroit yesterday my mother-in-law made food from all the previously purchased organic ingredients (beef stew, meat loaf, turkey salad) and helped Craze fold laundry. It really was an odd sensation to have someone doing so many things for me since I've been pretty much fended for myself from a young age. Weird but really very nice. As I've said before, I am very lucky in the in-law department.

As of today, I slept until around 1pm and then hung out in bed watching TV with the Bug and the Alley Cat for another hour or so. I'm drinking a lot of water and watching a lot of Christmas movies on Hallmark and Lifetime. My "big" little baby is still wriggling around periodically. Thankfully, he seemed none the worse for wear on the hospital monitors during my 9-hour labor ordeal. We're still not sure when we'll meet him in person. I guess time will tell. . .

How Did I Become Coupon Mom-to-Be?

I think I had my first serious Braxton-Hicks contractions last night. I thought maybe I was just feeling sick because I suddenly became nauseous and my uterus was hard as a rock for at least an hour. So, I called my best friend, Jo (mom of three), and she said she thought it was practice contractions kicking in. Lordy!

I woke up a couple of times in the night to make some of my typical 43 bathroom visits and my stomach was really hard again.

All is fine though this morning. After dreaming about going into labor (of course, what else is there to dream about?), I woke up obsessed with getting my hands on a plus-size nursing bra and stocking up on household essentials so I don't run out of anything in the next month or two (toilet paper, paper towel, dog food, tissues, canned tomatoes). Bras, toilet paper and tomatoes. . .yes, this is how my brain works. Scary.

So, off I go to Babies-R-Us to redeem my coupons I forgot last week when I made my major diaper and wipes purchase (using those coveted gift cards), then onto Target for more household staples and to take advantage of their Starbucks coffee sale ($7, buy two and get a $5 Target gift card!).

I really do have babies, pets, paper products and weekly sale circulars on the brain. I used to be a Senior Vice President at a big multi-national corporation. What the heck happened exactly to morph me into coupon mom (to-be)?

In other news, Craze is sitting down with his super cheap boss today to try and hit him up for more money. He is one of only two employees, has been there for almost eight years and, if you figure in cost-of-living increases and inflation, probably makes less today than he did in 2001. In the meantime, his boss flies to Vegas frequently and counts a Ferrari among one of his THREE high-price vehicles. He got married recently and my guess is that his wedding probably cost at least two or three times the amount Craze makes in an entire year. Clearly the cheapskate can and should step up and pay him more.

Fingers crossed that he comes away with a great pay increase and maybe (triple fingers crossed) a nice year-end bonus plan. Say it with me, people, "More money, please."

Best Present Ever!

It arrived again today, that "I can't stand it any longer" hair coloring moment. Aah. . .it seems like every month it comes around all too soon along with all that pesky, white, face-framing regrowth.

Thankfully, I went a little crazy and did my raggedy nails and my roots this morning, so I am looking more beautified and put together.

Tomorrow it's off for another ultrasound to check Craze Jr's 34-week baby growth. I'm sure they're going to tell me that he already weights 10 pounds. . .or maybe that's just what it feels like. Everything is starting to pain me. My feet, my hips, my back and my numb and tingly fingertips. Oh and my "yoo hoo." At least, that's what I call it. I think in medical circles it's called the round ligament. It doesn't really matter what you call it, it frequently still hurts like a bugger.

Craze is funny. Yesterday he asked me if I would spend some time today packing my hospital bag. I think he's starting to worry that the delivery day will sneak up on us sooner than planned and we'll be totally unprepared for our trip to the hospital. He's been very good, bless him. We went Christmas shopping to the mall on Saturday (using a found gift card that I had misplaced about four years ago and coupons--hurray for found money and discounts!) and he insisted on carrying my purse much of the time along with all our purchases.

(My husband is frequently annoying but also sweet and cute and I do love, love, love him.)

We got nice presents at Macy's for Craze's brothers, dad, mom and nephew, not to mention hitting Babies R Us for the baby's crib mattress, giant boxes of diapers and wipes, a baby thermometer and a Christmas outfit for the little guy (hopefully, he's here by then). With our baby shower and "found" gift cards and coupons, all of it cost only $23 of our actual money. How great is that?!?!?

Only a few more odds and ends for Christmas and then my shopping will be complete. My aim is to get it all done and wrapped up soon so I can laze around watching Christmas movies closer to my 12/21 due date. That way I can bask in the warm feelings of the season and my last days of pregnancy without all things undone hanging over my head.

I have to say I've always been a great lover of Christmas. But this year, I'm really looking forward to my best present ever!

Feeling Tingly, Sleep Deprived and Flashy

This third trimester where I currently find myself is rife with weird symptoms and anxiety-causing complaints. Firstly, my hands. In the past five days, my finger tips are constantly numb and tingly. It's weird and worrying.

I'm headed to the doctor's today for my 2-week pregnancy check in and was seriously worrying that I might have developed some kind of terrible ailment. Then I read on Web Md this morning that carpal tunnel syndrome is common in the third trimester due to fluid retention (and yours truly gave up wearing her wedding and engagement rings about a month ago). This did put my mind at rest somewhat, but it's still so bothersome to feel pins and needles in your fingertips 24/7.

The other thing that's out of whack is my sleep.

Now, I should start off by saying that I LOVE to sleep. I am a good sleeper who can typically sleep anywhere and through almost anything (in college, I slept through a tornado touching down outside my dorm room window). But aside from my 4, 5 and even 6 nightly trips to the bathroom, in the past week, I've just been waking up at 3, 4 and 5 o'clock in the morning and been wide awake. So, after going to bed at my usual midnight to 1 am, I get up with only a couple to a few minuscule hours of sleep.

Needless to say, by mid morning to lunch time, I'm really grumpy and feel rung out (or as my mother used to say, I feel like I've been "drug through a hedge backwards." Which now that I write it sounds confusing, but seems to sum up the feeling nonetheless).

Last but not least, while it's gotten very chilly here in Chicago (in the 20's last night), I swear I keep having hot flashes. This is so unlike me who is routinely freezing from October through April. This 43-year-old wants to know, can you start menopause at the same time you've got a bun in the oven? Truly bizarre.

On the positive side, my little baby is a busy boy who keeps kicking and wriggling around and reminding me that he's getting ready to make his way into this big, wide world. I find his movements reassuring.

And the house is in much better shape--thank goodness. The guest room is pretty much complete (and our first overnight guest was already here yesterday). Still more work to be done in the baby's room and a love seat to be sold on craigslist, but it's little stuff now and the rest of the house is back in better, more pleasing order.

Craze and I had a Come-to-Jesus set-to last week about his continuing accumulation of stuff (and, more importantly, the fact that I realized that while I've been economizing like a miser most of this year, he's still been buying CDs, DVDs and the like to add to his already overwhelming collections and spending money we just can't afford). The result is that he has sworn off any new purchases and has really made an effort to try and organize his stuff in the past days. He's even going to try and sell some of it to make some extra money.

So, while the whole set-to wasn't a pleasant experience, I think it made my shopaholic husband finally realize that he has more pressing financial and family responsibilities that don't require regular trips to Best Buy and FYE. And as tingly, tired and hot flashy as I may feel these days, knowing he's finally getting it makes me feel all the better.

Finally, On the Move!

Thankfully, I am way less cranky than during my last post! My husband is being less grumpy and more thoughtful and, generally, I'm feeling better.

Finally also, I've started feeling the baby moving around. I was freaking out a little because at 22 weeks, I couldn't be sure I was feeling any movement (even though I knew from my doc visits that he was moving around in there and his heartbeat was good). A few days ago I felt an odd sensation which has increased in the past few days. Baby is on the move!

Not surprising as two weeks ago an ultrasound showed the Crazelette weighing in at 14 oz. A new ultrasound two days ago showed he's shot up in weight to 1 lb 4oz. That's a 6-ounce gain in just two weeks. Wow!!!

Other than that, I'm busying myself doing baby laundry to start getting things organized for our December arrival. Through my garage sale and Craigslist shopping expeditions, I've put together an impressive collection of like-new clothes, blankets and other baby gear for a pittance compared to what it would have cost to buy it all new. I'm quite proud of my savvy shopping endeavours!

Administrative Moms-To-Be Day

Went for my latest sonogram yesterday. At 20 weeks and 3 days my babe is 14 oz and looks enormous. No wonder I feel like a parade float already. I was freaking out a little that I can't feel anything yet, but thankfully he was waving and kicking yesterday, so all is well.

The doctor asked me if I've pre-registered for my delivery. When I said no, she looked alarmed and asked me if I got the "purple packet" at my first preggo visit. Well, of course I didn't get it, hence my oblivion about having to register for birth WAY in advance.

Reading the contents of the packet last night scared the bejeezus out of me. Delivery deposits, circumcism decisions, pediatrician. Yikes!

I spent the better part of the day today going through all this crap and getting it sorted out. I do feel much better now. Next up (while I'm on a roll), signing up for various classes and getting our attic fan fixed.

Just call it Administrative Moms-to-be Day!

Things Are Looking Up

We're headed off to visit the Craze Clan in Ohio this weekend for our nephew's second birthday bash. It should be a lot of fun since, thankfully, I really like my in-laws a lot. And, we're finally going to meet my older brother-in-law's new girlfriend. Since I've never met a single girlfriend of his in the eight years I've known him, it's quite an auspicious occasion!

Oh. . .and did I mention my in-laws have a pool. I'm excited about the pool!

This will be the first time we take the formerly-stinky-but-still-big-headed foster dog, Bear, on a long car trip. I'm hoping that he and the Bug share the back seat nicely. We even got Bear his own seat belt the other day and I'm just hoping that he behaves when we get to our destination (no growling at his doggy cousin).

On the baby front, my feet swelling has gone away and I had my first physical therapy treatment yesterday for my sciatica. It was a bit painful, but my hip seems much improved today--so I'm glad about that.

I picked up a practically new Graco Pack n Play with a bassinet and changing table on craigslist for $79 (it was on my baby registry for $149)--a super deal. Craze put it together the other night and it really looks brand new. I'm so excited.

We still have work to do to get things together--especially getting my messy office sorted out so it can be transformed into Craze Jr.'s room. That has yet to be tackled. I'll need to get on it soon as my baby shower is in late September and I'd like to have it all done before then. Guess we need to get in gear!

Tonight, we're headed up to Evanston to see an outdoor showing of Soylent Green, Craze's fave film. Thankfully, the weather is so nice and has cooled off a lot from our last week of 90-degree temps, so it should be quite an enjoyable summer evening.

Still no work coming in but, oddly, I'm quite optimistic about the whole money situation at the moment. I really think it will all work out just fine.

Summer Excitement This Weekend!

Big preparations are underway for all the goings on this weekend. First, the big birthday BBQ for Craze. House is clean but still need to buy and make more food--that's on today's agenda. Oh and make beds for my returning overseas guests and Craze's parents.

Secondly, the smelly big-head foster dog is being picked up by his new family on Sunday. After two months at our home, we will be sad to see him go and I'm sure he will be unhappy for a little while. That said, his new family are two teachers with a giant fenced yard in the burbs, a cute doggie brother that the Bear already took a liking to and they have the next three months off to spend acclimatizing Bear to his new home and family. And the best thing? I think the husband of the teacher duo is madly in love with Bear, which is what I always wanted.

Craze will be sad to see him go. He loves that smelly, furry giant of a beast but he also gets that with the baby coming it's not the best idea for us to keep him. I'm sure I will also be sad, too, but I'm also looking forward to regaining my smaller trio of pets and a less chaotic household.

Last, but certainly not least, Craze's unsuspecting parents are coming to the party completely unaware of the impending baby announcement. We'll be letting his parents and my brother and family all in on the secret at the party. Another birthday to celebrate coming up. Summer excitement all around!

It's A Boy!

Now on a brief respite from the visit of my overseas guests (they've gone to my brother's until Saturday), I'm excited to report that I went in for CVS testing last Friday and found out two incredibly great things on the very same day: 1) all my baby's chromosomes are totally normal and healthy (no Down's Syndrome, etc) and 2) we're having a BOY!

It's funny, even though I've been holding out all along for a girl, every time I looked at my ultrasound pix in the past few weeks I kept wanting it to be a girl but just knew in my heart of hearts that "she" was a "he." And so it is. Craze, the boy lover, was thrilled of course--a little boy to do lots of manly, sporty things with. No tea parties for me I'm afraid.

I'm doing well and feeling better. Still tired (probably due to my visitors who are a bit of a handful, no doubt) but not as nauseous at all. And even with the CVS test, my bleeding/spotting has resolved, which is great.

Since I'm officially 12 weeks along this week, we're finally going to spill the beans. We're having a b-day bbq for Craze this weekend and that's when we're going to share our big and, I'm sure at my 43 years of age, totally unexpected news. I think Craze's mom just may pass out from her pure baby joy. As I've said before, she is a serious baby stalker.

So, it's time to start looking beyond the hot pink and chocolate brown nursery options I've pined for. I'm thinking yellow, green and lots of monkeys and giraffes. We'll see. . .it's all part of the fun!

Hanging Out with My Baby

Bed rest, but not. That's what my doctor told me to do yesterday on my first "official" pregnancy visit. All that's thanks to a couple bleeds in my uterus. I'm allowed to walk around (I don't have to literally lounge around in bed all day) but I'm not allowed to officially exercise or do anything the least bit strenuous (including sex). And I can't lift anything heavy (like grocery bags or laundry detergent).

My little baby is just 8 weeks and four days and is apparently just exactly the size it should be, but is considered "threatened" by the bleeding.

So, yours truly is slinking around watching soap operas and eating take out and feeling a little bit useless. Oh well. . .I do not want to have a miscarriage.

I'm also hot on the trail of finding a nice family for the stinky, big head foster dog. There he is above in all his "I was asleep, why'd you wake me?" glory. He really is the sweetest puppy. A couple of people are interested in adopting him through petfinder, but our leading candidate is my brother-in-law. He is a lonely bachelor living outside of DC desperately in need of a nice, friendly dog to keep him company. We're hoping he will take the bait so we can keep the Bear in the family. Time will tell.

A Bug, a Bear and Big News

So, crazy animal hoarder that I am, we have taken in the poor Aussie Shepherd from the Indiana Pound. He's gigantic and, until today when I got him groomed, VERY smelly. His name is Bear and he's been coughing like crazy from his heart worm treatment last week. Poor guy, I really do feel quite sorry for him. He's had a rough life--especially in the past few months.

The Bug seems to like having him around and took an immediate liking to him. They are good about sharing toys, bones and the new giant water bowl. And Bear is actually a little scared of the cats, so doesn't go after them which is good. I'm not sure if we'll be able to keep Bear forever, but we will keep him until his health is recovered (a month or more) and then until we can find him a really good home. And who knows, after a month goes by, we may decide we can't live without each other. We'll see. For now, we are just official foster parents to this big, recovering, homeless pooch. You can check him out here. He's a cutey and very, very sweet (and now well-groomed, too!): http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=10552293


And speaking of parental responsibilities, a crazy, surreal thing has happened: this 43-year-old is pregnant! No fallopian tube tests or petrie dishes required, just the old fashioned way. It's early days yet, so we're keeping it hush, hush. But it's so bizarre. I walked through the baby section of Target the other day and found it hard to comprehend that before the year's end all this irrelevant baby stuff will suddenly become relevant. IT IS WEIRD!

I don't want to get too excited yet because it's still early days and, let's face it, I am old as a first-timer to such things. Craze is happy but also a little taken aback by the magnitude of the whole thing, as am I, really.

Fingers crossed it all goes well!

Double Yum!

Last night Craze, our friend Thea and I went to a dance performance. Dance is not something that usually falls into our set of entertainment considerations, all a little too high-faluting and la-dee-da. But, we went because Thea's client's mom is the head of the dance company and scored us free tickets.

Aside from it being a rather lengthy endeavour (nine separate performances over a two-hour span), it was pretty entertaining. It's not something I would seek out, but I really enjoyed it (even if they could have shortened it up a bit). And I was totally envious of the buff dancers bods. Wow--lithe and muscly at the same time.

By the time we exited the Athenaeum Theater, it was 10:05 pm and we were all starving. Much discussion took place about the eating options at that late hour. Thai, sushi, Ethiopian, Colombian, Vietnamese, middle-eastern. . .aye yaye yaye. Finally, we decided to try one of our fave Lebanese places that we hoped would be open. Thankfully, they didn't close until 11 pm, so we enjoyed a delicious assortment of chicken soltani, tabouli, hummus, falafel, kibbie, pita and on and on. We ate a LOT, but it was so good.

Other than that, we've spent a lot of time in the past week (and again this morning because of the results of the ritual morning thermometer reading) trying to impregnate me. Time will tell if it's working this month. I'm hopeful. At 43, I finally feel that being a parent would be a great thing and something I would not only enjoy but I feel I now have the insight to actually be a pretty great parent. Fingers crossed.

Tonight it's off to Sushi Station, this cool sushi place out in the northern burbs where the sushi comes around on sort of a train track and you grab what you want off the conveyor belt. There's nothing I like better than the thrill of scoping out your favorite maki roll as it hurtles towards you and scooping it up before someone else does. The thrill of victory combined with a culinary delight. Double yum!