Future stroller club member

When I found out I was pregnant in early August, my good friend Paige was entering her second trimester and another friend, LeAnn, was due to give birth to her daughter at the end of the month. I had no idea what I was getting into and was lucky enough to have both of these wonderful friends a phone call away to answer really embarrassing questions and let me know that, yes, it’s completely normal for your body to do that during pregnancy.

It was a huge bonus being able to go through pregnancy with a friend. Paige & I indulged in mint chocolate chip ice cream and sour balls, socialized with O’Douls and sparkling cider, made fun of everyone else in our water yoga class and took lots of walks where the only things we would discuss were impending-labor, our fat ankles and how cute our babies are going to be. It was also a great advantage being three months behind Paige, to watch her belly grow, to hear about her labor and childbirth experience and, of course, to mooch off all of her cute maternity clothes now that she’s skinny again.

Unlike Chris & I, Paige and her husband, Danny, were able to wait until the birth to find out the sex of their baby. Paige was convinced it was a boy, and when I found out Baby Amys was a girl, we were pretty certain Baby Scully was going to be wearing blue. I was carrying high, Paige was carrying low. I had morning sickness, Paige didn’t. My baby’s heartrate was high, Paige’s baby’s was low. We were all pretty surprised when Miss Elliot JoAnn Scully made her debut, and when Danny sent the It’s a girl! announcement my heart fluttered with excitement. Pink tutus, pigtails and princesses… this is going to be so much fun!

It has been amazing to watch Rell and Elliot grow in the past months, and if I am blessed with a baby half as sweet and beautiful as both LeAnn and Paige’s girls then I will be over the moon. I’m really looking forward to watching our three divas grow up together. I’m already picturing future birthday parties – Rell’s at the pool, Elliot’s at the skate palace and Baby Amys with the bouncing castle and pony rides. And, as the picture shows, Elliot’s already pretty jealous about the pony thing. Sorry, Elliot, we’ll have fun doing the limbo at your party… Spring birthdays RULE!

Best toy ever

Chris got Ruby this giant stuffed football when she was a couple months old. We used it to teach her how to fetch, and it’s the only toy she managed not to destroy with her razor-sharp puppy teeth. Sure, it’s got a few tears and is missing a bit of the original stuffing, but it’s amazing it has lasted for five years.

 

Being a chocolate lab, Ruby is excited about 99% of the time, but there are certain words that will always result in her bouncing into the air like a Mexican jumping bean and acting like a complete spaz: Outside, Treater and, of course, Football.

 

At a standstill

We had our 37-week doctor’s appointment yesterday and, after last week’s progression, I was hoping she would just usher us out the door and right to the hospital delivery room after the exam. No such luck. I’m still three-centimeters dilated and she has dropped a little, but still no reason to think that this is going to happen any sooner than the 14th. Really? Um, I’m kind of ready to have this baby NOW. I mean, it’s been fun being pregnant for the past nine months and all, but we’re very much ready to meet our baby girl and I’m totally over having to pee every five minutes.

On the brighter side of things, my blood pressure is back to normal. Which is a good thing for Chris, because he was seriously dreading monitoring my potato chip intake. Especially now that I’m the heavyweight of the house.

Labor Tunes

In our childbirth class we have been discussing relaxation techniques to deal with the pain in the first stages of labor. Our instructor mentioned taking a bath, walking around the room, having your partner massage your back, focusing on a photograph and, of course, the hee-hee-hee-hoo breathing patterns. She also mentioned that some women like to bring in soothing music to help with the pain of contractions, and that music helps your breathing tempo and keeps your energy up.

Now everything I’ve read points to classical music as the labor-tunes of choice, but Chris and I are going into this with a different approach. I’m looking at labor as a long-distance race – hopefully a 5k, not a marathon! – and since I was running a lot when we found out I was preggers, maybe we could incorporate some songs from my training playlist into a childbirth playlist. We could start off with the warm-up songs for the first stages of contractions, ie: Into the Mystic, Billy Breathes, Brokedown Palace. I personally find Van Morrisson just as relaxing as Mozart. Once the active labor begins I feel a boost of energy will be needed. We thought about it over the weekend and compiled a short list of motivating songs that include Chalkdust Torture, Fee, some Led Zepplin and Rolling Stones. Basically all of the songs that make you want to drive fast when your hear them. Please note that none of the Rocky theme songs will be included on the list of inspirational tunes. The last thing I want is for Baby Amys to be born with Eye of the Tiger being playing in the background.

This just adds to the long list of responsibilities Chris holds during the big day: Keeping me relaxed, comfortable and sane, communicating with all of the doctors and nurses, making game-time decisions, cutting the cord and, now, Labor DJ. We’ve got a good start on what songs we want, but how we are going to listen to them is another issue in itself. All of our music is on our computer and our IPods, and I doubt the Labor & Delivery unit at Mission Hospital has a banging system available. If they have a CD player, then we’ll just burn everything onto discs. What if there’s just a cassette player? I’ll have to go back to my high-school days and make a mixed tape. Then I’d have to take masking tape and a Sharpie, title the mix Labor Tunes, with one side labeled Dilating and the other labeled Pushing.

Nesting Phase

All week long I had been a bit scroogy about Easter because I thought that Chris was going to be at the club all Sunday. I was so happy that he made a few changes to the schedule and was able to have the day off - Yea! We went to church this morning, ate a fabulous homemade brunch of pancakes and bacon and then worked our tails off on the nursery. We cleaned out closets, washed onesies and receiving blankets, stained bookshelves and organized all of the many wonderful baby gifts we have received from all of our overly-generous family and friends.

About four years ago I found a book of nursery rhyme posters at a boutique shop in Biltmore Village. It was vintage and unlike anything I had ever seen. Even though the thought of babies hadn't crossed our minds yet, I bought it for a shower gift and ended up never using it. I rediscovered it earlier this year, had the posters framed and - viola! - Princess Amys has a stylish nursery. We still have a bit more to do with the room, but I wanted to share the progress. Please note that the role of Baby Amys will be played by Piggadillo throughout this nursery reenactment.

Getting anxious for her debut

I had my weekly doctor’s appointment yesterday afternoon and was surprised to find out that I am already going through the stages of pre-labor. Baby Amys has not dropped yet, but I am close to three-centimeters dilated. So, what does that mean? According to my doctor, it just means we are getting a head-start on delivery and that it is very normal for women to dilate in the weeks leading up to birth. More importantly, he stressed, it doesn't mean that I will be going into labor any sooner than expected and that we are still looking at the 14th as my due date. According to the manic, compulsive voice in my head, it means that this weekend we are going to be finishing the nursery, packing the hospital bags and charging our camera batteries. This baby-thing is really going to happen, and I need to stop wasting my free-time reading tabloid magazines and get ready for her debut. Last night I read and re-read every birth book in the house and, of course, they all echoed my doctor. They also mentioned something called the nesting phase, which details a strong desire to complete all baby preparations before the baby arrives. Sounds familiar.

The doctor also mentioned that my blood pressure spiked a bit this week. Nothing to be alarmed about, especially since I pigged-out on 12 Bones barbeque a few hours before the appointment, but it was higher than it has been throughout the entire pregnancy. I was given a slight slap on the wrist and told to cut back on salty foods, which is going to be a lot harder than it sounds. You would think, considering my pre-pregnancy cravings, I would be a slave to the cocoa bean and ice cream while preggers. Not so much. I have been loving on pickles, chips, crackers, dry-roasted nuts and anything thing else salty. Not anymore. So long, Fritos and Pringles… We had a good run. I promise this is not goodbye forever.

Chris's last hoorah

We were lucky to have our long-time friend Robert visit us this weekend from San Francisco. He had a corporate meeting in Columbia during the week, and then was kind enough to make the two-hour trip up to the mountains to see us. Robert & Chris have known each other since they were in high school at Cedar Falls, lived together for three years in Iowa City, and he was a groomsman at our wedding. He is a great friend and it is always wonderful to spend time with him. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty crummy this weekend and we spent the majority of the time eating, watching the Travel Channel and trying to separate Ruby from Robert’s lap. She just L-O-V-E-S company and isn’t satisfied until she has smelled every square inch of you and licked your face a few times. Sorry, Robert… I plan on training Baby to be more respectful of our houseguests’ personal space.

Robert’s visit also coincided with me entering my last month of pregnancy. Which means that at the end of this week our baby is considered to be full-term. Which means go-time could be any-time. Which means Chris is no longer able to participate in Boy’s Night and needs to have his wits about him – aka sobriety – just in case. So, having his college drinking buddy here was a perfect time for him to get it out of his system. Trust me, folks, they did a great job. I can’t say it matched some of the throw-downs of 313 North Linn, but when I picked them up late Saturday night, they were sufficiently smiley. Next morning’s activity started a bit late with a much needed greasy diner breakfast and ended on the couch watching basketball. Of course I felt fine, but nothing makes this pregnant woman happier than biscuits and gravy followed by a nap. To cap off the visit, I forced the two cohorts to smile for a photo… and, I must say, they did a very good job hiding their hangovers.

Cankles

Last weekend we celebrated my dear friend Chele’s birthday. We went out for sushi and I wore my sassy red heels for the occasion. Somewhere between the seaweed salad and my tempura asparagus roll, my feet and ankles decide to grow a few sizes. Was it the soy sauce? The heels? The six pound fetus in my belly? Whatever the culprit, the damage is done. I can no longer fit into any of my cute shoes and have officially retired my beloved Frye boots to the closet. It looks like someone inflated both of my legs below the knees with an air compressor. Oh well. At least we are heading into flip-flop season and, let's be honest, finding my feet is like a scavenger hunt at this point.

Less room on the couch

Chris & I got Ruby Blue when she was wee chocolate puffball of puppy love, almost five years ago, right after we made the move from Iowa City to North Carolina. She is our child, and we have treated her as one. Cooing, coddling, snuggling and pampering – Ruby’s got a pretty good life and has developed quite the diva attitude. She’s got full-reign of the house and its furniture, two square meals a day with numerous treaters and an unlimited stock of plush toys and tennis balls.

When Chris & I first saw the second pink line appear on the pregnancy test eight months ago, we were obviously elated. Clutching each other in the upstairs bathroom, we were shocked, relieved and overjoyed as we read and re-read the directions on the box. Yes, we were going to be parents. Ruby bound in, tail wagging, and started celebrating. You could tell she was all, Something’s going on, right? I hope involves rawhides and dog biscuits. We looked down at her and then looked at each other. Ruby, better get ready for some changes.

Overall, I have had a wonderful, normal pregnancy. Morning sickness, check. Pickle cravings, check-check. First trimester mood swings, check-check-check. Much to the relief of Chris, I took all of my hormone-induced irrationality and directed it towards my neighbors, trick-or-treaters and, most frequently, Ruby. She jumped before me going in the door, she licked the kitchen floor while I was cooking dinner, she wouldn’t bring the tennis ball back after I threw it, she shed all over the house, she breathed on me, she looked at me. Chris would come home from work and Ruby would meet him at the front door, pleading with him, Hey, how about the two of us go outside and leave her alone for awhile. I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but that lady’s going crazy.

The second trimester brought a burst of energy and renewed companionship between me & Ruby. Anyone who has gone through the transition between first and second trimesters can relate to the renewed sense of wonderfulness you feel, other than the fact that your pants start cutting off circulation. My stomach got bigger and we started scolding her when she jumped up on me. Due to the fact that she pulls on the leash like a champion sled-dog, our walks became less and less frequent. Other than that, no big changes for the Rubes.

Now we are in our 35th week of pregnancy and have started rearranging rooms, assembling cribs and have our hands and minds permanently attached to my belly. Ruby’s a smart dog. She knows something’s up, but she has no idea what’s in store. I try to tell her to soak up our attention now and savor all the couch-time she gets during the day. Soon Baby & I will be home all day with her, disrupting her naps, kicking her off the furniture and watching really bad reality television. Of course I have these aspirations of training her to be like Nana from Peter Pan. Ruby, fetch me a pacifier. Ruby, switch the laundry. Ruby, make me a sandwich.

Oh. Hello there.

Now that I’m less than five-weeks away from motherhood, I thought it would be a good time to start a blog to chronicle the life of the exceptionally talented and interesting Amys family. I plan to use this site to post stories, happenings and photos of Chris, myself, our future daughter and our four-legged child, Ruby. I hope this will be a good way for all of our family and friends to stay updated with our lives. So sit back, relax and enjoy the show.