Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Memorial Day Weekend

We bought a car.  There were many reasons we were ready to get a new car, but the biggest reason is that the right one became available at the right time.  We also wanted something with more storage space for traveling to Phoenix, skiing, and baby stuff.  And neither of our cars drive in the snow really well, so it would be great to have something a little safer to drive up to the mountains in the winter.  Daniel's car was also developing a few little problems and we were concerned that its life was somewhat limited.  We didn't want to wait for it to die before we got a replacement car.  So we've been talking about it for months.  We have researched different kinds of cars, consulted consumer reports and USAA to find out accurate pricing information, and reviewed our own finances to determine what we can afford.  All that was left was actually going out and test-driving cars.  Since we both had a long weekend for Memorial Day, we thought Monday might be a good day to go to the dealership.  We weren't planning on purchasing anything- until we came across the perfect car.  A 2006 Hybrid Toyota Highlander.  It was just under budget and had every feature I wanted- cloth interior (not leather), moon roof, and roof rack.  The Highlander was on the top of our list of possibilities.  We really wanted a hybrid, but there aren't many used hybrids out there and a new one was way out of our budget.  On Monday morning we browsed the local dealerships and found a hybrid that looked very promising.  It had become available 2 days ago at a dealer about 15 minutes from our house, so we jumped on it.  We test drove 2 of their standard Highlanders first.  We loved the newer model (08) and hated the older model (05).  So I was concerned that we wouldn't like the hybrid because it was the older model.  But it drove completely different.  It's not like my Mom's Prius either.  There's no lag in the acceleration at all.  You can't even tell it's a hybrid when you're driving it.  The whole experience was very pleasant.  It was an easy decision, and turned out to be very affordable for us.  It was hard for me to justify going from no car payment (we owned both our cars outright since they were both gifts to us) to making payments when both our cars are still running just fine.  But the truth is that an SUV will be much more useful and practical for our growing family.  And why else do we save up money, but to spend it when the time comes?  It felt good to know that all that money we have saved in the last 6 months was worth it.

This weekend we also went camping.  I may have overestimated my abilities at 6 months pregnant, but it was still fun.  We got a bunch of camping supplies for Christmas 2 years ago and haven't even used it once.  I've been waiting for it to get warm enough and this weekend was our chance.  Daniel got off work early on Saturday and we drove down to Colorado Springs.  I reserved us a campsite in Cheyenne Mountain State Park.  It was a beautiful park, but we were somewhat disappointed to find that our campsite was right next to the bathroom and parking lot.  It wasn't exactly out in the wilderness, but it was still camping.  Daniel cooked us a delicious dinner over the campfire.  He is a very experienced camper (all those years of boy scouts) so that helped a lot.  But it was just exhausting for me to do everything.  Setting up the tent, unpacking the car, setting up the sleeping bags, even taking a walk around the campground.  And sleeping just didn't happen.  The air mattress didn't give me enough cushioning so whichever side I laid on became numb immediately and I just couldn't get comfortable.  Combine that with getting up to go to the bathroom about 8 times and I had a sleepless night.  And the wind blew so hard all night that I was afraid our tent would blow away with us in it!  So the next morning, after cooking a delicious breakfast, we packed up and went home.  And immediately took a shower and got into bed for a long afternoon nap.  My bed never felt so comfy :-)  The important thing is that I got to have Daniel's undivided attention for nearly 3 whole days.  I loved it.

This morning I had a doctor's appointment and my nurse seemed a bit concerned that I was measuring so large.  I've gained 15 pounds total so far, and 7 of them were in the last 3 weeks!  He's measuring big for gestational age for now, but that could change.  She's just going to watch and we'll see what happens.  She also said he's head down now, but that can change too.  Overall, the pregnancy is still going perfectly!  Looks like I have a healthy baby boy.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Week 24

I am now in week 24 and, according to some sources, the third trimester.  Though I'm pretty sure it starts closer to week 26 or 27.  Week 23 was a huge turning point though.  I could feel a physical difference in my size from the beginning of the week to the end, and by the end of that week I started to feel uncomfortable due to that increased size.  I can no longer bend over at the waist comfortably, I have horrible heartburn just about every night, I have an insatiable appetite and a paradoxically tiny capacity for food in my stomach, I'm feeling movement all the time and it gets stronger every single day.  Last week many strangers made comments about my pregnancy which tells me that I am very obviously showing now.  I'm a little self-concious about it. When I get into a crowded elevator, or have to squeeze between rows in a theater I am painfully aware of my size and feel like I'm taking up more than my share of space.  


Last Saturday morning (the last day of week 22) Daniel felt Elijah move for the first time.  It was such a special moment.  We were laying in bed in the morning, and Daniel was trying to feel his kicks.  Normally I can feel them the strongest up at the top of my belly right under my ribcage, so I was waiting for that to happen so Daniel could feel.  But that morning Elijah was kicking under my belly.  Daniel put his hands there and he said he felt it!  I asked him "you felt that?" because they were just little kicks.  And he said yes, and I told him that was Elijah and Daniel screamed!  He looked at my belly and yelled right at it "I LOVE YOU BABY!"  It was so cute.  It felt like it was this little moment between Elijah and Daniel that I was just a bystander for a moment.  Ever since he has been able to feel Elijah every day.


Since I've been getting bigger (and more uncomfortable), last week was the perfect week for us to take our "babymoon" and annual Rosen family vacation.  We flew to Miami where we met many of Daniel's extended family.  We stayed at his Aunt Barbara's house for 2 nights, and then boarded a cruise ship for the Bahamas for the next 4 nights.  Barbara was a fantastic hostess.  She gave us her bedroom (very thoughtfully because it has an en suite bathroom) and there were many welcome gifts waiting for us when we arrived.  We spent the first full day on South Beach which was fantastic.  I got to wear my new maternity bathing suit which felt entirely too modest compared to the other people at the beach.  Wading into the water up to my chest felt fantastic after months of lower back pain.  The waves gave me this buoyancy that for a few minutes allowed me to forget about the weight on my front pulling me down.  It was very hot and humid, but a lot of sunscreen was all I needed to enjoy the day.  It was great to spend time together as one big family.  The cruise was very relaxing and exactly what I was hoping for.  Daniel and I got plenty of alone time together while also getting to spend plenty of time with his family (who we haven't seen in 6 months).  I got to eat as much delicious food as I wanted and I took full advantage of that!  I ate 3 huge meals a day and I don't remember being hungry once.  Maybe that's why I noticed such a big difference between the beginning of the week and the end.  Well it doesn't matter because I'm behind on my expected weight gain anyways.  The only really miserable part of the trip was the flight.  I got very claustrophobic and actually lost feeling in my fingers on both flights.  Daniel was amazing on the whole trip.  He was always there to help and anticipated my needs.  Actually, everyone in the family was like that.  I got to sit in the front seat of the car, didn't have to carry heavy bags, and always got the first available seat.  I think my favorite part of the whole trip was our day on Norwegian Cruise Line's private island.  There were tons of beach chairs lined up, which is much more comfortable for me than sitting on the sand.  I got to lounge on the beach in front of the crystal clear turquoise water for the whole afternoon while Daniel laid next to me.  We went in the water to cool off a little bit, but mostly I relaxed in the sun.  It was perfect.

Now I'm back to reality.  The pregnancy is moving along so quickly, I feel like Elijah will be here very soon!  And we have an exciting summer planned.  Next up is a Memorial Day weekend camping trip, then Daniel's graduation, then a trip to Phoenix for a baby shower, then my parents coming out here to Estes Park, and then it'll be 4 more weeks until the due date.  I love summer in Colorado!  Every day feels like vacation.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Week 22

I have decided that I am definitely at the fun part of pregnancy.  About 2 weeks ago I realized (after the millionth person asked me how I was feeling) that I'm feeling fantastic!  I have that extra energy that I kept hearing about as part of the second trimester.  I've been able to stay up until almost 10pm some nights, which is a vast improvement over the first half of my pregnancy.  My only significant complaint is the ever-present back pain.  It can get really bad, especially if I've been very active.  The past few weekends Daniel and I have been working in the yard a lot and that seems to aggravate my back.  I also discovered that sitting on a bar stool without a back cushion is a very bad idea.  I am feeling Elijah kick harder and more often every day now.  Last week I felt him kick with my hand for the first time.  I was resting my hand on top of my baby bump while working at the computer, and he completely surprised me with a strong kick right where my hand was!  It was so exciting and made me smile for the rest of the day.  Today he has been kicking hard around that same spot on the top of my bump repeatedly.  It seems to always happen in the middle of the day.  I'm still waiting for him to do it in the evening so Daniel can feel for the first time.  I know that will be such a special moment.  I almost always feel him kicking either very low or very high.  I'm not sure if that's normal, or maybe the placenta is cushioning all his movements in the middle of my belly.  I can really tell that he is growing and getting stronger every day.

Last week we took a tour of the hospital that we are hoping to give birth at.  It's one of two hospitals in the area that our insurance allows.  This one is only 8 years old and it is beautiful.  It's way south of the city almost in the middle of nowhere.  You can see the entire Rocky Mountain range to the west from the entrance and many of the rooms.  The maternity ward has all private rooms with private bathrooms that all have a tub and shower.  There's even a fireplace in the waiting room.  It really seemed like a hotel more than a hospital.  The tour was fantastic and I'm very happy about giving birth there.  But for some reason, the tour also really freaked me out.  As it went on I felt myself getting more and more panicked.  At the end, I was fighting to stay calm.  I can't explain exactly why I freaked out.  I guess because it started to feel very real.  Like, I'm really doing this.  But when I think about it, I'm actually very excited!  And I'm not even that concerned about the pain of childbirth.  I know I'll get through it like every mother before me and I'll have a beautiful baby boy at the end.  I guess it was just one of those crazy pregnancy mood swings.  Daniel was very excited after the tour.  He loved the hospital as well, and I can tell he is so excited to hold his little boy.  

The nursery is almost complete now.  We have all the big furniture and most of the decorations.  Daniel's co-worker gave him a swing, and yesterday we bought and put together a glider.  His room is so cute!  I think it'll be just perfect for him.  All we need is the essentials to actually take care of Elijah.  But we're in no hurry to get those.  We stopped by goodwill to drop some donations off and decided to take a look at newborn clothes.  They had some pretty cute stuff, some of it even had the tag still on.  So we picked up about 8 things for $1 each.  What a deal :-)  I have a few rules that I'm sticking to with his clothing: no camouflage print, a variety of colors and styles, and limited words (like "Mommy's cutie pie!" or some other vomit-inducing saying).  I'm also trying to stay away from anything too stereotypically "boy" like dump trucks, dinosaurs, or cars.  I just don't think we need to emphasize his masculinity on his clothing.  Maybe I'm being too picky.  But for now, those are my rules and I'm sticking to them.

On Saturday we're leaving for our cruise!  I got a very cute maternity bathing suit that will hopefully counteract the feeling that I'm a sideshow attraction when I put it on.  I'm hoping that everyone will get to feel him kick next week (but Daniel first!).  And we get to see our wedding video for the first time.  I am entirely too excited for that.  So glad summer is here!