(Written mid October 2009)

I’ve had a strange disconnect between having a baby and being pregnant.  I just feel pregnant, like it’s a temporary disease that’s giving me weird symptoms and will eventually go away.  I’m adament about not looking at baby products or baby advice or baby names.  After two weeks of excitement, I turned all my books and pamphlets from the OB facedown.  For some reason I don’t want to see the work “pregnant” around the house.

I was watching some old Muppet videos on Youtube.  The thought came to me, that I frequently have thought, that I should be sure that when we eventually have kids, they watch some Muppets because Muppets are awesome.  Then I had an epiipheny – this wasn’t some far off prediction.  There was a kid in my belly RIGHT NOW.  She/He will be the one that I encourage to watch Muppets.  Right there with me now in this room.  I kind of freaked out in a major way.

(Written October 2009)

If I get up before 8 am, I have to puke at least once.  Good luck trying to eat anything before 9 am.

The first thing I cooked in three weeks was bacon.  Nitrate and nitrite free bacon, courtesy of my dear dad.

My food aversion has manifest as “anything that you cooked.”  If Ben makes it or I buy it ready made, I seem to do better.

Surprisingly, peanuts are my go-to snack for keeping fueled during the day.  And suddenly orange juice is delicious.  And pickles.  I had a Jimmy John’s pickle and wanted to marry it.

Because I hear you are all dying to know 🙂  I’m in that weird poochy stage.  My clothes don’t fit and my husband says I’ve looked pregnant for months.  But when I tell people the news and that I’m 21 weeks, they look down at my stomach and tell me I don’t look pregnant at all.

I feel him moving all the time now.  Especially during a meal (blood sugar spike?) and when I change positions – sitting to standing and such.

My belly button is disappearing way too fast!  It’s kind of freaking me out.

The most annoying pregnancy change?  My absurdly strong pulse.  I hear it when I’m trying to sleep at night.  I feel it in odd places like my scalp, my shoulders, and pretty much my entire abdomen.  I feel my heart pounding with extra stroke volume when I climb stairs.  I swear I can even feel my inferior vena cava flowing.  My hand veins are so engorged with extra blood that they are raised and fat.  L&D nurses must have the easiest patients for placing IVs. 

I’m going to post a couple things I wrote during the first trimester, just to catch up my journalling.

Snow falling quietly, kneading yeasty dough, sipping French hot
chocolate, and knitting green curls. I like today.

I told Ben that I couldn’t believe another decade has passed.  “Really?” he asked, “I can.  We had a lot happen in the last ten years.”  We thought of all the momentous things that happened to us in the aughts. 

• Most of our courtship and our marriage
• All of my undergrad education
• My first real job as a research assistant
• Completing a second degree
• My second real job as a nurse
• Most of Ben’s college years
• Numerous jobs for Ben
• Moving five times in three cities
• Buying our first house
• Buying my first car
• Buying my first new car
• Travel too numerous to count
• Thousands of knit stitches
• Thousands of video games
• A movie-making phase
• A ballet revival phase
• Getting a cat
• Getting a dog
• Three computers for me, who knows how many for Ben?

Ok, proven wrong.  I guess it seems right that ten years have passed, given all the growth we’ve had. 

We’re excited to start a new adventure this year.  For those who haven’t heard yet, we’re having a baby in May.  That’s right, I’m 21 weeks pregnant.  Want to know why I was so quiet in the blogosphere in October and November?  That’s called the first trimester and it BLOWS!  But those times are past, I feel pretty great these days.  The little kid has finally made itself known to me.  Just in the past week I started feeling movement.  Now I swear it’s doing somersaults in there.  Tomorrow we have the big ultrasound to find out if our first will be a little boy or little girl.  I don’t care which, I just want to know!  I’ll be sure to let you all know too, and perhaps I’ll fill in some details on how the pregnancy has been so far. 

Happy New Year and here’s to ten more!

Christmas break is turning into a fiber feast!  I’ve been knitting up a storm on my new addi-clicks turbo needles and learning to spin on my new spinning – wait for it – wheel!  Holy smokes it’s so much fun. Technically it belongs to both me and Amanda.  Santa thinks we are mature enough to share a Christmas present.  🙂  I’m taking video clips of our vacation.  In January I’ll knit those together into a little film of Christmas with the Waterhouses.  Hope everyone is having a relaxing week!

I’m trying very hard to stay jolly today.  Peppermint hot chocolate in my thermos, Big Soft Ginger cookies packed to take to coworkers, a green t shirt under my scrubs (gasp!  against the rules!).  But it still sucks to have to work on Christmas Eve.  Darn people getting sick.  Here’s some Muppets to lift any other sinking spirits.

http://www.hulu.com/embed/hDzecNT5xiBVIHaGtNQLRg

Jem is a major wimp when it’s cold.  We wouldn’t care except she won’t pee when it’s icy and we have to make multiple trips out to get her to go.  We’ve never had much luck with boots in the past.  It seems the designers rarely test them on actual dogs.  Ben came across these at Petsmart and they work great!  Not only that, they would totally fit in Jerrica/Jem’s wardrobe.  What do you think? 

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8361074&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1
Jem’s Boots from Rachel Mason on Vimeo.