Bill & Cat's Blog About Calla

Gender: Female
Name: Calla Sophia
Birthdate: October 11, 2008

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Spit Happens? I don't think so...


It seems like every time a friend of ours has a baby we have to give them the "Spit Happens!" bib. Corny, I know but something about seeing a baby with a Spit Happens bib cracks me up.

Well, now that we are having a munchkin of our own it has opened my eyes to the multitudes of bibs, onsies and t-shirts that are available out there. No baby ever again has to show up to a play date only to find that Little Johnny is wearing the same outfit.

That said, I have made my first baby purchase and promise that never again will friends and relatives receive the mandatory "Spit Happens!" bib. VIVA LA BABY BIB REVOLUTION!

Bill

Monday, April 28, 2008

Morning Sickness Update

This isn't a pregnancy blog; it's just a log of how often I puke!

Can you believe I got sick AGAIN yesterday? I think it's either because I ate my lunch too quickly (rushing to get out of the house in time to catch the Baby Mama matinee at the Paradiso), or because the baby got sick of so many cheese hoagies. Anyway, it nearly made us late for the movie, because I literally got sick on the way out the door. We got there in time and refilled my belly with popcorn and skittles! YUM! By the way, the movie was really fun! I can't help thinking, though, that it could have been a truly great comedy considering the cast and the premise... maybe if Tina Fey had written the script, right?

Afterwards, I went to pick up the short sleeved version of my favorite maternity tee-shirt. I tried it on before buying, thank goodness, and noticed that I didn't like how short the sleeves were. I went home without any new maternity clothes, but I've nearly got everything I need. Also, if I would just drag the sewing machine out, I would be able to alter some of my pre-pregnancy clothes as well as some of the adorable maternity hand-me-downs from my "fairy godmamas" last week.

NEXT OB APPT: Friday - May 2 (No u/s scheduled, though)

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Morning Sickness Update



Well, I had a good five days. Bebe doesn't like the artificial butter flavoring and kernel husks in microwave popcorn, I guess (the rest of the popcorn was acceptable, though). Now I don't like them, either.

Monday, April 21, 2008

My Fairy Godmothers

Last night three friends marched through my front door carrying boxes of maternity clothes, diapers, a pregnancy book, and lots of good advice & stories (not to mention good company). I got some really cute clothes for work and weekend, which I needed direly. I can't wait until I have a chance to sort through them more thoroughly.

Everytime I'm around my mama friends I learn something new about pregnancy, childbirth, and/or childcare. I feel very lucky that I have such a caring and knowledgeable support system at this stage in my life.

I'm feeling really great now. I have actually gone three days without barfing, which is indeed a record for me! I haven't had any other heartburn attacks, either. I definitely have a lot more energy, so it's time to start working on that nursery now, I suppose. Sure do wish I knew the baby's gender. I doubt I'll find out before June.

Belly Cast Pics Coming Soon

Bill made my first belly cast yesterday afternoon with COLD COLD dental alginate (minty fresh!) supported by warm plaster bandages. I haven't seen the finished project yet, but we'll post some pics soon.

Maybe we'll take some belly pics, too. My tummy is really sticking out there now. Someone even reached out and touched it unannounced Saturday night. Well, we knew that was going to happen eventually!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Heartburn, Nausea, and the Tickly Wigglies!

I had a rough night last night! I suppose since I had vomited up the Unisom the previous night, I started feeling barfy in the early evening. Then, I suppose because I had Paneer Masala for lunch, I started to get heartburn in the early evening. Miserable, tortuous heartburn that made each breath agonizing.

Pregnant women, when they are suffering from heartburn, are supposed to take Tums. So I rifled through the bathroom cabinets, which are crammed packed full of remedies (OTC, prescription, and homeopathic) for nearly any ailment you can imagine. I was looking for the ubiquitous discarded half-roll of Tums that can be found in the far corner of any bathroom drawer or cabinet - any bathroom drawer or cabinet EXCEPT mine, that is.

Guess who never gets heartburn? Me, four months ago.

So, I tried the baking soda remedy (I should mention this is not generally recommended for pregnant women because the high sodium content will cause water retention.), with good results. Unfortunately, just as the heartburn was subsiding, the nausea began to rise.

Dang baby!

So, I barfed up paneer masala. I want to spare you the details, but I really feel it's worth mentioning that paneer masala loses its appeal once it's come out your fucking nose partially digested. Fun. What didn't occur to me was that I also barfed up my soothing baking soda elixir. It did occur to me as I was lying down in bed and I felt like I was dying because the heartburn returned with a vengeneance! I guess I can blame pregnancy hormones for the sobbing that ensued. I was just so frustrated that I was still puking into the second trimester and that I was cultivating a new pregnancy-related ailment with the heartburn. I began to wonder if I was going to experience every single agonizing pregnancy symptom out there: varicose veins, hemmorhoids, swollen feet, back aches, et al - just waiting to attack!

Then, I felt that little tiny flutter (the same as I felt at 12 weeks 4 days after the baby and I endured the u/s tech from hell)down low in my abdomen - just like butterfly wings gently tickling my tummy, and I stopped mid-sob and just giggled and said, "Hello, flutterbug!" I felt better. Well, I didn't feel better, to be honest, but I stopped feeling so sorry for myself, and I remembered that it's worth it, I'll survive, and it'll get better, and it'll get worse, and it'll all be over probably faster than I realize.

Then I got up and had another dose of baking soda. I went back to bed with my head elevated (Bill's suggestion), the Unisom took effect and I drifted off to sleep. I sure do love it when those tickly wigglies happen in my tummy.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Morning Sickness Update



Maybe I'll get lucky on Saturday.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Morning Sickness Update



Could this be the coveted day that I don't puke on the third day?

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

My Belly is HUGE

Something happened overnight and my belly, which was already expanding, has grown HUGE. I definitely look pregnant now. My co-workers aren't shy about the belly at all. Luckily I'm good-natured about it. I'm pregnant, my belly is supposed to be popping out.

Bill and I will have to get that belly cast done soon - maybe this weekend. We've been so busy lately! Maybe I'll post some belly pics here soon, too.

I'm having a great day as far as morning sickness goes. If I continue to follow my pattern of two days of no sickness, one day of barfing, I'm due a barf fest tomorrow. I'm hoping for a reprieve, though. I feel SO much better. I even walked into the kitchen for a few moments today (without retching). Smells like victory... (just don't breathe it in too deeply).

Monday, April 14, 2008

Life's Greatest Miracle



Bill and I watched this Nova DVD last night. It had some amazing shots, and a lot of information about what has been going on in my tummy. Pretty fascinating stuff. I'm going to try to remember this DVD for when it's time to have the birds and bees talk with this kid.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Another Baby Book!

I have been trying to find good books about what to do with the baby once its born, and I just finished the Bradley Method book, so we went to Bookstar last night and I bought a book called First Kicks to First Steps by Dr. Greene.



I'm enjoying it so far. What I like about it most is probably that it is really quite beautifully written. I noticed that it has a high rating on Amazon.com, and I'm not surprised. Apparently the author has a pretty nice web site at http://www.drgreene.com, too.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

This Just In...1st Trimester Screening Results = GOOD

I just got a call from the doctor's office with the results from the screening, and everything was negative and/or within the normal range.

Yes!

There is another part of the screening that requires another "blood pull" in May.

So far, so good.

Officially Announced

After telling my boss and co-workers that I'm pregnant on Monday, I consider my pregnancy officially announced for all intents and purposes.

My co-workers' reaction: "We were wondering when you were going to tell us!" I suppose it was getting obvious. Everyone seems happy for me.

The best part about everyone knowing is that now I can keep a copy of the ultrasound pic out on my desk. Sometimes I can't believe I'm growing a little human being in my tummy! But all I have to do is look down and I know something is in there!


Morning Sickness Update

I have developed a pattern of two days without barfing or strong nausea, followed by one crappy day with vomiting. Not ideal, but an improvement.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008



Oh well!

Monday, April 7, 2008



And counting...
A funny cartoon from my cousin, who was lucky enough to avoid morning sickness during her pregnancies!

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Kogojira at 12 weeks 4 days

Updated with Bill's labels:

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Prenatal Check Up #3

First off, let me say the baby is fine! I wouldn't want to give you the wrong idea when I say this appointment was very disappointing.

Bill and I planned to meet at the doctor's office for the 2 o'clock meeting. Because of bad weather, I left earlier than usual. Because of an impromptu meeting at Bill's work, he left later than usual. He called around 1:45, when I had just arrived, to let me know he was on his way. I told him I was going to go up and sign in, and to call me when he got to the parking lot. I'm used to waiting a little while when I go to the doc office. Who isn't, right?

Well this time, I was sent into ultrasound right away (I was having a special ultrasound for screening for birth defects). This time, it wasn't Vicki or the other ultrasound tech, both of whom are really nice, who saw me. Instead it was, I'm sorry if this term offends you, but a young woman who turned out to be a bit of a bitch. She never introduced herself to me, so I couldn't say what her name is, so I'll just refer to her as "the bitch" - can you tell I'm angry? Okay I won't call her that again, but still, she was!

Anyway, I told the ultrasound tech that my husband was running behind and that I hoped he didn't miss out. She told me to sit on the table and pull my pants down. Just after I got on the table, and maybe I should point out that it wasn't even 2 pm at this time, my cell phone began to ring. I said, "Oh sorry," as I started to get off the table, and she replied, "It's okay. Just let it ring."

At this time she began to tell me something about how I'd get the results back from the screening in about two weeks, as she began the ultrasound. I couldn't follow what she was saying because I was naturally riveting to the image of my unborn child on the display, and what a dramatic difference from my last ultrasound after the bleeding scare, and also feeling a bit shocked that she actually told me not to answer the phone, and most of all I was wondering if Bill was going to get to see the baby, not to mention wondering if the baby was okay, because she wasn't saying ANYTHING reassuring like "everything looks good" or "the baby is developing just as we like to see" - which is how Vicki and the other lady always handle things.

Then she started wiggling the device they rub over the tummy a lot. I gave her a WTF look, and she said "Your baby won't move" - which wasn't very reassuring to hear, let me tell you, and I thought "I wish Bill were here" - I kept expecting a gentle rap at the door, then a helpful nurse ushering Bill into the room, but that wasn't happening. The u/s tech continued to wiggle the thingie across my belly, ask me to cough, then have me turn on my side, then onto my back, in order to try to get the baby to move into a position where she could do what she needed to do. Luckily I had googled the process, so I knew that one thing she was attempting to do was to get a measurement of the back of the baby's neck. She never told me anything about what she was doing. She just complained that I had a "stubborn baby" who was apparently "taking a nap" and giggled a bit, so I decided that the baby must be okay, otherwise she wouldn't be giggling about it. It was a big relief to hear the heartbeat, which was 158. The u/s tech actually commented that it was a good heartrate.

I had told the woman at the front that I was expecting my husband, so I was sure he was probably in the ultrasound waiting area. I just wanted so badly to ask the u/s tech to open the door and see if he was out there, but she was so unfriendly I was afraid to ask her anything. I kept waiting for a good opportunity to suggest that she check the door, and I also kept hoping that someone would knock on the door. I began to wonder if Bill had called because he was delayed, instead of because he was in the parking lot. It was just horrible. I started to get a bit worried about him, too!

Finally, she got the neck measurement. But I swear to you, the baby did not move into a good position for it. I think she just got tired of trying to get my stubborn baby to cooperate and decided to just take what she could get. If I get any funny results on screenings, I'm definitely not taking them seriously.

At this point, I finally screwed up my courage enough to ask her if she could see if my husband was outside the door. I told her I was certain he was out there waiting to come in. She said "We're finished now, anyway." I was like, "Yeah but he could see the baby still." She said, "Well, I'm giving you a picture!"

The worst part was when I opened the door and saw Bill sitting there. It was obvious he was pissed and hurt. That's when I realized that since I had been too much of a wimp to be assertive with an unpleasant woman I barely know, I had hurt the feelings of the father of my child, who had been looking forward to this ultrasound for weeks and weeks. It broke my heart.

We saw our doctor later, and she very apologetic about how long we had to wait to see her. I told her that was fine. Then she asked about the ultrasound and I told her what had happened. She said that she would talk to them about it. She let Bill hear the heartbeat with a doppler unit she had in the exam room. I still love our doctor, she's great.

I apologized to Bill for not standing up to the u/s tech later that evening. He was, of course, very understanding, and more mad at her than me. I promised that I wouldn't let anything like that happen again. And I won't. I have got to get a spine. If I want to have this baby the way I want to have it, I've got to learn to be more assertive with medical professionals and not just let them bully me. I'm sure if I had let my own bitch flag fly, Bill would have been in the room with me for nearly the entire time. The baby may have even been more cooperative, who knows?

Next prenatal appointment is May 4 at 10:30 AM. I'm not sure when the next u/s will take place, but Bill will be there, I promise!

Another thing, I realize that the u/s appointments are for medical purposes and not just a fun opportunity for the parents to see the baby, but come on! It's only natural that parents are going to want to see the baby, so I think it wouldn't have killed her to let him come into the room for a minute and look.

Friday, April 4, 2008

So Much to Learn!

One lesson down many to go!

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

I Bought Baby Clothes!


Well, I was at Target. I was alone. And I couldn't resist picking up these cute little onesies in green and yellow with frogs and happy little bees. Note: The actual colors are more pastel than in the pic above from target.com. I think they'd work fine for a boy or a girl. Obviously, I was missing Bill. The onesies remind me of these adorable little frog books he saved from his childhood. I think they were a gift from his babysitter. I guess the kogojira will inherit the books!

Bill comes back from Florida tomorrow afternoon! I hope he doesn't think I'm crazy for buying baby clothes already!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Memphis Mamas & Pops: Please Recommend a Pediatrician

Going to the baby expo made us realize that we'll be needing a pediatrician for this little monkey once she (or he) is born.

We met a few Saturday at the baby expo. Of them, we really liked Dr. Allison Stiles the most. Anyone know or use her?

Please let us know who your pediatrician is and what you think of him or her. Also, even if you're not a mama or not a Memphian, but know of a Memphis pediatrician with a good reputation, please let us know.

We'll be looking for your recommendations in the Comments section of this post.

THANKS!

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