Week 13

Goodbye, first trimester. I am not sorry to see you go. I had my 12-week (actually, 13-week) check up yesterday. All is well in baby land. My doctor was near tears when I told her I was moving, but that was more because she depends on Ben to fix all her computer problems for her. I know where I stand.

So, those of you have been pregnant with second children before: did you ever find yourself completely forgetting you were pregnant? Now that I am over the morning sickness (knock on all the wood), I find myself going days at a time without thinking about the baby at all. (Don't be offended, baby. I love you and would be devastated if anything happened to you.) Of course, my life is kind of busy right now, what with the whole moving thing going on. Oh, and the other small person in my charge. It is kind of that weird inbetween stage - I can't feel the baby move, and I don't have any other pregnancy "symptoms". (Except my belly, which has most definitely popped.)

I've been recording some thoughts on this pregnancy secretly - if you are interested, they can be found in the archives. The first post I wrote is here. I was trying to do a better job of documenting this pregnancy than I did with Clare, and so I am once again stealing from a friend (thanks, A.!) and filling out this questionaire every week. Except I am not doing it every week. So, every few weeks I may or may not fill this out, I guess.

The Baby: Is about the size of a medium shrimp.

Weight gain: None so far, despite my best efforts to the contrary. Easter candy ahoy!

I’m Feeling: I am feeling good, other than the cold I am currently fighting. I am still not sleeping well, but that has nothing to do with being pregnant and everything to do with moving.

Cravings/Aversions: Cool Ranch Doritos. I must have them. I am still occasionally craving seafood, which I absolutely cannot eat (anaphalacytic shock is not good for mom or baby). I don't have any particular aversions, but some days I just cannot eat certain things. I'll make something for dinner, stare at it for half an hour, and then dump it in the garbage and pour myself a bowl of cereal. Cereal I can always eat.

What I'm enjoying:  Um. Not much right now, honestly. Ben is already in St. Paul for work, leaving me alone to care for Clare and pack up the house. (He'll be back this weekend.) I am looking forward to seeing my brother and sister-in-law this weekend for Easter.

What I'm worrying about: I said before, but it remains true: I am worrying about everything I have to get done before we move.

Movement: Still too early for this.

Clare:  Okay, I am enjoying Clare. Especially the little dance she does at the end of her baths now. I must try to get it on video and post it. It is hilarious. She grabs the bar in the tub, and shakes her little butt and sings, checking every so often to make sure I am watching. (She still has no clue about the baby.)

Three Things

First of all, I was right. Clare is not allergic to garbanzo beans. When the doctor called, he said, “I probably should have tested her for sesame seeds.” You think? Anyway, it’s fine. I am just going to assume that’s what it is. No hummus for Clare, which is too bad, because I just ate the most amazing dip. I might even go so far as to say it is better than taco dip. Gasp! It has a hummus base, and is topped with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, kalamata olives, feta cheese and oregano. Oh, and this is key: the hummus must be garlic-flavored. Delicious!

Second of all, house hunting stinks. I have never house hunted before, but I am finding it very stressful. It doesn’t help that we’re down here, and the houses are up there. I know this will be easier once we are living there, but for now – yuck. Ben and I drove to St. Paul for the day (yes, the day) last Saturday. We looked at six houses. Two seemed like possibilities. One of those houses has since sold. The other one is really small. On Sunday, we found a house online that looked like it could be perfect for us. (Wouldn’t it have been nice if this had been on the market on Saturday?) And yes, you guessed it. It has sold. The only good thing about all of this is I don’t have to drive up there again this weekend.

Thirdly, on a brighter note, I found an article online yesterday that listed the states in order from happiest to least happy, in what I am sure was a very scientific survey. Hawaii was number one, of course, but Minnesota came in at number three! (Wisconsin was way down at number 20.) I am happy that people in my future home state are happy. I think I will be happy there, too. Especially since I won’t be far from the Wisconsin border, which I can cross to buy beer (On Sundays! At gas stations!), cheese, and maybe even fireworks.

Allergic Girl?

A few weeks ago, Clare was eating roasted red pepper hummus before dinner at my parents’ house. Suddenly, an angry red rash erupted all around her mouth. She seemed fine, though, and it went away after about ten minutes. Maybe it was just the peppers irritating her skin? Then, last weekend, she had plain hummus at Ben’s parents’ house. After a few bites, she yelled “ouch!” and started trying to scrap it off her tongue. Once again, a red rash, and some hives, appeared around her mouth.

Uh-oh.

I have severe food allergies, and have been watching Clare like a hawk every time she tries a new food, holding my breath. She can eat most of the big allergic foods: eggs, wheat, dairy, soy. We haven’t given her peanuts, tree nuts, or fish. I called her pediatrician, and she suggested taking her to an allergist. We had an appointment yesterday. I have to say, I was not that impressed with this allergist. He was one of those really “busy” doctors, who didn’t listen to what I was saying. I had to ask him questions a few times, and had to repeat more than once what allergies I have. (I will give him this – he was good with Clare.) I told him I thought Clare was probably reacting to the sesame paste that is found in hummus. I have a sesame seed allergy, after all. The doctor, however, was convinced that she is actually allergic to garbanzo beans – and possibly peanuts. He ordered a skin test to check for peanut and tree nut allergies.

The good news: CLARE DOES NOT HAVE A PEANUT ALLERGY!!! (Well, assuming the blood test comes back negative, and she doesn’t react when Ben feeds her a peanut butter sandwich sometime in the next few weeks.) Still, though, we have every reason to believe she has escaped the dreaded nut allergy. However, the doctor ordered a blood test to check for garbanzo and lentil allergies. Never mind the fact that she has eaten lentils on numerous occasions. When this test comes back negative, I will laugh and continue to believe she has a sesame seed allergy. (Which he didn’t test her for, by the way.) As for the last biggie: fish and shellfish, he said we should just wait until she is in grade school to feed her any. While I agree it is unlikely she will accidentally eat fish (while it is a real danger that she might accidentally eat nuts, it is happened to me on numerous occasions), I don’t know why he couldn’t just do the skin test while we were there. I think he was too busy.

I felt so sorry for Clare when they drew her blood. She was so scared. Her eyes were huge and she was yelling “Mommy! Mommy!” I wanted to cry. Obviously, she is fine now, and probably not scarred for life or anything. Actually, she was fine about 30 seconds after they were done and she was presented with two Elmo stickers. Elmo makes everything better. (For Clare. Elmo makes me want to stab something.)

On a completely different note: Clare continues her fashionable ways. She pulled this t-shirt out of a bag of stuff I was taking to Goodwill, and demanded to wear it immediately.

This is the best picture I could get. Also: please ignore the messy floor.

21 Months

The other day, we were sitting at dinner when we hear, "Six, seven, eight, nine, ten!" Ben and I stared in disbelief at Clare. Was she actually counting her peas? She was! She knows the numbers one through ten, although I don't think she totally understands the concept. As for where she learned this, it was either at daycare or from Sesame Street, because I didn't teach her. Since then, though, we've been working with her on the correct order of the numbers, and the idea that they actually represent a certain number of objects.

Cute counting aside, Clare has been quite the little brat the last couple of days, especially at daycare. She is pushing other kids for no reason and just generally being irritable. She also is testing her boundaries at home, big time. Ben has been gone at a conference this week, so I am at the end of my rope. The fact that I am exhausted isn't helping, either. I know what Clare is doing is all normal 1-year-old type stuff, but that doesn't make it any easier.

When she isn't testing boundaries, though, she is being very polite. She says please and thank you. She even thanked me for changing her diaper the other day. I almost fell over.

Clare only has a month left at daycare. I am a bit nervous about being a full time stay at home mom. I will have to find many activities for Clare and I to do. We will be living with Ben's parents' while we look for a house, so we'll have lots of quality time with Grandma.

Clare is absolutely obsessed with a Sesame Street video featuring Destiny's Child. She wants to watch it over and over. And over. I want to scream.  It is pretty cute how excited she gets about it, though. Even more than watching Destiny's Child, though, her favorite hobby is reading. We'll sit and read ten books in a row, while she bounces up and down happily on her T-Rex or sits in her Clare chair. Her favorite book right now is a collection of nursery rhymes. She'll request it by shouting "Row row! Row row!" ("Row, Row, Row Your Boat" is one of the songs in the book. However, that only song that regularly gets applause is "Itsy Bitsy Spider." This is the only time someone will applaud my singing.)

Clare also loves to accessorize. When we see my mom, Clare immediately demands all her jewelry, including her reading glasses. She looks like a mini Jo. I wish I had a picture.

Can I be totally cliche and say that I would REALLY like it to be spring? Last Saturday my mom, Clare and I went to a conservatory, and it felt so good to feel some humid air. Clare was fascinated by the waterfall, the fish, and the birds. I am just glad she wasn't scared of the animals, like she was last summer. I hope that means lots of trips to the zoo in our future.

With Grandma Jo at the Olbrich Gardens Conservatory.

A (very) rare moment of enjoying the cat's company.

Fashionista.

Blondie.

Week 10

The Baby: Is about the size of a prune.

Weight gain: Eh, I haven't checked. I did just eat a big bag of Doritos, which probably isn't the best idea.

I’m Feeling: Much better than last week! I actually got acupuncture, which really helped. It doesn't seem like it should do anything, it is like magic. I haven't been sleeping well, though. I am so anxious about all this moving stuff that I wake up at 3 a.m. almost every day, and usually lay awake for an hour or two. I hope once things are a little less uncertain I'll start sleeping better again.

Cravings/Aversions: I've read about women craving things like laundry detergent during pregnancy. My latest craving is food, but it is not something I can eat: a tuna salad sandwich. I don't know why I want that, especially since it would land me in the hospital.

What I'm enjoying:  I had half a snow day yesterday (Clare's daycare closed at noon). I decided I would treat it as a free day and not worry about all the things I have to do. I watched the final installment in the Twilight series while Clare napped. Man, that movie is terrible. I enjoyed it all the same, though.

What I'm worrying about: All the stuff I have to get done before we move. I am also anxious about finding an OB and a pediatrician. 

Movement: Still too early for this.

Clare:  She claims she wants a baby in the house. I have a feeling she'll be changing her tune come October.

Chaos

Whew. It has been a week, as they say. (Does anyone actually say this? I don't know.) I came down with the evilist, most vile stomach virus you can imagine. I was miserable for days. I fainted in the bathroom. Again. I did not feel like a human, much less like myself. It was decidedly unpleasant.

In the midst of all this sickness, Ben got the call. He was being offered a job in St. Paul. We had until Monday to decide if he would take it. You know, I think it was good that I was sick. I didn't have the energy to freak out. Of course, this meant I also didn't have the energy to calmly weigh the options, either. I just did not want to deal with it AT ALL. However, deal with it I did. We talked about it a lot, and ultimately came to the conclusion that the Twin Cities is where we want to be. We have many reasons for moving there, and really only two reasons not to. (Two big reasons: my mom and dad.)

My parents were very understanding, if disappointed. They've always encouraged us to follow our own path and lead our own lives, something I greatly appreciate. And I know we'll still see them frequently. (In fact, I think we have plans to see them almost every month for the rest of the year.) And hey, with technology Clare can see her Baba and Jo face to face every week.

Now, the chaos begins. We have so much to figure out. Where we are going to live is, well, probably the most important thing. Gah! We are going to try to find a short term lease on an apartment for now. We are hoping to buy a house this summer, but don't want to rush into it. Sigh. Moving is exciting, but boy is it stressful.

I put in notice at my job yesterday. I was very nervous about this - I was up at 3:45 that day thinking. Just, you know, inventing all sorts of worst case scenarios for myself. Of course, it went fine. Not all of my coworkers know yet, but they will find out eventually. I don't plan to immediately look for work when we move. I am going to give being a Stay At Home Mom a try. It should be interesting, to say the least. (Although maybe we will be less sick? One can only hope.) Also, if anyone is interested I did write a couple of posts when we first started seriously talking about the possibility of relocating - I kept them hidden until now. They are here and here.

In the meantime, at least for one of us, life goes on as usual. Crazy, hyper, and happy. Not a care in the world.