Pregnancy Can Be Boring

Yep, it's true. Sometimes it's just ho hum.

The hives have gone away, thank goodness. We determined through unscientific means that the hives must've been caused by a new soap we were trying out. Ironically the soap is "Pure and Natural".

I've been quite fortunate so far that the worst of the pregnancy side effects have been relatively minor. Sometimes I feel so dang normal that I forget I'm carrying around a belly the size of a basketball.

So let's talk about the more practical things about this condition - pregnancy leave. The Company I Work For (TCIWF) is more generous than most American companies regarding pregnancy leave. As an engineering company it is male-dominated; therefore the management takes great lengths to ensure that they hire and retain women.

Pregnancy leave is a special medical leave of absence where my current job is protected and I am compensated for the amount of time my doctor recommends that I need to be out. Compensation in the form of short term disability pay and the company's own salary coordination pay means that I receive around 85% of my normal salary for up to 13 weeks.

Then, if I do not have a medical reaon to be out any longer, I can still take up to 12 weeks of "Bonding Leave". Because I live in California, I am also eligible for 6 weeks of "Paid Family Leave" concurrent with the first 6 weeks of bonding leave. I can also add vacation to this. I am still guaranteed a job at work although my current job is guaranteed only during the pregnancy leave portion.

What does this mean exactly? Well, I'm planning to stay home for maternity and bonding leave for approximately 20 weeks. I won't know for sure which combination of leaves I will be using until I give birth but 20 weeks total is my goal. I will still be paid for 75% of that time in some form or another. And I will still have a job when I return to work. Isn't that amazing?

My point of talking about pregnancy leave is this - know all your options because they could be better than you think. Be as open and frank with your manager as you can. The better the communication is, the more likely you will have a stress-free leave and everyone will be prepared. Do not underestimate how much time you will need. Many working moms-to-be think they will want to return to work asap. Unless you have a super-terrific job though, chances are good that you will be hesitant to come back right away. Physically you may be fine. Emotionally and psychologically, things could be different.

In addition to all the other things happening next month for me and Karl, we will also begin our childbirth classes. These run for about 6 weeks for a couple of hours per week. I should have plenty to talk about then!

Itchy and Scratchy

Not the most comfortable week of pregnancy I've had but hopefully this will be the worst of it. My skin is one of those sensitve types and prone to something lovely called pressure urticaria. Urticaria is just a fancy word for hives. Pressure urticaria is when itchy hives are caused by tight clothing or jewelry.

Pregnancy makes this condition worse. This past week my skin just exploded with hives. I would start out relatively calm in the morning but by the end of the day I was frantic and anxious with itch all over my body. The only relief was to take Benadryl, which I was loathe to do because it seemed to affect the baby (made her sleepy I think). The doctor said it was OK but I tried to take only one pill at a time to lessen the drowsy effect.

Other than that, things have been OK.

On Valentine's Day, Karl surprised me with something so sweet. I told him not to buy me anything because he's been working hard as it is redecorating the bedrooms. However, he presented me with the cutest, Charlie-Brownest Japanese Maple sapling I have ever seen. And he got all sentimental on me by saying we would plant it in honor of the baby so that they could grow up together. Awwwww.

Wedding Dresses

The innn-sanity of trying to buy a maternity wedding dress. Can you believe it? Never in a million years did I think I would be pregnant when I got married. In fact, I even told my mother that. Now I wish I hadn't because she reminded me of it when I first announced I was pregnant.

So I'm thinking of this one from David's Bridal in either red or lavender, or this one from Aria in melon, lavender or eucalyptus. I don't want to wear white because this dress could potentially do double-duty and be worn at my brother's wedding also.

This is going to be so comical. No matter what I select, I will look like a water balloon. Remember, I'm barely 5 feet tall.

Thank you all for your encouragement about the Group B Strep. Kelly, how early did your sister find out? When I broached the subject with my doctor she said, "You've been on the Internet, haven't you?" And that made me think. Sometimes having too much information can be a very stressful thing. We could all turn into walking hypochondriacs if we're not careful.

News From the Doctor

I have Group B Strep. Wouldn't you know that an uneventful pregnancy was not in the cards. GBS means I am a carrier of a certain kind of bacteria that is normal in healthy adult women but is detrimental to newborns as they are delivered. If the baby swallows or inhales the bacteria while she passes through the birth canal, the baby can be infected. Babies with GBS are likely to have vision and hearing problems, meningitis, mental retardation (if they survive). There is a 50% chance that it would be fatal.

Sounds really bad. Fortunately, the treatment is extremely effective - during labor and delivery, the GBS-positive mother would be administered antibiotics through an IV. The antibiotics would then be passed on to the baby. My doctor said this treatment works very, very well. GBS babies are rare especially in their clinic (natch). There is nothing I can do in the meantime because there is no way to get rid of the bacteria...I just have it. It isn't a result of poor hygiene, sex, or sitting on a toilet without a cover. It's just there. You could have it and not even know it!

I have to admit, I was freaking out for a few days after I started researching this. However everyone at the clinic was pretty nonchalant about it, like it wasn't a big deal. After talking to my doctor I felt better. She is quite confident that the IV antibiotics will do the trick. For now, I am trying not to stress.

A doctor's visit is highly anticipated but usually anticlimatic. In the first visit, they spend the most time with you reviewing what you can expect for the next 9 months in terms of appointments, tests, etc. They give you a bunch of information that will mean nothing until you need to refer to it a ways down the road. After that, you meet with the doctor once a month. First thing you do is pee in a cup. Always. Then you get weighed. The doc will measure the size of your tummy, palpitate it and then use a device (like an ultrasound thingy) to listen to the baby's heartbeat. The rest of the time she answers any questions you have and schedules you for upcoming tests. the whole visit is 20 minutes max. If you have to take a test, someone in the office will call you later to discuss the results. Closer to your due date your appointments will be every 2 weeks and then every week.

Although I haven't felt the baby move very much the past few days, the doc assured me that my baby is very active. She could tell by pushing my tummy around. I dunno, my tummy is pretty firm, I can't distinguish anything but I'll take her word for it.

Ain't this fun?

23 Weeks 3 Days

Maternity fashion is an oxymoron. There is no such thing. All a pregnant woman wants is something that fits, doesn't make her look like a hippo and is priced reasonably. Is that too much to ask? Apparently, yes.

For the first 3 or 4 months I was able to wear my regular low rise jeans and pants, albeit with the top button undone using the handy dandy rubber band trick. For shirts and other tops, I just wore my slightly oversized tops. I was lucky that most of my shirts were kind of loose on me to begin with so there was some room to grow. Good thing because the bigger boobs took up the extra space in a single breath. Soon into the second trimester, though, I was shopping in the maternity sections. I was still too small for most clothes but the jeans at Old Navy were just about perfect and I found a few super comfy knit tops on sale at Babystyle.

Having just finished my 22nd week, I am now in this in-between stage where I'm showing but not overly so, such that I look chubby but not full blown pregnant. I tried on a few pants at J.Jill yesterday. When I asked the sales lady about trying a few sizes larger to "accomodate this" and patted my belly, she looked down and said, "Oh, I didn't even notice." What does that mean? That I just simply looked fat? Nothing fit anyway so I didn't buy anything but I was depressed by what I saw in the really horrible 3-way mirror in the dressing room...thunder thighs. Not exactly the Mary Lou Retton hard-as-a-rock thighs either.

I know, I know. My body is just making sure it can support the wide load but waaaahhhh. Angelina Jolie doesn't look like this! I curse her.

The bigger one gets, the worse the fashion becomes. Remember Juliet's nurse in Romeo and Juliet? Romeo makes fun of her, "Here's goodly gear" with Mercurtio adding, "The sail, the sail!" That's what most maternity tops look like - empire waists that then bloom like upside flowers. Fortunately, the latest trend in maternity wear is very close-fitting, shaped tops but they are not cheap to come by. I was so frustrated by the cheap stuff that I dropped a load of cash on a precious few designer fashions while I was in Arizona. I have since been scouring eBay for less expensive but used clothes by Japanese Weekend, 2 Chicks and Majamas. Had I known to do this in the first place I would've saved a lot of money.

At 23 weeks and 3 days, my bump is becoming more bulbous. I'm starting to feel encumbered. It's more difficult to lean over and tie my shoes. And if I weren't so sleepy, I would appreciate the comedy of literally pushing myself up and out of bed for the middle-of-the-night pit stop. However, all of it is worth it - the baby is getting bigger, kicks furiously and has sleep/wake patterns now. I was at the doctor's last week and heard her strong hearbeat. It was very reassuring. I'm so surprised to hear myself say that but really, it's true.