Opening Up Pandora's Box

This is an actual excerpt from an email I received today from my mother. This is 100% real, not edited for humor. I couldn’t make this stuff up!

Mom, “I thought of a name for the baby: Pandora. Then her nickname could be Panda or Pandy. Isn't that adorable? And it ends in ‘a.’"

For those of you that don’t know, Greg’s family has a tradition of naming the girls with names that end in ‘a,’ so that’s the significance of my mom’s last comment. His sisters are Sara, Rebecca, and Tara, his mother was Sandra, her sister is Vera, and so on. The tradition is something we definitely considered in putting together our list of potential baby girl names, but not necessarily the naming mentality we will follow. Clearly, we also do not plan to follow my mother’s naming mentality.

As you can conclude, Mom is not giving up yet on Panda. I give her credit for her persistence, and to this day, am thankful I ended up as Courtney, and not as Sonova Quentin, my mom’s name choice for me before Dad countered with Dawn Carol. Whew! I avoided a close one. Hopefully Panda will be just as happy with her given name when she’s old enough to know better. If not, she can always legally become Pandora and make her grandmother happy!

Furnishing Panda's Room

Panda’s room is officially starting to come together. Seeing as how Panda’s father-to-be will be off blasting birds with the pups in the Midwest for the better part of October, we decided to go furniture shopping Saturday. If we didn’t make it this weekend, we wouldn’t get a chance to go until November, and I didn’t want to wait that long for several reasons, primarily because I feel good now and don’t know how I’ll feel 6 weeks from now! Anyway, we had a big decision to make – find furniture to match the dark cherry stained crib Chris and Danielle gave us, or get a new set. With the economy in dire straits, we decided to be smart and allow cost be the deciding factor.

Before I proceed, there is one thing you must know about the father-to-be. He can be quite handy at times, but does become frustrated easily when a project veers off course. From some not so pleasant experiences, I’ve learned what to avoid when it comes to Greg and home improvement projects, and one of those things is furniture assembly. A sure way to get him angry, frustrated and cussing is to ask him to put together an assemble-yourself piece of furniture. Admittedly, the materials do tend to be inferior, parts are often missing or break, and it’s generally a waste of an afternoon and an embarrassment for me to return a box spilling out with wine tower parts to Target. I’ve learned my lesson. Therefore, I had to be smart about the furniture scenario here – no do-it-yourself assembly. That meant several of the places I’d scouted – Babies R Us and JC Penney, were out of the picture. I had one hope for a store that appeared to have products in our price range.

So, we trekked over to that store, Georgia Baby and Kids, a 45+ mile drive one way and a big commitment considering the insane gas situation here. Speaking of crazy, I’ll spare you the details of the exchange I had with the toothless “ladies” who cut in front on me at the gas pump filling up Friday night. Let’s just say they purchased 5 gallons of gas, which was more teeth than they had between them. Back to furniture shopping: we found two sets we liked, one to match the crib we had, and a whole set with a crib that converted to a double bed. But after we priced them out, there was a significant cost benefit to getting the dresser and changing table that coordinated with the crib we had, so that’s what we did. The furniture is on order and will arrive for Greg to pick up in 2-4 weeks. Yeah! Here’s a link to the online brochure for the collection.

http://www.babysdream.com/Products/Infinity/OnlineBrochures/InfinityStationary.pdf

We purchased the 5 drawer dresser and the 3 drawer chest in cherry. A changing pad can attach to the chest to use it as a changer, so that is the plan. And the best part? No assembly necessary!

Over Doing It

I wish I was talking about “doing it,” but I’m not. That might be TMI for a blog, even for me. Might. Anyway, I’m talking about over exerting myself.

My hormones raged their ugly little heads yesterday, causing me to spend all morning feeling sorry for myself. I would have been content to sit at home on the couch with a box of tissues and watch tear-jerkers like “P. S. I Love You” all day, but Greg mentioned going hiking out at the Pine Log Trail near our house with the dogs, and I thought that would cheer me up, so I agreed. There are 2 loops there, an east and a west, approx. 2 miles each. So, there’s an option to do one or other, or both. We did both loops with my parents in Easter and no one us had any trouble. It’s not a challenging trail in the least, but does contain some uphill climbs that could cause shortness of breath in the average person. Little did I know that at 22+ weeks pregnant, I’m now leaps and bounds behind the average person.

Well, we hiked the west loop, then continued on the east loop to the quarry so the dogs could swim, which I regretted shortly in, because I was already out of gas. The dogs were hard to handle because they had to be kept on leash, and both Greg and I were getting frustrated, him with the dogs, me with the length of this never ending hike. And then, about a mile from the car on an uphill, I suddenly felt a throbbing pain in my lower abdomen. I’d pulled a muscle, and it HURT. My hormonal tears that I’d been indulging all morning sprung into action yet again and I was miserable. Obviously, I miscalculated the effect my bigger belly has on my athletic abilities, or lack thereof.

Anyway, after a quick rest on a tree stump, I took the last mile as easily as I could, basically trudging along the trail fighting back tears. Back at home, after a shower, some rest on the couch, and a brownie, I felt better. My twinged muscle still hurts today, especially when Panda hangs out on that side of the belly. Clearly, there is a reason why doctors say pregnant women should take it easy. I guess I just need to listen!

Say Cheese!

I’ve been getting a few questions lately about my experience with cravings and aversions. To date, I have no new aversions to report, unlike my preggo co-worker who can’t step foot into an Italian restaurant because she can no longer stand the smell of marinara. I can share that I have definitely experienced intense cravings for….cheese! Grilled cheese sandwiches and cheese and crackers are the most prevalent, though Wednesday for lunch, I just had to have white pizza, followed by mac and cheese with dinner. After dinner, I watched the grilled cheese episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay and created a puddle of drool in my lap. I do enjoy a daily serving of cottage cheese, and can’t wait to enjoy swiss cheese fondue on girl’s night at Nat’s next Thursday. But despite the benefit of providing some much needed calcium, I do hope this craving will yield its way to something a little less fattening! I guess Panda is her father’s daughter – already avidly supporting the major export of his Wisconsin homeland!

No Pandas, but Plenty of Safari Animals

Well, according to Greg, after much "belaboring" over the decor decision, I/we finally decided on nursery decor for Panda's room. I had it narrowed down to Kidsline's Malawi or Kidsline's Good Night, Sleep Tight. Both were neutral, which I wanted for two reasons. First, after looking at several baby girl bedding sets, I just thought they were all just too pink. I don't want Panda's room looking like a case of Pepto Bismol exploded in there. Second, I don't want to have to redecorate should Panda be blessed with a little brother in many, many years (no, Greg, we are never, ever, decorating a bedroom in camo, regardless of if you found a good deal on that camo bedding set you emailed to me). Anyway, my decision came down to to factors: I preferred the color scheme and animal theme of Malawi, and I found a fantastic deal on it that I just couldn't refuse. The bedding arrived yesterday and it's just what I was looking for. Here's a stock photo of the collection. Next up on the shopping list, nursery furniture! If Greg thought I took a long time to decide on decor, he's in for a real treat with the furniture shopping!

The Halfway Point, Thrills and Pregnancy Woes

Assuming my pregnancy will last the typical 40 weeks, Panda and I officially crossed the halfway mark last Thursday. Woo hoo! The day came and went without much celebration as I'd just returned from Paris, so I’ll count Saturday’s yummy chocolate fondue that Danielle and I shared at the Melting Pot. Let me suggest to you that this is a wonderful way to celebrate multiple points in your pregnancy, or just any occasion that warrants a celebration. The kind people at The Melting Pot even serve it with strawberries and bananas (not to mention the marshmallows, brownie and rice crispy chunks, and cheesecake) so you’re getting two of your recommended seven fruit and veggie servings right there. It’s a win-win situation for baby and mom!

Today I had my 20+ week check-up, and my Doctor said I looked great and was doing very well on weight gain. According to their records, I'm still in the single digits. Their records are much kinder than mine! Panda's heartbeat sounded great - she even gave the Doctor a few of her snazzy moves.

Speaking of moves, she’s been quite active over the past week and it's been thrilling feeling her tiny motions and acrobatics. She’s been most active in the mornings and evenings. Her movements are still just for Mom though, as Dad still can’t feel her from outside my belly yet. She’s actually tickling me a little bit as I blog!

Now it’s on to the woes. It’s not pleasant, so just stop reading if you’re sensitive to unpleasantness. First, I’ve been getting daily headaches and heartburn, which are honestly the least of my concern. While I’ve also sprouted a layer of “peach fuzz” on my burgeoning belly, my main issue is gas, which has reached a pinnacle. I honestly think I farted 37 times yesterday, and that was before I ate wings while watching the Packers game! What is up with that? I ate really sensible, bland foods yesterday, exercised, and what happens? A rip-roaring toot fest. Save yourselves – only Greg should suffer this. I might even spare him because I'm just that nice!

Photos of Panda's Parisian Adventure

Check out me with my pregancy idol, Juno, in the Paris subway, my growing belly in the Musee Rodin gardens, and the onesies (sizes 3 months and 6 months) I picked up at Le Petit Bateau!

Is Panda on the Move?

I’ve read in the pregnancy bible, aka “What to Expect,” that I should start feeling Panda move somewhere in the range of 19-22 weeks. I’m just now 20 weeks, and definitely experienced a few “false positives” a few weeks ago, which I will now chalk up to “just gas.” But now I’m pretty sure I’ve felt a few movements. Tuesday night after lying down for bed, I felt little crackles and pops inside my belly consistently for maybe 10 minutes. I rolled over and the movements shifted somewhat downward and continued. Could that have been Panda? Or the previously mentioned au gratin potatoes and apple tart?

I was leaning towards the latter as I went for a few days without feeling anything convincing, until this morning when I again felt some strange sensations. These were intense “pulses” that I think I’d been able to feel if I’d had my hand on my belly. Admittedly, I did eat a black bean and steak burrito yesterday at Moe’s for lunch….For now, I’ll just put it out there that maybe I’m feeling Panda, or maybe I should just really lay of the Triple Lindys.

Panda Does Paris

Allyson and I are back from our wonderful week in Paris. Panda was the perfect little tag along inside my belly. I felt great the whole week! I think my energy is finally back (I stayed up until 2:30 am one night!) and that all the walking was great for those pesky “digestive issues.” I could’ve left my Maalox at home! One of the benefits of being pregnant in Paris is that I didn’t have to watch what I ate at all! Chocolate croissant? Two, please. Cheese crepe? I don’t mind if I do. Gelato? Yes, please! Panda really likes French Food – especially those deliciously cheesy au gratin potatoes we had on our last evening in town, not to mention the apple tart with vanilla ice cream I had for dessert!

Panda was having such a good time that she decided to get us to the front of the line at the Moulin Rouge. Saturday night, we were lined up behind hundreds of people waiting for the ushers to open the doors to the 11pm show. To my surprise, an usher approached me and asked if I was pregnant. I said that I was, and he escorted us to the front of the line so that I could sit down and get off my feet. It was a very nice gesture and was much appreciated! The poor guy told me that the last women he had asked if she was pregnant wasn’t, so he was very glad that I was!

Because she was such a good sport, while strolling along the Champs Elysses, I couldn’t resist picking up a few onesies for her at Le Petit Bateau, a very cute maternity and baby store. Both pink and white, one reads “Ma Petite Princess, “ or my little Princess. She’s already on her way to being a very cultured, world traveler.

I’ll update the post with a few photos as soon as I get them uploaded. If you want to see the whole batch of photos, edited and titled, let me know. I plan to work on them this weekend. Au revoir pour maintenant!