Archive for December, 2009
Last day scare
Emma rang me tonight from work, crying. Can I come pick her up, details when I get there.
Zoom!
She’s bleeding a little. What’s a little? What’s a lot? Do I ask? Should I know this? Okay. Hospital. Right.
At the second hospital (one for girls only) we got smuggled in to the back room where various check-up type questions and tests were performed; including the dreaded Pap Smear. We are currently waiting for a qualified person to wave the magical ultra-sound wand.
I still have roof tiles stacked on the roof. It’s not going to rain. It doesn’t matter anyway.
We are in the clear so far. It’s good.
I started a new job two weeks ago and one fo the downfalls of the job is that it involves shift work which means lots of weird things happening to my body and in particular my energy levels. I wonder if this is any indication of what it will be like when T-Rex arrives?
Symptoms:
- Tired
- Sleeplessness
- Inability to shut mind off and go to sleep
- Anxiousness about the amount of sleep I am getting
- Exhaustion
- Losing focus
- Irritable
If it is I am finding it good practice and have already developed some cures:
- Foil on windows to block out sunlight making it much easier to sleep during the day
- Calming music to help clear mind and sleep
- Eating good, healthy food to increase energy levels
- Having someone supportive and patient, like Ben, who helps you rest
Either way there is a lot to learn there. So how exactly do I get a doctor to write a letter saying I can no longer perform shift work for the remainder of the pregnancy? Cause that would be the best cure ever!
Image by assbach (Flickr)
I have been feeling guilty the last few weeks for not taking the time to sit down and actually write on this blog. Don’t get me wrong I love writing on here. It is a great opportunity for me to get a lot of my thoughts out of my head and out into the world, even if the majority of those thoughts just seem to be “Damn! I am getting bigger and bigger!”. What I have been feeling guilty about is the fact that I have allowed other parts of my life to take over to such an extent that things, like writing, have become casualties to a hectic lifestyle.
I don’t like the idea of losing my identity to something I really don’t want to. A prime example of this is work. I have just started a new job. The hours are longer and it’s shift work so my body clock is getting all kinds of screwed up. I have felt though, especially last week when I was on grave shift, that my life was work. I slept, I woke up, I had breakfast, I went to work, I had dinner, I went back to sleep and then repeated it all over again.
I don’t want my life to be like that. I want time for myself to do the things I want to do, like spend time with Ben, go shopping, cook a healthy dinner, clean my room or relax and read a book.
I guess this has put into perspective what I don’t want to happen when the baby comes. I don’t want to lose my identity and be defined by my child. I know that to an extent that it is inevitable but where is the rule that says once the child is born I no longer exist? The truth is it doesn’t exist it is just a lie that people like perpetrating and with vigour in some people’s cases. Going back to announcing the baby these were the people who were telling me my life is now over now that I am having a baby. Over? No way! It is just getting interesting.
It’s about finding balance. The plan now is to find that balance again so I can have some sort of idea of how to re-find it after T-Rex is born. I want this baby to have balanced parents who have time to do the things they want to do, because without that balance then I really am turning into a crazy old lady who would be better getting some cats than attempting to raise a child.
Image by span (Flickr)
Two and a half months pregnant! That’s just awesome. We aren’t counting by weeks any more, it’s months.
Most of this week was spent in logistics: The logistics of Emma moving in with Ben. Wardrobes have been measured, looked at, costed, changed, purchased and , finally, constructed. All hail the mights IKEA juggernaught. So there is a huge 2360 x 2000 x 580 megolith in what used to be the weird little corner of my bedroom.
I like it!
I also did a lot of looking around the internet for completely useless bits on information while tricking myself into thinking that this was perfectly legitimate research into important questions. And that’s not including the Yerba Maté post, either!
With the new GP came some simple guidelines, one of which was, “minimal caffeine”. Which isn’t an issue for either of us as Emma doesn’t drink coffee (generally) and I have been off the caffeine merry-go round for a few years now. I drink Yerba Maté. Emma likes it too, although not as much as I do.
So what’s the problem? Well, it seems there is a lot of argument as to whether there is any caffeine in Yerba Maté. So after a little research on the almighty Internet, I can categorically state that: it’s debateable (Everyone is referencing the same article as either proof or disproof, either directly or indirectly). I know that I have felt so much better after switching to maté and that’s proof enough for me.
Interestingly what both sides seem to agree on is that the total make up of the Maté drink is far more beneficial than coffee. There’s a whole bunch of vitamins and minerals (as well as the stimulants) that produce a more evenly balanced reaction; and therefore human being. There are allegations of stress relief, better sleeping and reduced asthmatic symptoms; all of which I can agree with. What I can’t say is if it was JUST the drink or whether it was the other things I was doing with my diet and lifestyle. Either way, Yerba Maté is here to stay at our house.
So now I have to find out why caffeine is on the No Go list, just to make sure it doesn’t come through in Yerba Maté either.
Image by EricGjerde (Flickr).
