Sunday, August 23

Baby on the Way

I'm quite excited to announce that I'm pregnant and due in late February 2010. My in-laws were in town for the Labor Day weekend, and my mother-in-law couldn't help herself from buying this precious little sleeper with frogs on it. It's the first baby item we have gotten, and we really don't even have a place to put it yet, so it sits on my dresser reminding me of two things (1) there's a real, honest to goodness baby in my belly and (2) I have a tremendous amount of work to do to prepare our apartment for a baby - starting with finding somewhere to store this one newborn-sized sleeper.

The realization that there is a baby in my belly still hasn't quite resonated with me, though it's beginning to. From what I've read, I could start feeling him/her (we'll find out gender, hopefully, at our October 4th appointment) moving in the next two weeks. But, I also had a little scare last week that illustrated to me that I'm not just responsible for me anymore, but for a little baby also.

The scare occurred while I was walking to lunch and started experiencing pain in my abdomen and back. First, willing to dismiss it as a familiar pain I've felt many times before, I then realized that it wasn't a pain I should be feeling these days and that it could indicate something was quite wrong with the baby. Instantly, I felt panic and regret for all of the housework (including moving furniture) I'd done to prepare the apartment for our first real house guests since we moved here in July '08. Seeing blood when I retreated to the bathroom only sent the panic into overdrive. "What have I done?!"

Several hours and an emergency ultrasound visit later, I was calmed to learn that baby was absolutely fine, but I also learned that I was diagnosed with Placenta Previa, and I was sent home with instructions to avoid any "strenuous" activity and "heavy" lifting, which included carrying groceries and running. Pressing the nurse for activities I could do, I only received more limitations. Swimming isn't even an option. I'm just to wait for clearance until my next doctor visit on September 29th, which will be followed by an ultrasound visit on October 4th. Hopefully, baby will have moved up (which the nurses and doctors fully expect, and science indicates is probable), and I will be cleared to participate in my normal activities again.

It was a good eye-opener for me, and I'm going to try to spend the next few weeks reading some of the books I've accumulated and planning a make-shift nursery for our apartment. We're expecting to move when our lease is up in June, so baby will only be in this apartment for a couple of months. Any big plans for a nursery will come once we find a new home next summer.

Saturday, August 8

A Positive Movie Motivator

I went to see Julie & Julia this evening with my husband, and while he didn't love it, I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was clean, sweet, and positive, which is what I'm looking for in life right now. So, with the idea of a blog topic central to the movie, I began to wonder what blog topic I could explore that would have such a positive impact on my outlook and still somehow contribute something uplifting to the blogosphere. So, I reflected on some of my recent thoughts and discoveries.

Lately, I've been a bit overwhelmed with the negativity flooding every medium in the world today. Locally, living in Hoboken hasn't been very uplifting lately either, what with our mayor being ousted due to a political scandal, today's tragedy on the Hudson River, not to mention the generally negative outlook that many outspoken New Yorkers have on countless social and political issues. Even Buddy Valastro, manager of Carlo's Bakery and Hoboken's local TV reality series star of Cake Boss on TLC, can't sweeten the local perspective. I've even tried to reduce my evening television watching to Jeapordy and Wheel of Fortune, just to avoid the news and graphic crime shows.

So, with the desire to do and say something positive both virtually and in real life, I've decided to spend the rest of 2009 blogging about uplifting events - big or small - going on around me everyday. It's a shame that I don't see them more often, or pay closer attention. But, by intentionally setting out each day to discover joy and happiness and by closing each day by sharing my discoveries with you, perhaps we will both have a brighter outlook on our lives.

Today's Positive Moment:
Re-discovering, through Juile & Julia, the desire to be happy and uplifting in what I say to myself and others.

What about you? What's making you happy today?
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