WIC is a joke.

I had my WIC appointment today, finally. I scheduled it over a month ago. I honestly don't think I would have bothered getting WIC at all if I knew beforehand that all I would be getting was milk. I'm lactose intolerant so that doesn't really help me much.

I'm also drastically low on iron, which I sort of knew would be the case because I'm horrible at remembering when and what vitamins to take with or without food however many times a day. I think I need to hire an assistant to help me manage my vitamin regimen.

I went over to Liz's after the 4 hour long WIC appointment and scored yet more free stuff for the dog (hers recently passed away) and some work clothes for Chris. I also got a cute pink maternity top. We went to Trader's joes and I got these AMAZING freeze dried mango slices which are fantastic. I remember when I thought Trader Joes was cheap! We reminisced about how we used to spend money like it was water, going out for sushi 3-5 times a week, shopping at the organic grocery stores and going out to the movies like every weekend. Now I'm reduced to WIC approved foods, canned tuna, the clearance and sale aisle at Kroger and $3 pirated movies from the guy on the street. It's amazing how one's life can change in just a few short years. I wish I could blame someone for it and beat the shit out of them.

My appetite has dwindled considerably. I don't really have cravings anymore and I can't tell if it's just hormonal or because of being at the cafe and eating that stuff all the time. My body is tired of eating. Now I just want fresh fruits and vegetables and water. Which is great. I might even start exercising. Liz suggested that I go for a walk with headphones and listen to relaxing music to reduce my stress. I think it's a good idea. I want to get myself a pair of those Reebok shoes that work your butt out while you walk. I desperately need a butt.

The baby (according to my weekly newsletter) is now the size of a plum, and has fully developed ears and can hear me talking and singing. You know what Chris says to that little tidbit? "Great, I bet he's in there holding his ears shut, tired of listening to you bitch". I have a feeling that I will end up nagging Chris more than I ever will the kid. Chris has a lot of growing up to do, he's like a 12 year old in a man's body sometimes. I wish he would just do stuff without me asking/telling him to do it, but noooo... I have to nag first. He's gotten a lot better, though so it's just going to take patience on my part. I like to think of it as a team effort.

I was up last night at about 1:20 am and couldn't sleep so up until 4:30 am I surfed the internet and applied for Medicaid in Texas, applied to about a dozen jobs on Craigslist (which is becoming apparent that it's pointless cause nobody replies and half of them end up being scams to get your info), looked for an apartment (another attempt in futility), searched for midwives in San Ant, and did a lot of stumbling. At least I got one thing accomplished: I applied for Medicaid in Texas.

I'm pooped. I painted my toes and fingernails a very girly bright pink and I think I am going to eat a bunch of strawberries in bed. I feel sooo spoiled!

1st Prenatal appointment was exciting!

This morning Chris and I head to the midwife's practice for our first prenatal appointment. It was a bit busy in the office so we were waiting for about half an hour before I got to see the midwife. In the waiting room, there were 5 or 6 other pregnant women. One lady was so pregnant her stomach literally looked like a beach ball and her shirt just hung like a curtain in front of her belly. I realized at that moment that I will be like that soon and I had a feeling of desperate fear wash over me for a second. Chris saw the look on my face and laughed at me!

But revenge was soon to be mine! The nurse called us back to the exam room and there we met a very nice lady named Margaret who's been a midwife in Atlanta since 1978. She asked me a bunch of family history questions and then asked me to put on a gown so she could give me a pelvic exam and pap smear. Chris wanted to leave the room at this point but I made him stay while she put my legs in stirrups and shined a spotlight right onto my lady parts. If you think this made me uncomfortable, poor Chris was squirming in his seat, trying to look everywhere else but at me. At one point I saw him looking down at the floor and whistling to himself. It was great, I got a nice chuckle out of his awkwardness. He was as nervous as a kid in the principal's office.

So once that part of the exam was over, Margaret got the Dopplar radar out to listen to the baby's heartbeat. The gel she put on the radar wand was really really cold and when she first put it on me, it tickled so bad I got into a giggling fit, which made the radar scratch like a broken record. I almost couldn't stop laughing, but then after a minute my laughter turned into tears cause I was realizing so many things at once. First of all, I was actually going to hear the baby's heartbeat, which made the whole situation so very real. Secondly, I was just plain happy I was going to have a baby and that was a bit overwhelming. Then, after it took a few minutes of her searching, I got scared that she wouldn't find a heartbeat and I had to close my eyes shut and try real hard not to cry. I saw a worried look on Chris's face for a moment, but then there it was...a really tiny but fast heartbeat. I must have been grinning from ear to ear. The first thing the midwife said was "Sounds like a boy!" which made us grin even bigger.

So yeah, that whole experience was pretty amazing. Even though I don't have a recording of the heartbeat, I don't think I'll ever forget the way it sounded.

20 Questions

Things I am going to ask the doctor at my prenatal appointment. Hopefully they wont kick me out for being an annoying brat.

1. Can I take extra strength Tylenol for my toothaches everyday? Will it hurt the baby?
2. Can I still drink herbal tea, like Yerba Mate and Lady Grey?
3. How much folic acid, iron, Vitamin D & calcium should I be taking? For how long?
4. What other vitamins should I be taking?
5. How bad is constant second hand cigarette smoke exposure to my baby's health? (hopefully this will get Chris to stop smoking in the house and around me all the time)
6. How can I ensure an un-medicated birth at the hospital?
7. What is up with the dizzy/faint spells and how can I get rid of them?
8. Is cramping normal? I get cramps in my left side, sometimes I feel like I'm gonna get my period!
9. What medicine can I take if I get sick/injured? Is there and herbal alternative that's better?

Oh there's more but I'm getting too tired to think of them so maybe later I will come back to this post...

Vote!

I completely forgot to mention that I chopped off all my hair a few weeks ago. I have sort of a bob haircut, it's the shortest my hair has ever been. I like it, it's nice and cool but I do sometimes miss long hair. Except that I have wild crazy woman hair that's hard to tame. Anyways, here's some pictures I took of us in the car the other day.

You can't really tell my hair is short cause it's pulled back here but trust me, it's short!

Also, those of you who actually read this blog should vote on the girl name poll I have to the left side of the blog. You can pick multiple names you like. It's fun, so do it! AND.... you can leave comments too cause you know it's starting to feel like I'm talking to myself over here and if that goes on for too long I'll just quit blogging cause I really don't have a lot of free time and although I enjoy sharing, I would rather be doing other stuff sometimes.

First prenatal appointment is coming up this week! I'm stressed over it because it's at 10:30 am and that means I wont be able to open my restaurant at 11. I called to reschedule for earlier but they have been closed for several days now, since it's the weekend and holidays and all that annoying mess. Hopefully they can get me in in the morning cause I can't open my restaurant late, that's pointless.