Laughing with Sarah

I fret and I worry and I get all doom and gloom in the hours leading up to each appointment. And then, they check me out, and all is great. So we had our next regular OB appointment this morning. Here's the run-down. After last time, when I hadn't gained any weight between my first two OB appointments, today my weight is up an appropriate amount from last time; 135ish last month to 139ish this month. Amazing that in any other time of my life, a swing of four pounds wouldn't seem like anything to blink at. I'd probably write it off as normal fluctuation throughout a month. But when you're on baby watch, every pound seems significant, in a good way! When my doctor had me lay back on the table to check the heartbeat, he noticed that I'd sprouted a little belly! There was a good, strong heartbeat, easy and quick to find, measured at 160bpm, which is spot on. Have I mentioned that I could listen to the swish-swish-swish of the baby's heartbeat all day and n

As usual, the anxiety ramped up leading to this month's doctor appointment. To my credit, I made it three and a half weeks before feeling anxious this time around, which is pretty good. Three and a half weeks of happiness and planning and enjoyment, and only a few days of crazy. The crazy came in three parts, though, so it's been intense. 1. The crazy kicked in last Thursday morning, when I thought that I maybe saw some faint pink spotting after using the bathroom. It was vague, at very best, and only once, and I'm not sure that it was even pink, but I started to panic. Couple that with some very low-grade, low abdominal cramps off and on over the next couple days, and I was absolutely sure that things were over and done for. I've pretty much gotten over myself on this count. No bleeding, no heavy cramps, really, no reason to get all crazy about this. 2. On the days when I felt decidedly good and non-crampy, I still made myself crazy trying to figure out whether m

My birthday was on Wednesday. I'm now a year older. 32. That number sounds really strange to me. I think that I never really processed being 31...or 30, for that matter, except that I celebrated 30 by flying off to Africa for three weeks. For the last five years, each birthday has been both a reminder of what I don't have (a baby) and a chance to re-up my hopes for the coming year. This year, it is strange to be 16 weeks pregnant as we cross my birthday. I feel old at 32 because we don't yet have children, but hopeful looking forward, because a baby is on the way. My birthday itself was great...and overwhelming. It was a good, quiet day around the church office, which always feels good. Nice when things aren't stressful or when there isn't a crisis to manage. That evening, Matt's parents arrived from New Jersey for a long weekend visit. Always great to see them. Prepping for their arrival was a bit of a whirlwind, and I was up and moving most of the even

I'm a little grumbly today. Mostly, the weather has been screwy, so I've been waking up with a stuffy nose and itchy eyes every day this week. Today, I've managed to spout a nasty headache, probably due to allergies and to the weird weather (changes in pressure give me headaches). Also, the half-cup of coffee that I drank this morning and the delicious homemade muffin that I ate gave me instant and persistent heartburn. The headache and the heartburn are teaming up to make me just feel gross. And it's been a long week so far (and today is a long day!), so I am also just tired. Add this all up, and you get a grumbly me, who feels like yuck and who really just wants to take a nap and then eat a whole bunch of non-acidic comfort food. Like pasta. Or mashed potatoes. Hrm....wonder if I can sneak a nap during my lunch hour before my afternoon meetings....

It's summer in Iowa. Not exactly hot yet, but getting warmer, and lots of bright sun on the sunny days. Food blogs and Facebook alike are keeping with the season by talking lots about craft beers and chilled summer wines and fruity warm-weather cocktails. I've never been a big drinker, but I definitely wish I could partake, even once in a while, in any of said adult beverages. Apparently, alcohol is one of those things that I don't care about...except when I can't have it. On a similar note, I'm tired of not being able to eat deli sandwiches. Roast beef sandwiches were in my regular repertoire, but there is NO WAY that I am going to heat up deli roast beef until steaming, just so I can eat it. It's all about the cold, rare meat, my friends. Is it inappropriate for me, right now, to demand that my first post-delivery meal be a Jimmy John's slim roast beef sandwich, with salt and vinegar chips and a glass of whatever Toppling Goliath's fruitiest IPA happ

Fun with photo booths! 15w1d today. My favorite high-waisted, straight gray tweedy skirt no longer zips all the way up. I'm wearing it with a belly band today because it's one of my favorite articles of clothing, but it's funny to me that you STILL wouldn't know I was pregnant by looking at me. Weird the way that my body can be so different but still look so very much the same. Anyway, it's been nearly two weeks since our last appointment, and we've spent the last two weekends sharing the news with family and friends. Nothing as public as Facebook yet or anything. But we were in Chicago for a friend's wedding, so we told the rest of our Chicago family and close friends in person. And we were up in the Twin Cities this past weekend for my ten-year college reunion, and told my other sister in person, as well as a few friends at the reunion. At the wedding we attended two weeks ago, they had a photo booth at the reception, so Matt and I took advantage o