The Tale of Dr. No and other stories

I am so glad that my husband posted to all of our readers that we are expecting a little girl. I couldn't event think about posting for several reasons - all of which I will explain:
1) The traumatic experience of an appointment with "Dr. No"
2) Nesting

Dr. No
So, I scheduled our "anatomy scan" visit with my favorite doctor at the OB/GYN practice. This appointment was scheduled for Friday, Nov 7th. I got a call on Thursday, Nov 6th from the docs office to hear that my fave doc was not available due to a hospital case and I was being rescheduled with another doctor. Well, I looked up his bio on the docs office website and I didn't really like it and then I looked up his voter registration and that was even more disturbing than his bio :) Really, I don't mind being checked out by a person of differing beliefs than myself, but afterall, it was election week, I was already angry about not getting the best doc ever AND I was turned off by the guy's bio. So things were not looking well. After consulting friends at work and my husband, I decided to keep the appointment and get over the fact that I was getting to see the doctor I liked.

We got to the appointment the following day, had a great ultrasound with the technician - very exciting. You'll note from previous posts that Dan teared up. Then we went into the exam room to wait for the doctor. In he walks, shook our hands - that was nice. He put his papers on the counter, turned his back to me and proceeded to read ... "looks like we have a female fetus...." If we were on a sitcom, that's when the rewind sound would have played, the scene would have paused and I would have spoken directly to the audience. "What? Female Fetus? Where is the pink confetti, where are the balloons? Where is the 'Congratulations, you're having a girl'?" Okay, not that I expect a lot, but I really didn't expect to hear "female fetus." So he continued, and after clinically describing that my baby girl had a two line impression (don't ask, I don't know), but apparently this is good, he said to me that I was gaining too much weight. rewind sound, scene pauses and main character speaks directly into the camera: "Really? And when was the last time you were pregnant? Not to mention, I went several weeks and gained nothing, and just recently gained a few pounds all at once. And I should also note that I have only gained a total of 11 pounds - 20 weeks in." : The doctor continued, without asking any questions about my eating habits, diet or exercise routine to say that I should really stop sitting at my desk all day drinking juice and eat more apples. <Pause, main character speaks directly to camera: Really? cause I can't remember the last time I drank juice...And since when have you come to work with me? On my way out, I had to schedule my next four week appointment and the receptionist asked if Dr. No (whose real name will not be revealed to protect identities) would be okay. Needless to say...I will not be seeing that doctor again if I can help it.

I got over that experience (clearly....) although I was very concerned last week when I actually lost a pound. Seriously, though, I have gotten over it and have even decided a week and a half later that if Dr. No was on call when Amabo (I will explain later) comes into the world, that this would be okay, too. At least I would know what to expect ... he would clinically describe the labor process to me in terms that I didn't understand and then it would be over and I could embrace my child....so this is okay.

Next - OVERDRIVE
Holy crap! I read in my "What to Expect When You're Expecting" book that nesting would happen....in MONTH 9. Let's see. This is month 5, or something like that and I have been working in serious overdrive. After we found out that we were having a girl, I decided that EVERYTHING (and I mean everything) needs to be done now. It all started last Sunday when I opened the kitchen cabinet where our cups and glasses live and was astounded at what I saw. We have absolutely NO place to put any cups for the baby. I was so astounded in fact that I remarked loudly to Dan "Dan, Where are we going to put the cups for the baby?" Dan's response, "We'll figure it out." My response, "We don't use half of this stuff in here, we have to clean it out." Dan's response, "Okay, we will...." Clearly, Dan did not understand what I was saying. So, I pulled out a kitchen chair, climbed up on the counter and pulled everything out of the cabinet and went through each piece deciding whether we needed it or not. Poor Dan. There is much more of this type of behavior on the way. The pantry is on the list, the closets upstairs, and much much more that needs to be cleaned out.

Besides the crazy cleaning and discarding of stuff, I am also now accumulating many items. I went for so many weeks without actually embracing that this was happening that I am doing it all at once now. So here I am ... I am now the owner of a pack 'n' play, a crib, a crib mattress, and I am getting ready to purchase a glider rocker, ottoman and changing table. I obtained or will obtain all of these things within 7 days. I am hunting for bargains on ebay and craigslist and feel I must get this done now. Now, the real question - where am I going to put all of these things? The nursery is nowhere near ready for loading. In fact, it is currently a disheveled office while we wait for the bonus room above the garage to be finished. That room is about 5 weeks or more away from complete and after that happens, we will need to remove current items from the nursery, clean out the closet, and paint. So - I am thinking that will happen in February. I suppose that this means all of my newly acquired furniture will occupy the space in the garage that my car currently takes up...which means, I will have to be cold in the morning until my car warms up. Oh well, it is a small price to pay for piece of mind that my to do list is being marked off.

And finally Amabo (pronounced: "Ama-Bo"). There are so many people in the world that have opinions about thie pregnancy....how I should feel, how I shouldn't feel, what I should do, what I shouldn't do - the list goes on and on and on. And frankly, I am going to spare myself some additional opinions by not sharing the real name of this child until she is here - plus, what if we decide to change her name at the last minute ... I would hate to have to explain that to a bunch of people, too. We may divulge to a few close family and friends, but even that is up in the air. I can tell you that we do have a first name chosen and I believe we may even have a middle name, we definitely have a last name chosen, but Dan still wants a paternity test... So for now, our little girl will be called Amabo. For those of you who haven't figured it out - This is Obama backwards. And who knows...this name may stick...Amabo Crawford - That's a fine name!

Its a Girl

It’s a GIRL. I found my self in the ultrasound room, tears flowing down my face. I am shocked how excited I was to find out. Initially I would have bet anything, and my public statement was that “ I am breeding a boy, bottom line.” But inside, I knew I was indifferent, but the emotions that hit me when they told me was a surprise. I think in deepest part of my stomach, I wanted a girl. Enough on that, she is perfectly healthy; we like to request that we all stop calling her Area 51 baby and it. If you catch us doing that please gently remind us that she has feelings and we will save later stages in life to be called names by her peers.

Sentimentalism

I generally consider myself sentimental. I keep things from my past, I cry during all the appropriate parts of movies, books, etc...But, I am not sentimental about this whole pregnancy thing. So this had me thinking - what exactly is the dictionary definition of sentimental? Maybe I am missing something. Here is what I found:

1.	expressive of or appealing to sentiment, esp. the tender emotions and feelings, as love, pity, or nostalgia: a sentimental song.

2.	pertaining to or dependent on sentiment: We kept the old photograph for purely sentimental reasons.

3.	weakly emotional; mawkishly susceptible or tender: the sentimental Victorians.

4.	characterized by or showing sentiment or refined feeling.

Yep - that defines me in many other areas in life but not this one. So why is that? Why am I not expressive with tender emotions and feelings about this whole thing? During a conversation today at work, while looking at somebody's wedding pictures of the bride crying during the ceremony, I was asked "Does it remind you of your wedding?" My response, "Yes, but I wasn't crying." Really, I wasn't crying? I was surprised to hear myself say that, afterall, I am a sentimental person, but it is true - there were no tears on my wedding day. So why is this? It's because I am a planner. When it comes to big events, whether life changing or a trip to NY, I plan every detail, using excel spreadsheets, cataloging information in notebooks, etc... And here in lies one of the reasons that I am not sentimental about this whole baby thing.

Now, I have no doubt that once he or she is here, I will be saving everything from the baby's first spoon to the baby's first stuffed animal, to the baby's first (you name it). But for now, here is pretty much what I think about: Baby comes in early April. What does this mean?
November - finish bonus room walls and paint
- pick a day care and get on the waiting list
- amend budget for 2009 in order to pay for day care
- determine how much vacation time I have built up for maternity leave
December - Lay floor in bonus room and have furniture moved in by Christmas
- do this while preparing to host Thanksgiving and Christmas shop
- also put up all the Christmas decorations during this time
- don't forget the Christmas cards
- don't forget to speak with HR about maternity leave
December - Travel to Asheville
January - Begin working on nursery
- start thinking about showers, hosts, guest lists etc.
February - Finish Nursery
February - Attend maternity classes
March - attend "Breastfeeding for dummies"
March - wrap up job, figure out who can take over some of the day to day things
And finally: Do all of these planning things while I continue to work full time, building the Student Affairs development plan, put together trips for visiting prospects as well as events to find prospects in 3-4 major cities from February-April. Not to mention, that I still have things to do at the house, laundry, being a dog mom, a wife, etc..etc...

Now - I am not complaining, trust me! For the readers, you might say, "Just Relax...all of this stuff will get done." Well, frankly, I am not really worried about it getting done, because it will. And I know this, because I will plan to get it done and for me, there is no other way for it to happen. But, this is some insight into the way my brain works. I don't just sit and relax and enjoy the moment. Does this make me a bad person? You might think so, but I don't think it is really a bad thing. It is who I am. I also never do one thing at a time - so this is typical. Does it mean that I run ragged occasionally? Yes, but that is okay with me - I like to have a busy schedule.

A co-worker recently asked me if I was ok. I was surprised at this question. She said that I just looked doom and gloom now, not like a few months ago when I was smiley and happy. Hmmm...interesting assessment. I told her that I was just tired. And frankly I am. Now, don't get me wrong, I appreciate the "sentiment" of this person in asking how I was. But, this is also the same person who said something to the effect of "you should be so happy and glowing..." Well, happy I am, but glowing, doubtful. I am not glowing because I have a lot that I am thinking about right now and a lot I need to get done.

So, I know that there are a lot of women who loved being pregnant and also a lot of women who would like to say (or have already said to me) that this is a blessing and I ought to be happy. Well, I am happy and they are right - this is a blessing. But it is truly a means to a more miraculous end for me. And then, I can be sentimental...

The room is coming along nicely

Only a few more days and hopefully we will find out the sex of the area 51 baby. Not a day goes by that I don’t worry about this whole process. I think though, that is a good thing. I have tons of questions racing through my mind, and for every answer two more pop up. I really hope I don’t screw this up.

On another note, the work on the bonus room is progressing quite well. Today we finished the insulation installation and I think dry wall is the next step. I think its going to be a pretty decent room and cant wait for it to be finished.

S is starting a show a little more but remains petite to be 18 weeks along. There have been a couple of trips to the store that people in her condition shop, but a colleague of hers gave her some clothes the other day. If S had it her way, she would kick at home until it is born so she could just lounge all day in sweats. Unfortunately, not being independently wealthy this is not an option so having things she can wear to work is a good thing.

I am excited about all the things I want to do with it once it gets here. Last night was Halloween so I know that is a long ways away but I think that is going to be fun. As we went fast food this a.m. at McD’s I saw a man and his child going in, I want to do that. We went to a sheep herding trial today, I think that would be fun to do with it. SC is going to a show tomorrow, that might not be fun to do so it could stay with me and watch football (just joking, it could do what it wanted to)

Well Tuesday is the election so I wouldn’t expect much out of me till Friday. Peace. DC