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April 22, 2014

You know when all the magazines, books and all your friends begin to tell you that the second trimester of your pregnancy will be this euphoric honeymoon filled with bunnies and sunshine? You’ll gain all your energy back, you’ll glow with perfect skin and shiny hair, you’ll basically be able to take on the world and find the solution for world peace… You know what I think? I think they have all conspired against me (and the rest of the pregnant population) and are partially lying.

Yes, I gained some energy back – but instead of reorganizing furniture, cleaning my gutters, hand washing my car in the front drive or crocheting a blanket – I took all those 4 extra minutes of energy and spent them eating everything in my kitchen. Literally, everything. You know you’ve hit a low in your adult life when your husband catches you eating a grilled cheese in the bathtub late at night. I was caught, like a deer in headlights, enjoying the ooey-gooey-cheesy goodness (in PEACE!) when he “thought something was wrong” and busted in the bathroom like Hercules. No, nothing was wrong. It’s just me, your wife, sitting in the bubble-less tub, eating a golden crispy grilled cheese at 9:20 p.m. I figured I would rather get crumbs in the drainable tub and multi-task (I am becoming a mom right?) than waste any more precious time by having tub time pre or post grilled cheese. Men – then just don’t get it.

So besides eating everything in sight (HEB is still in business because of me) and also thinking about going over to the neighbor’s house to eat their food, since they have a teenage boy and I can assume their pantry is well stocked, one lovely pregnancy symptom decided to rear its annoying little head, headaches. I’m not prone to headaches, and now I can say with true humbleness – those who are headache sufferers, I don’t know how you manage. Anything I did gave me a headache! Reading, driving, cooking, thinking, feeding the dogs. I succumbed to my ailment and decided to pull one of the limited “Can you do this for me” cards I have during my pregnancy – and handed over my domestic duties to my husband. I literally would lie in bed for hours just thinking about what I could do, to make the ache behind my eyeballs go away. I am not a girl who enjoys taking medicine (crazy I work at TCH and all the doctors reading this are putting me on their black list), but my philosophy is: if you are vomiting or bleeding to death – then it’s OK to pop an Advil. I waddled over to our measly medicine cabinet, took out a Tylenol and a steak knife, and proceeded to cut the pill in half. My husband walked in, took one look at me with a steak knife and pill bottle, and briskly walked right out. When this brilliant idea didn’t do jack for my headache – I finally sent a message via the TCH-MyChart App to my OB nurse at the Pavilion, who is on Dr. Ivey’s team. She immediately called me and said “Wait Kelli, you actually cut the Tylenol pill in half? (I think I heard her and the rest of the third floor Pavilion laughing) “That’s really not going to do anything.” I was defeated by her giggles and the Tylenol bottle that was staring and mocking me. Finally, under her direction, I took a whole two Tylenol pills and whaa-laa, headache gone. Doctors are miracle workers! I secretly continued to say I was achy, so my sweet and doting husband would feed the dogs, and clean up the bathroom since there were grilled cheese crumbs pretty much everywhere. The moral of this story: headaches are terrible, food is awesome, but the TCH – Pavilion OB Staff is incredible and the MyChart App is a lifesaver! If you don’t have it, download it! My nurse replied to my cries for help, within minutes.

One thing I will say about the second trimester that is AMAZING, is feeling the first little kick. I was sitting in the parking lot, otherwise known as 610 at San Felipe, when I felt this teeny tiny flick. I immediately stopped singing Foreigner at the top of my lungs, and waited in silence for more flicks. About two more flicks happened, then little Baby Calderwood decided it had enough exercise for one day. It was truly amazing. I called my husband at work and was screaming on the phone like a little girl who sees Cinderella’s castle for the very first time up close and personal. Again, I think he is keeping a list of all my crazies so he has evidence when I say “I’ve never acted like that.” Anyway, it was a blessing and a miracle to feel those teeny tiny flicks. Ever since that day, Baby Calderwood has made it a habit to give me at least a few good kicks during the day.

In the last week my mind has been preoccupied with flowers, dresses and bows. We recently found out that Baby Calderwood is a GIRL! Of course my husband and I would be SUPER excited with any baby the stork wanted to bring us – but I think having a girl is really special. WE GET ANOTHER ME! (Just what my husband has always wanted.) My husband looked at me in the gender appointment, like he had just been hit with a Taser and said, “But the money – jewelry and weddings…… and boys.” I laughed pretty hard (at him, not with him) and told him to relax; we had some time before all that happened. He quickly snapped back with, “You didn’t know me as a little boy – we start flirting with the ladies early”….. So while Rico Suave comes up with a master plan of how to keep our beautiful baby girl out of the prowling eyes of toddler boys – I’ll keep awaiting her August arrival (and buying her bows and dresses!) Seven more weeks till the third trimester – then it’s game time!

Lastly, we decided to name our sweet baby girl, Amelia Grace Calderwood.

To read the first trimester experiences again, click here. Comment below and tell us what most shocked you about pregnancy!

March 18, 2014

For a first time pregnant woman (not calling myself a mom yet) pregnancy is a beautiful thing. Yet, there are things about pregnancy that no one cared to share. They are the mishaps that I shared (unfortunately) with my patient and saint-like husband. Thankfully, it has made our marriage stronger than ever to go through it all together. Here is an inside look at the unexpected journey of the first trimester. The things friends don’t tell you and books don’t explain (or maybe they do and I haven’t read the right ones yet).

I’ve cried through a sad movie or two pre-pregnancy. However nothing warned me about the emotional changes that happen during pregnancy. Let me give you two fun examples.

Example #1: I love cream cheese, even more now that Baby Calderwood loves cream cheese. I could eat it on anything, in a box, with a fox, you name it! Cream cheese (in my household) may be the solution to finding world peace. I was dancing happily, waiting for my toaster to pop out these two golden brown, crispy and crunchy bagel slices – when I danced over to the refrigerator. I opened the door and took my first look… No cream cheese? Don’t panic. The world is still spinning. Let’s thoroughly investigate every shelf and drawer. No cream cheese! It was in this exact moment that the world, as I knew it, came crashing down. My poor husband must have thought a tragic event was taking place, well it was – we didn’t have any cream cheese for my golden, crispy, crunchy bagel. I cannot begin to describe the massive alligator tears that streamed down my face. The inconsolable sobbing and mourning of my dear cream cheese. I was crying so hard – I could barely breathe. My husband stood in the door way of our kitchen, with this stupid smirk on his face and said “Babe – just put some butter on the bagel, we can get some cream cheese in the morning.” That’s when the tears instantly turned to rage. Who did he think he was? The master of bagel making? Without stopping the vocal force in my throat, I let out a “LEAVE ME ALONE.” The screaming sob could be compared to a toddler. I should have thrown myself on the floor for a more dramatic appeal. Hindsight is 20/20. To sum up the story – pregnancy and hormone changes can rear their little heads at any given moment. You must be prepared. In my case, we keep cream cheese stocked like our kitchen is an Einstein Bagel joint.

Example #2: (this one’s for the husbands). Pregnancy can make a woman crazy lovey-dovey. There have been moments when I look at my husband and I could squeeze him so hard, just because I love him so much. He’s my perfection. One evening, while watching TV, we sat side by side on our couch, in our ‘reserved seating.’ He was reading on his iPad, I was flipping back and forth from the Olympics and a Law & Order Marathon. I noticed him out of the corner of my eye, and found myself oogly eyed staring at him. I reached out my hand and sheepishly said “Do you want to hold my hand?” and I gave him my best smile…. His reply… “Not really.” The emotions instantaneously boiled behind my eyeballs and alligator tears shot out like firing missiles. Hysterically, I sobbed and said “All I want to do was hold your hand because I love you and I think you are so special to me and I can’t believe you don’t want to hold my hand and I’m tired and going to bed” – All like that, all in one glorious run on sentence. He stared at me in disbelief and started to nervously giggle. He said, “Oh hun – don’t cry I just didn’t want to hold your hand, I’m reading. Why are you crying?” All I could say between hyperventilating sobs was “BECAUSE I LOVE YOU,” and then, within minutes I was asleep. I am convinced that my husband thinks I am an impersonator who escaped a mental institution. Moral of the story: If your highly emotional pregnant wife wants to hold your hand on the couch. Do it.

So moral of my two fun fact stories? The first trimester brings on a whole new level of sensitivity, tears and sleepiness. Tears that haven’t been produced by my tear ducts since I was 4 years old and I couldn’t get a toy in the checkout line. And naps consistent with a 1 week old or a narcoleptic.

I’m excited to experience this pregnancy and share it with all of you on Bump Watch. I know many of you have had the “Pavilion experience” and I am eager to experience it for myself. Let me know if you have any suggestions for when I get there! For now, let’s see what the second trimester brings!