Hopefully the diagnosis will be to eat a bowl of spinach dip and call back in the morning

Thankfully, thankfully, we're almost done with the organizing of the new apartment. Luke spent the first half of the day cursing at the elbow brackets and safety straps he had to attach to our new (Target) bookcases while I lay in bed with a pillow pressed to my stomach, crying from what I believe to be round ligament pain. My BabyCenter book was the only one that gave detailed explanations of what to expect, and it was the only reason I didn't leave a message with my ob/gyn's on-call doctor by noon. I was so afraid I'd done something to hurt the baby, replaying an incident on Sunday morning when I carried a sweater box into our bedroom and jabbed one of the corners into my right side. A warm bath helped a little, but today the pain is still there. Not constantly, but it hurts when I use the bathroom, when I pass gas, even when I get up from my chair. Like I said, I know this is normal (and possibly TMI for you), but to ease my mind, I placed a call to the office as soon as I got to work and left a message for the nurse, who'll call me before the end of the day.

I'll be eighteen weeks on Monday, and it feels like things are finally starting to pick up with this pregnancy. I can eat more (133 pounds, people!), I finally have a belly, we're on the cusp of learning the gender, and I should be feeling little Freke move any day now. I see newborns everywhere and wonder what ours will look like. My thoughts are occupied with which brand of breast pump to use, where to store dirty cloth diapers in our home, how long I want to labor without drugs, and when I should start writing in the blank journal I bought to document more private musings for the baby. If something happened at this point, when I'm almost halfway to the finish line, I don't know what I'd do.

Luckily, all of this brain activity is interspersed with jabbering to Luke about how much damn STUFF we seem to have.

The new apartment is working out for the most part, space-wise, but it's still a painful reminder that we've allowed ourselves to accumulate more material items than two people really need. More than half of our books are in storage, and the new media case we bought is smaller than the one we used in the old apartment, so all of our VHS tapes and a quarter of my CD collection have been designated to a plastic bin in Luke's closet, even though the majority of them haven't been played in at least a year. And much to his delight, we finally chucked every towel stained by one of my botched at-home pedicures. I've always prided myself on letting go of items that no longer hold any sort of emotional or practical value, so why was it so hard to say good-bye to a boom box that just gathers dust because we listen to all of our music on the computer? Why do I still own a copy of Soapdish?

Wait, I know the answer to that last one. The dialogue is funny enough to make me wet my pants. Plus, Robert Downey, Jr. is hot hot hot.

After this weekend, we should be completely settled, and I can move on to other phases of my life, like planning the curriculum for my blogging class. I've selected two books for assigned reading material, but I've only finished the first one. The more I think about this new venture, the more I worry that I'm in over my head; then I recall several of my own undergraduate professors and know with confidence that I can at least perform as well as they did. I won't be the most learned or most educated adjunct on Saint Joe's campus, but I'm enthusiastic about the subject matter and dedicated to present it in a way that'll hold students' interest even after the last class. That's a good start, at least.

Finally, because I know you totally care, I've decided to forgo a changing table. Instead, Luke and I are on board with getting our hands on a cradle for those early months, which will allow us to transport the baby into any room we choose and can also be used for diaper changings. Also, my mother- and father-in-law have graciously offered us the dresser they used for Luke when he was a baby, so we can cross that item off our list of "Major Things to Purchase," which seems to be growing longer every day.

And we love every minute of it.

Edited to add: Well, she didn't mention spinach dip, but my doctor returned my call personally to let me know everything I was experiencing was completely normal. We spoke for almost ten minutes. I love this practice.

Comments

[Gillian]

Could very well be a UTI, as well. :( Hope it's not! Those things are killer.

[Silly Hily]

Please keep us updated as soon as you hear from the nurse. I'm sure everything is fine but yeah, it never hurts to ease the mind.
Less than one week until we find out what little Freke is!!! Are you already giving prep talks? Making sure the goods, or lack of, can be seen?

[Molly]

Make sure you put me on speed-dial for when you're on the way out of the ultrasound next week. Well, after your family (minus your mom), that is. :O)

I remember round ligament pain. It seemed to help me to curl up in a little ball at my desk while my preschool class took over the room. I was the best teacher ever, I tell you. Ten more weeks and you'll enter the territory where you feel like the baby's physically digging through your pelvic floor to get out. And at that point, you just might invite him/her to bring it on already.

I know I say this all the time, but I can't believe you're so far along! This pregnancy is flying by for me (how about you?) And I'm so damn excited for you guys!!

[Isabel]

Holy crap...sorry to hear that you are uncomfortable. I don't know anything about that. Geez.

18 weeks, really? Dude, time has flown by. I can't wait to find out the sex.

Good luck with the continued unpacking. Not fun, but necessary!

[Liza]

Sorry about the round ligament pain!

I have reviews of all 5 pumps I used here: http://lizawashere.com/nursing-pumping-gear-faq-reviews/ but the bottom line is this: Get an Avent Isis manual for backup, and I recommend the Ameda Purely Yours over the Medela Pump In Style as a main electrical pump, but if someone offers you their old PIS, take it. I also can't say enough good things about the Mother's Milk Mate storage system over plastic bag storage.

Cloth diapers are stinkier than I expected. I have a zippered Wahmie wet bag and I think I'm going to get a garbage can with a lid to keep it in, instead of leaving it hanging on the bathroom door.

[cagey]

Oh, I feel you......I've had more than my fair share of bouts with ligament pain during both of my pregnancies. In fact, the other night, I thought I was going into labor, but then realized "hey, this contraction isn't GOING AWAY". Yep, it was ligament pain and I must have twisted oddly in my sleep. Also, since you have been moving, you may have been bending over far more than you think, that will pull the ligaments, too (especially that one at the BACK of the uterus, I have to be careful of that in particular).

Try not to stress about the changing table - how about this? don't buy one now, and if you find that you could use one, you can always still go and buy one. There is no rule that you can't buy more stuff after your baby comes. Of course, the giant baby stores make it sound like that's not an option, but trust me, IT IS. You can always buy even more crapola for your precious wee one after they've arrived. hee hee :-)

Hang in there - moving is rough anyway, much less when you are pregnant. Cripes!

[Rachel]

Ugh!!! Round ligament pain hurts!!!! Just keep in mind the next time any little thing is bothering you: you are paying your doctor's office. Paying them to take care of you and your baby! Do NOT hesitate to call them, they are very used to it.

[Audrey]

Glad everything's normal. I say have a bowl of spinach dip to celebrate!

[Professor Art Nerd]

Sorry about the round ligament pain. I am having what I believe to be first-time-I've-ovulated-in-about-8-years pains, myself.

As for the blogging class- lady, I'm here for you. Always email me if you need support or to talk about fears. I'm starting a new class on Monday and damn near freaking out about it. And what you're feeling is normal- few of us have training for this, and it's scary as hell. But you can totally do it!

[Silly Hily]

Fabulous! Thanks for the update.

[ken and belly]

Thought I'd put in a good word for the Lansinoh double electric pump. I think it's the new kid on the pumping block and it's giving the standards a run for their money. It's a closed, easy-to-clean system that is easily portable (works great with just batteries, too). I think Drugstore.com has the best price.

(I can't believe I'm de-lurking to recommend a breast pump. Weird.)

[Stacey]

My Medela pump in style has been through a friend's nursing, and my first two babies, and is still going strong. So there's my two cents.

And I'll just second everyone above...round ligament pain bites. Ouuuuuuch.