Ballpark Trip 2008

We've decided to hit Yankee Stadium next summer. I guess '08 is the last season before the team gets a new ballpark. It'll be fun because I love NYC and Jason has never been there. I already know where we're going to stay, now we just have to wait until March 1st for the 2008 schedule to come out!!!

Traveling with an infant (the baby is going to be about 10 months old) is going to be a challenge but we have to do it. If we're going to travel once a year to a park, then we might as well break him in early. This could get interesting....We haven't decided if we're going to fly or drive. My vote is to fly. I'd rather take my chances on a 2 hour flight than an 8 or 9 hour drive.

I'm excited and it's a whole year away!!

Prenatal Appointment #5

I truly wonder why I'm still seeing this OB/GYN. Jason and I had our prenatal appointment last week and I still am not totally comfortable with this doctor. Firstly, his staff just seems so miserable. No one smiles, no one seems happy to see pregnant women, no one seems to even act fake around patients. Whenever I have an appointment, I'm never instructed on what to do. Although I know I'm going to get weighed, have my blood pressure checked and pee in a cup. I've started my own routine. Instead of following the assistant, I walk directly to the scale, sit next to the blood-pressure-taker-machine and go to the bathroom. What irritates me is whenever I step out of the bathroom the assistant has already directed Jason into an exam room and I have no idea which one it is. So I walk around like an idiot until I find him. That really bugs me.

Anyway, back to last week's appointment:

The doctor comes in and asks us if we're interested in getting the triple screen test done. WTF?! I must have had the dirtiest look on my face because this was the conversation:
Idiot Doctor (ID): Is something wrong?
Diana Stark (DS): Yes, we were offered the test during my first trimester and we declined it. Why are we being asked again?
ID: Well, your chart says you're 15 weeks.
DS: No, I'm 25 weeks - almost my THIRD trimester.
ID (looking at his assistant): Who's the idiot that wrote this?
DS: That idiot reflects poorly on you as a doctor. You've been seeing me every month since March so you should know that I'm past 15 weeks.
ID: I was wondering why you looked so big if you were 15 weeks.

After about 2 seconds of silence (a blessing at this point because I just wanted to call him an incompetent asshole and leave) I asked if we were still scheduled to talk to the nurse (his wife) about family history. "Oh yeah, yeah. Sure." Basically, thanks for the reminder. GRRRR

Didn't get the ultrasound I was supposed to have (because of the hypothyroidism) but that didn't bother me too much because I didn't want to give him the pleasure of charging our insurance for another $300.

I'm fed up with his unprofessional attitude. Have you, or anyone you know, changed doctors in the middle of a pregnancy??? HELP!

Celebrating Independence

Despite the craziness of the world, let's not forgot how lucky we are to live in this wonderful country. Happy 4th of July everyone!

Prenatal Appointment #4

During yesterday's appointment, the ultrasound confirmed that we're having a boy. After 5 seconds of silence and one tear later, I was happy. I have to admit, I knew all along that we're having a boy. I still wanted a girl.

The measurements of the fluid sac, head, femur and base of the skull were normal. The heartbeat was/is 143, which is very good. The normal range is 120 to 180. The baby cooperated very nicely for the ultrasound. He's laying across my belly with his head on my left and feet on the right. Although it seemed like he was flipping during the ultrasound. We got an image of his profile, face (that is still way freaky to me), feet, manhood and hands. It was kind of funny because he was kicking and moving a lot. Based on the measurements, I'm 20 w and 6 d. That will probably guarantee that he will be born in October. I hope. Jason was all puffed up and beating his chest since he's having a son. He was really sweet to me since he knew that I was minutely upset about not having a daugher. At least it guarantees we'll have a second child!!

All in all, I was really happy to hear that the baby appears to be in good health and normal.

Yesterday's ultrasound would've been the last for a "normal" pregnancy, but because I have hypothyroidism, I'll have an ultrasound every month until the baby is born. The doctor wants to monitor the baby's size and development. That's fine with me!

Now time to paint! More next month......

Why are people so irritating?

One of my friends, Mandy, approached me a couple of weeks ago to start talking about the baby shower. We've been throwing ideas around about date, place, food, etc. Nothing too concrete. I know that Jason's aunts will "throw" a shower for me since they do for every nephew in the family. So far not one aunt has called me yet.

I decided to take yesterday (Thursday) off from work to focus on getting a date and place set for the baby shower. My first choice, our church hall, is booked for the entire months of September and October (Saturdays and Sundays). STRIKE 1. That sucks. Since I'm very organized and extremely anal about planning stuff, I started to panic [slightly]. I told Mandy on Tuesday about trying to get a place so that I don't worry about it anymore. She offered to call around to community centers, restaurants and banquet halls to get pricing. Thank God for teachers and summer vacations!!

She called me on Wednesday and gave me a list of 4 places to choose from. Two were definitely off the list because of price. One place was charging $14/person and that didn't even include soft drinks (just coffee and tea). Yeah right. The other place charged $16/person and that included drinks. I'm sorry, but we paid $30/person for our wedding. I can not see paying that kind of money for a baby shower. Sorry baby. Anyway, I checked out the other two places yesterday and neither of them really struck me as outstanding. I picked the better of the two. The place is slightly outdated with its paint job and small kitchen set up, but I think I can overlook it....I think. The smell was slightly musty because I'm sure the facility isn't used every weekend. Nothing a few Plug-ins can't fix. I'm beginning to realize that I am WAY too particular about details.

So, the baby shower is planned for a Saturday at the end of September. Now for the irritating part:

I get a phone call from one of Jason's aunts telling me that she's "upset that I went to Mandy to plan the shower instead of talking to the aunts". Why? I didn't approach Mandy to plan my baby shower. Mandy approached me. Which I'm grateful for because obviously we didn't plan enough ahead or else we'd have the shower at Mount Carmel. Anyway, I tried to explain the situation with Mandy just wanting to gather ideas and to book the place since we've already run into a road block with my first choice. The rest of the details can be planned whenever and by whomever. Does this really have to be a big deal??? Jason's aunt said that I should've approached them if I wanted to start planning the shower. Firstly, I'm not going to call one of Jason's aunts and say, "when are you going to plan my shower?". Secondly, it shouldn't be my responsibility to plan my shower. THEY should approach ME. Right? I will be more than happy to tell them what I want and have them plan it. Plus, it's a little more complicated b/c I am having only one shower. That includes my family, too. So instead of planning for 50 or 60 people, they're going to have to plan for about 80 to 90 people. She said that they weren't thinking about plans for the shower until sometime in July and have the shower in October. Um, no. Reminder: I'm due November 8. I don't want a shower 3 weeks before my due date. What if the baby is early? I want my shower in September. Am I being too crazy? Again, why does this have to be a big deal? Maybe if they would've talked to me about it instead of assuming the shower would be in October, then we wouldn't be having this discussion. I'm not mad though.

To make matters worse, Jason's mom is in Charleston until July 3rd so I can't talk to her about it. She'll be the peace maker :)

Let the answering machine get it

A message left on my answering machine today:

"Hi Diana, this is Hazel from Mount Carmel. I'm sorry to tell you this, but I was looking at the wrong month when I told you the hall was available for your shower on the 23rd. I was on October instead of September. Please let me know if you have another date in mind. Again, I'm sorry."

Yeah, me too. It's only June and September is pretty much booked up for us - with the exception of the 23rd. Now I'm probably going to be forced to do one of two things: 1. have the shower at the beginning of October (which I was trying to avoid in the first place), 2. have the shower somewhere else. I guess I'll call Hazel and see what she can do. Maybe I'll entertain the idea of having the shower on a Saturday. Has anyone attended a shower on a Saturday? If so, then let me know.

I feel much better now.

Prenatal Appointment #3 & Pet Peeves

Does anything ever happen during these appointments?? Jason and I spent more time in the waiting room than with the doctor. Geez.

Everything is going well so far. Basically, he asked how I've been feeling and that was pretty much it. He also asked about any spotting or cramping; which I haven't experienced either at that time. He checked the baby's heartbeat and was done. Had blood drawn to check Rh compatibility. We were in and out in about 20 minutes. I wish I made $70 in 20 minutes. Things are going well. I'm starting to "stick out" and not even trying to conceal the belly anymore. It's actually kind of amusing.

Pregnancy pet peeve #1: Touching my belly - Only 1 person in this whole world is allowed to touch my belly without permission and that's Jason. If you're not Jason (Stark, that is), then you MUST ask permission. Even then I reserve the right to say 'no', depending upon my mood.

Pregnancy pet peeve #2: Pointing out my weight gain - Honestly, I think I look pretty good for almost 5 months preggers. Yes, I've gained weight (~10-15 lbs). You don't have to point that out to me. I have a closet full of clothes that don't fit right now. That is my daily reminder. Thank you.

Pregnancy pet peeve #3: Asking about names - I apologize to all my friends who've had children and I've asked you this very question. We still have 4 months to go (hopefully). You'll find out then.

Pregnancy pet peeve #4: Asking about the baby's room - See logic mentioned above.

Pregnancy pet peeve #5: Asking if I feel anything yet - Can't I enjoy *something* without 100 people asking about it? I feel flutters and indigestion. Is that good enough?!

Pregnancy pet peeve #6: Asking if I know what we're having - If I did, I'm not telling anyone. So there.

Pregnancy pet peeve #7: Asking if I'm ready to be a mom - Let's seriously think about this. Um, if I'm not, then I have 4 months to prepare. If I'm not ready then, then I have to fake it. What kind of question is that, really?

Pregnancy pet peeve #8: Asking how close the next one will be - Are you kidding me? Let's focus on our first child.

Pregnancy pet peeve #9: Treating me like I'm an invalid - I can do things for myself, really I can. I'll let you know if I don't feel comfortable doing something.

Pregnancy pet peeve #10: Treating me like I have 'outs' for everything - No, not true. I can't eat whatever I want. No, I can't drink carbonated/caffeinated drinks whenever I want. No, I can't sit on my a$$ all day long. I can only do these things if I want to weigh 250 lbs, have gestational diabetes and feel miserable at 8 and 9 months pregnant. I don't eat cheeseburgers w/ large fries and a Mountain Dew. I don't drink coffee anymore (that one hurts). I walk. Why? Because being proactive now will save me a lot of heartache later :)

More updates to come......