I’ve been so stressed and focused on work I haven’t been thinking straight. I guess sometimes when your heart breaks, your head starts to work a little better.
Last week at the end of a really long day I was done. DONE. I could’ve sworn Satan had me by the feet and had been dragging me across the earth the past few days. I was being a real peach lemme’ tell ya. There was nothing I wasn’t complaining about.
As I was leaving work my long-time friend and co-worker, John was rushing out the door into the parking lot. I’d never seen him look that way. Fear. It was fear on his face. I said, “Hey, are you okay?” “No,” he said. “Kristen lost the baby.” They had been happily going through the first trimester. I was so excited for them.
He rushed by me, explaining what the doctor had said earlier this week and how they were headed to the emergency room. He turned back to look at me. Our faces met, green eyes to green eyes. We’ve always joked we could be brother and sister with our fair skin and dark hair.
I broke. Through tears I said, “Oh John, I’m so sorry.” He broke. I let him fall on my shoulder. We stood there crying, not saying anything. Maybe it was my round belly. But, I think he knew I understood. At that moment we weren’t old friends. We weren’t co-workers. We were future parents, we we scared, and we were sad.
I told him Greyson and I would be there for them if they needed us. I sat in my car a little longer after he drove away. I cried, and prayed, thanking God for a healthy pregnancy so far. I did nothing to deserve it. I realized all I had been worried about didn’t really matter. What matters is this little life I’m taking care of.
Disclaimer: John and Kristen gave me permission to tell their story. Thinking of them and hoping for better days.
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Up until a few days ago I had only ever heard the terms “sciatica” or “sciatic nerve” vaguely in conversations between people who were somebody’s great aunt or something. (Hey, maybe that will be my blog in like 40 years “Somebody’s Great Aunt”. I’m accepting tagline suggestions.)
It doesn’t really matter whether I’m walking, standing, sitting, laying down, or getting in any other positions humans assume on an average day. IT FREAKING HURTS! It’s like this shooting/pinching feeling on my left side at the top of my butt crack. (Sorry folks, I’m past being subtle.)
So, I went to
baby books, and
my doctor replacement the
Internet, for help. From all I’ve read, this sciatic thing is pretty common. (I’m considering it a precursor to the carnage that is to come in labor.) I narrowed it down from other lower back afflictions to sciatica. I really think that’s the issue. Apparently my womb with baby is pressing down on said nerve. I’ve received several pieces of advice including….
-prenatal massage
-acupuncture
-swimming
-physical therapy
-Tylenol
Tomorrow I really am calling the doctor, with hopes I won’t have to use the word “sciatica” until I am indeed somebody’s great aunt. Don’t worry, I’ll blog all about it. That is, if I haven’t gotten on your nerves by then.
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So if you read my last post you’d see I had an insane work week. So, on a Saturday night, (I know, I’m a party animal.) I thought I’d take a look back at the week before. We were on vacation with my family at the beach. I needed the look back at fun times. Here’s a little tale of our wacky adventures if you missed it. Happy weekend!
“You know it’s love when you want to keep holding hands even after you’re sweaty.” -Anonymous
“Going to California Carolina with an aching in my heart. Someone told me there’s a girl out there With love in her eyes and flowers in her hair. “
-Led Zeppelin (sort of)
“Happiness is a warm puppy.” -Charles Schultz
“There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents … and only one for birthday presents, you know.”– Lewis Carroll
“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” -Albert Einstein
“Julie and Kevin are home! That’s my real birthday present!” -Amy
“The family that plays Wii Dance together, stays together.” -Greyson
“When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses.” ~Joyce Brothers
“Always keep a song in your heart. It’s like karaoke for the voices in your head.” -Robert Fulton Abernethy
“Yeah we’re two of a kind, working on a full house.” -Garth Brooks
“If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater. . . suggest that he wear a tail.”
– Fran Lebowitz
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Okay, so this is not how I wanted to start my third trimester. (Oh God! Third trimester! I have so much to do.) Anyway, I am under a TREMENDOUS amount of stress at work right now. I’m on an assignment that has me working 12 hours a day and not getting all the rest I want. I’m really quite miserable to be around. I have beat myself up endlessly for not keeping up with #31DBBB. I have not even logged on to my personal computer in over 3 days.
This is what I realized…..
I can’t do it. I can’t do it all. I have to deal with this work stuff. The best I can do is catch up this weekend. I have SO much to tell you. Please bear with me.
This was the highlight of my day. Rita posted this on my blog today…
“I passed on an award (well three) to you. http://www.measmom.com/and-the-awards-go-to/”
Go check her out. See ya’ll this weekend.
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Our task for #31DBBB today is to write an opinion post. I am chock full of opinions on things that matter to baby mamas and baby mamas-to-be, but I had trouble narrowing it down. Then a light from heaven shown down on my laptop, guiding me to today’s topic.
A supermodel decided to share with us what she thinks about breastfeeding, thus making everyone super pissed off.
Gisele Bundchen, the world’s highest paid model.
First of all, quick civics lesson folks. There’s no such thing as a “worldwide law”. That right there brings me to my opinion for this post. It has nothing to do with actual breastfeeding.
My opinion is, we shouldn’t care what celebrities think about breastfeeding. I think it’s great that she want’s to breastfeed her son. More power to her. I think it’s also fine for someone to feed their baby formula. Go for it. If I want an expert opinion on haute couture clothes, high fashion, or modeling, Gisele’s my girl. She’s at the top of her game there. But, Gisele is a supermodel married to an NFL Quarterback. If she were one of the world’s leading pediatricians married to a Nobel Prize winner, then she’d have my attention with her opinions on infant rearing.
I know what you’re thinking. “But, Amy remember when you got all bent out of shape when you wrote
this post after Rabbi Shmuley
spouted off about whether breast is best?” Yes, I did, but he’s a guy Oprah brings on as an expert in family life and raising children. Naturally, that will raise more eyebrows.
None of this is to say that celebrity opinions are not valuable. They can bring to light some really important topics for mothers. Tom Cruise or no Tom Cruise, look at all Brooke Shields has done for
raising awareness of Postpartum Depression.
Another article this week featuring Gisele brought up the PPD issue again. Gwenyth Paltrow and Bryce Dallas Howard both shared their PPD stories. This could be incredibly helpful for many women and maybe influence them to get help.
Gisele did come back on her
blog defending her comments. (Please note the fantastic layout with gorgeous pictures of her doing yoga and watering flowers and crap like that. I guess that’s what she does when she’s not modeling her valuable and nutritionally sound boobs for Victoria’s Secret.)
There you go fellow mom bloggers on #3DBBB. All you have to do is be worth $150 million dollars and do a controversial interview in Harper’s Bazaar to have a blog where hundreds of people come to comment. Here we are doing all this work in a blog challenge! Psshhh! We are fools! If only we listened more to our supermodels!
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