Last Friday everything finally came together and we closed on our new house. Things didn't quite go as smoothly as we'd been hoping, but at the end of the day everything worked out.
The previous owner moved out the Sunday before we closed, so Kevin and our realtor were able to do a walkthrough on Monday to make sure everything was still working. Kevin said the house was a mess, but there was a cleaning service scheduled to come through on Tuesday. Then our realtor did one final walkthrough on Friday, about an hour before we signed all the papers. While the house had been cleaned, the air conditioner had stopped working.
Luckily, we caught the broken A/C before we signed anything. We were able to add a condition to get it fixed: the owner would hold $2000 in escrow to be used against repairs and we would use her warranty before calling in anyone else. Negotiating that stretched our closing out to almost 2 hours. Although we also had a whole lot of paperwork to go through. I must have signed or initialed 200 pieces of paper during the meeting. But by the end we got our keys and we were able to go see the house.
Without air conditioning, we didn't want to hang out too long. But we loaded the car with a few boxes, picked up sandwiches, and went over to the new house. Kevin brought a bottle of champagne, too, and I had a couple of sips to celebrate.
We aren't officially moving in until the 22nd. We hired movers to take all of our furniture, because we're past the point of bribing friends with pizza and beer to help us move. We just have too much stuff now. But we are trying to get a decent amount of moving done ourselves. There are things that are awkward or fragile to pack and easy enough for us to move. I'm actually amazed at how much progress we're making in these little trips. And it helps that we can unpack it all right and put it away immediately. I'm hoping it makes the entire process go smoother and faster.
I'm really excited about our new house. It'll be nice to have more land and privacy than we currently do in the townhome. And the living room won't be doubling as Kevin's office anymore, so we can spread out a bit more. Plus the kitchen is everything I ever wanted in a kitchen. Now we just have to move in and unpack, then we can start focusing on the kid.
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Itching
At my 24-week appointment, I'd intended to ask my doctor if it was normal to have as many stretch marks as I did. They essentially covered my belly at that point, though I didn't have any on my thighs or breasts. But then we started talking about my elevated risk for gestational diabetes, and the stretch marks flew right out of my mind. Besides, she'd looked at my belly in order to measure it. She'd have said something if it was abnormal, right?
A few days later, my belly started itching. I poked around on the internet, like I do with every new symptom, and found out that this was fairly common. Skin dries out more easily when it stretches, so it gets itchier. I upped my moisturizing regimen and tried to power through. Over the weekend I bought some cocoa butter, hoping that using it in addition to the shea butter would help.
At the glucose test, I was concentrating on giving blood. I've been dizzy in the mornings, and I wanted to make sure that I didn't faint. Besides which, I saw a technician instead of the doctor. And the internet had assured me that the itching was normal. So even though my stretch marks had become inflamed, turning my entire stomach red and angry, I didn't think to bring it up.
The next morning the itchiness and apparent stretch marks had spread to my thighs. I thought it was strange for the stretch marks to appear all at once overnight, but what do I know? They were supposed to be there all along, maybe it just took a while for my body to catch up.
The itching was bordering on unbearable at this point. I was putting on shea butter in the morning and cocoa butter in the evening. I have regular old body lotion at my desk at work, which I was applying 2 or 3 times during the day. And every time I woke up to pee in the night I was putting on more lotion, lest the itchiness keep me awake. Even then, it was managing to wake me up on all it's own. So I did what any millennial would do in my situation.
I complained on Facebook.
A friend of mine who had recently been pregnant herself and is a doctor to boot asked if I had the rash. I responded no, but it got me thinking. So I looked it up and started learning about PUPPP, or pregnancy rash. (I can't for the life of me remember what all those Ps stand for). It matched. The symptoms were the same and all the pictures looked familiar.
Of course, an internet diagnosis isn't a real diagnosis, even if having an answer made me feel better. So I called my OB and described my symptoms. She asked me to come into the office, which required shuffling my work schedule around, but I made it work. And then she told me that it's too early for the rash to be pregnancy-related and that I should make an appointment with my regular doctor. It felt like a complete waste of a morning, though she did give me permission to start using a cortisone cream.
The good news is that I am feeling better now. The rash has vanished from my stomach and it's become less itchy elsewhere. The last couple of weeks were rough, and I still have no idea what caused the rash. But it seems that it wasn't PUPPP, since the only cure for that is to give birth. My best guess at this point is that it was heat-related and the cortizone (and aloe and cocoa butter and shea butter) helped clear it up. At least I'll know what to try if it does come back.
A few days later, my belly started itching. I poked around on the internet, like I do with every new symptom, and found out that this was fairly common. Skin dries out more easily when it stretches, so it gets itchier. I upped my moisturizing regimen and tried to power through. Over the weekend I bought some cocoa butter, hoping that using it in addition to the shea butter would help.
At the glucose test, I was concentrating on giving blood. I've been dizzy in the mornings, and I wanted to make sure that I didn't faint. Besides which, I saw a technician instead of the doctor. And the internet had assured me that the itching was normal. So even though my stretch marks had become inflamed, turning my entire stomach red and angry, I didn't think to bring it up.
The next morning the itchiness and apparent stretch marks had spread to my thighs. I thought it was strange for the stretch marks to appear all at once overnight, but what do I know? They were supposed to be there all along, maybe it just took a while for my body to catch up.
The itching was bordering on unbearable at this point. I was putting on shea butter in the morning and cocoa butter in the evening. I have regular old body lotion at my desk at work, which I was applying 2 or 3 times during the day. And every time I woke up to pee in the night I was putting on more lotion, lest the itchiness keep me awake. Even then, it was managing to wake me up on all it's own. So I did what any millennial would do in my situation.
I complained on Facebook.
A friend of mine who had recently been pregnant herself and is a doctor to boot asked if I had the rash. I responded no, but it got me thinking. So I looked it up and started learning about PUPPP, or pregnancy rash. (I can't for the life of me remember what all those Ps stand for). It matched. The symptoms were the same and all the pictures looked familiar.
Of course, an internet diagnosis isn't a real diagnosis, even if having an answer made me feel better. So I called my OB and described my symptoms. She asked me to come into the office, which required shuffling my work schedule around, but I made it work. And then she told me that it's too early for the rash to be pregnancy-related and that I should make an appointment with my regular doctor. It felt like a complete waste of a morning, though she did give me permission to start using a cortisone cream.
The good news is that I am feeling better now. The rash has vanished from my stomach and it's become less itchy elsewhere. The last couple of weeks were rough, and I still have no idea what caused the rash. But it seems that it wasn't PUPPP, since the only cure for that is to give birth. My best guess at this point is that it was heat-related and the cortizone (and aloe and cocoa butter and shea butter) helped clear it up. At least I'll know what to try if it does come back.
Friday, July 8, 2016
A Quiet Holiday
Kevin and I did almost nothing to celebrate the 4th of July this year, and it was glorious.
Usually we'll take any excuse to grill some burgers and have friends over. But the grill is already packed away, and we're not buying any more charcoal until after the move. We can't host anything right now as we may have to clean and vacate the house with very little notice. Plus, this has been the first weekend in a while when we could just sprawl on couches and catch up on TV.
We did go out Friday night. Kevin got free tickets to Kinky Boots at The Kennedy Center. It was fun, though hard to hear the actors. Especially when they were singing. I'm not sure if it was a sound mixing problem or what, but it distracted some from the show. Lola was amazing, as he should be. He stole every single scene he was in. The rest was more or less forgettable. But it was fun to go out.
We went out a couple of more times, mostly to get food. We're trying to work our way through the pantry right now and now buy too much stuff that will be difficult to move. It's maybe a little premature for that, since we aren't moving until the 22nd. Last week I had bought food to cook and then we were forced to go out because someone wanted to see the house, though. So it seemed prudent.
We also went to see Finding Dory, which I thought was fine. It's not my favorite Pixar movie, but it was fun.
Other than that, I read three books and we watched half a season of Elementary. I also caught up on sleep. The more relaxed I got, the easier it was to sleep in. By Monday morning I actually achieved a solid 8 hours. I got to start the week rejuvenated instead of slightly less exhausted.
We don't have that many more lazy weekends in our future, so I was happy to take full advantage of this one. Before we know it, the kid's gonna be here, demanding every waking minute and most of my sleeping ones, too.
Usually we'll take any excuse to grill some burgers and have friends over. But the grill is already packed away, and we're not buying any more charcoal until after the move. We can't host anything right now as we may have to clean and vacate the house with very little notice. Plus, this has been the first weekend in a while when we could just sprawl on couches and catch up on TV.
We did go out Friday night. Kevin got free tickets to Kinky Boots at The Kennedy Center. It was fun, though hard to hear the actors. Especially when they were singing. I'm not sure if it was a sound mixing problem or what, but it distracted some from the show. Lola was amazing, as he should be. He stole every single scene he was in. The rest was more or less forgettable. But it was fun to go out.
We went out a couple of more times, mostly to get food. We're trying to work our way through the pantry right now and now buy too much stuff that will be difficult to move. It's maybe a little premature for that, since we aren't moving until the 22nd. Last week I had bought food to cook and then we were forced to go out because someone wanted to see the house, though. So it seemed prudent.
We also went to see Finding Dory, which I thought was fine. It's not my favorite Pixar movie, but it was fun.
Other than that, I read three books and we watched half a season of Elementary. I also caught up on sleep. The more relaxed I got, the easier it was to sleep in. By Monday morning I actually achieved a solid 8 hours. I got to start the week rejuvenated instead of slightly less exhausted.
We don't have that many more lazy weekends in our future, so I was happy to take full advantage of this one. Before we know it, the kid's gonna be here, demanding every waking minute and most of my sleeping ones, too.
Thursday, July 7, 2016
My Body is Teaching Me Patience
I'm moving a lot slower lately. It's not because I'm hurting. The aches and pains have finally subsided. Either that or they've become so omnipresent that they've just faded into the background. That happens. It's not exhaustion either. I'm actually achieving something close to 8 hours of sleep a night. My sleeping habits are close to what they were pre-pregnancy. It appears that I've reached a sort of equilibrium. And I think it's partly due to the fact that I've slowed down.
This started when I was tired and aching all the time. Which was at least partially due to a cold. I was so exhausted I managed to forget I was sick until I started feeling better. I hadn't realized that could happen. It left me shambling around the office like a zombie, taking twice as long to climb a flight of stairs or get to the metro. I was being forced into longer and more frequent breaks. And now that I'm feeling better, I'm continuing with that. It's helping me sustain my energy levels farther into the evening.
It's a little amazing how easy to has been to take a little extra time. I've been waking up earlier so my mornings aren't as stressful. I've been ambling around the office when I need to go to the bathroom or refill my water bottle (hourly occurrences at the moment). It's also amazing how little I care when someone I'm walking with starts to go faster or someone behind me starts grumbling. I'm moving at my own pace, and the rest of the world gets to deal with it, however they want.
I think this springs from the same part of my personality that enjoys a good blizzard. I'll take any excuse to slow down and look at the world around me. Right now pregnancy is providing me with that excuse. It's not forcing the world to come to a screeching halt like snow so often does. But it's helping a bit. Especially with how busy we've been lately and how busy we will be soon, it's been nice to move at my own pace for a while. I'm glad my body is forcing this on me.
I'm less glad about some of the other things that have been forced on me. My stomach is itching like crazy, apparently a side-effect of the skin being stretched out. If I spend too much of the day upright, I get a nice upper back pain, thanks to my newly weighty boobs. And I'm still getting up to pee every three hours at night.
On a bigger level, my vitals aren't exactly what they should be. My blood pressure is on the low side, which results in some dizziness and light-headedness, especially in the mornings. I haven't fainted yet, though. And the sugar content of my pee was high enough that the doctor decided to move my gestational diabetes test up three weeks. It doesn't seem like there's anything to be really worried about yet, but it's stuff to keep an eye on.
All in all I'm in a good place at the moment. I don't feel as big as I did a week ago. Probably because I've adjusted to this size and have yet to grow even bigger. My belly button switches between innie and outie a few times a day, which is fun. And the kid is moving around a ton. I'm still the only one who can feel it, though I don't know if that's just because he does most of his moving while I'm at work. When the doctor went to measure the heartbeat yesterday, he did kick the mic a few times. I'm definitely carrying Kevin's kid.
I don't how long these good feelings will last. I'm going to get bigger. Things are going to hurt more. I may have to be a lot more careful with my diet in the coming weeks. For now I'm trying to enjoy what feels like a bit of a reprieve. I hope it isn't the last one.
This started when I was tired and aching all the time. Which was at least partially due to a cold. I was so exhausted I managed to forget I was sick until I started feeling better. I hadn't realized that could happen. It left me shambling around the office like a zombie, taking twice as long to climb a flight of stairs or get to the metro. I was being forced into longer and more frequent breaks. And now that I'm feeling better, I'm continuing with that. It's helping me sustain my energy levels farther into the evening.
It's a little amazing how easy to has been to take a little extra time. I've been waking up earlier so my mornings aren't as stressful. I've been ambling around the office when I need to go to the bathroom or refill my water bottle (hourly occurrences at the moment). It's also amazing how little I care when someone I'm walking with starts to go faster or someone behind me starts grumbling. I'm moving at my own pace, and the rest of the world gets to deal with it, however they want.
I think this springs from the same part of my personality that enjoys a good blizzard. I'll take any excuse to slow down and look at the world around me. Right now pregnancy is providing me with that excuse. It's not forcing the world to come to a screeching halt like snow so often does. But it's helping a bit. Especially with how busy we've been lately and how busy we will be soon, it's been nice to move at my own pace for a while. I'm glad my body is forcing this on me.
I'm less glad about some of the other things that have been forced on me. My stomach is itching like crazy, apparently a side-effect of the skin being stretched out. If I spend too much of the day upright, I get a nice upper back pain, thanks to my newly weighty boobs. And I'm still getting up to pee every three hours at night.
On a bigger level, my vitals aren't exactly what they should be. My blood pressure is on the low side, which results in some dizziness and light-headedness, especially in the mornings. I haven't fainted yet, though. And the sugar content of my pee was high enough that the doctor decided to move my gestational diabetes test up three weeks. It doesn't seem like there's anything to be really worried about yet, but it's stuff to keep an eye on.
All in all I'm in a good place at the moment. I don't feel as big as I did a week ago. Probably because I've adjusted to this size and have yet to grow even bigger. My belly button switches between innie and outie a few times a day, which is fun. And the kid is moving around a ton. I'm still the only one who can feel it, though I don't know if that's just because he does most of his moving while I'm at work. When the doctor went to measure the heartbeat yesterday, he did kick the mic a few times. I'm definitely carrying Kevin's kid.
I don't how long these good feelings will last. I'm going to get bigger. Things are going to hurt more. I may have to be a lot more careful with my diet in the coming weeks. For now I'm trying to enjoy what feels like a bit of a reprieve. I hope it isn't the last one.
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