Monday, September 3, 2012

Week 6

It is almost sinking in that this is happening.  We are still nervous and anxious to get to our real check up to make sure everything is okay, but we are also spending lots of time talking about the future and this little person in our lives.

Work continues to be great and I am so happy this is happening during my post-doc when I have flexibility and my own funding.  My research is moving along quickly and Trent continues to love his job at the Center for Prevention Research.

I did quite a few 4-mile runs with the dogs, but we also discovered a nearby dog park that has become a morning tradition.  Trent and I both did "BeWell Screenings" to get our baseline "numbers" for our health and we both passed with flying colors.  The dogs also had their vet appointments and wow-ed the vet with their health and vigor.  Healthy family!!

Symptoms:  Still incredibly tired in the evenings.  We went up to SF to meet with friends and then for a show with Emily and Margaret and I had to come home early that day to nap in preparation.  I have never been this tired, but I love naps so I can't complain.  We have great deck chairs and I spend a nice time after work reading in the afternoon sunshine.  Slightly more sensitive to smells, but still no morning sickness.

Cravings/Aversions:  Still craving fresh fruits and vegetables.  Maybe over did it on the hummus last week, can't quite stomach that right now.  I've had an easy time quitting coffee, but crave decaf chai tea with lots of hot whole milk.  And on Friday, I absolutely had to have fried chicken.  Luckily our Safeway a block away came through.  Trent has been marvelous with cooking, homemade lasagnes, healthy granola bars, fresh bread.  I am totally spoiled.

Planning:  Nothing official, but we did spend a good amount of time in Pottery Barn Kids oogling over adorable crib set ups.  We absolutely can't start that phase yet (too early, and we have to move in December!) but it is fun to play and imagine.  We also have realized that our fancy neighborhood is a gold mine of amazing garage sales so we'll have to keep an eye out for a fancy baby one!  We've started playing around with names, but again.. too early.  Hard to wait for September 17th (our 8 week appointment).

Highlights:  We had a great Labor Day weekend.  We rented paddleboards from Stanford Recreation and took the dogs out on Half Moon Bay.  It was maybe one of my most favorite times.  They did great, Pilot fell off a few times, but by then end they were total champs (Pilot could even jump from one board to the other).  Emily and Rob came down for dinner on Saturday and we enjoyed great produce from the fancy market at the mall we found that morning.  It was a marvelous weekend, with lots of naps too!

Week 5

Our first "official" week of knowing.  We were still in disbelief but so very happy.  We shared the news with our parents and my dear friends Amanda and April.  April, one of my best friends from growing up is also pregnant, 8 weeks ahead of me, and we've had a marvelous time sharing stories.  We met up with Emily on Sunday for America's Cup racing and dinner in Japan Town and share our news over a bowl of ramen by giving her this cute onesie we found in Menlo Park.

Symptoms:
Nothing much.  The biggest symptom is incredible sleepiness.  By 5pm, I am in a desperate need of a nap.  Luckily we live so close to campus, so I can bike home and take a little nap, and then be back in action.  A few evenings though, those 6:30 naps turned into bedtime.. which was fine with me.  I have lots of energy in the morning, and have been running with the dogs.

Cravings/Aversions:
No aversions really.  Occasionally, something will smell terrible, but that only lasts a few seconds.  We walked to fish tacos one night for dinner and I was fairly convinced I couldn't handle them, and then a minute later, they were delicious!  Craving kale and watermelon.  Also lots of hummus.

Getting Ready:
I made an appointment with a OB/GYN for our 8 week appointment.  She got wonderful reviews online and works at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, which is about 2 blocks from Stanford Campus.  But our delivery would be at Stanford Hospital, which is kind of fun.  I also enrolled in our insurance plans "Prenatal Program" which provides lots of information and books.  Spend a fairly silly amount of time reading about what is going on, but I find it fascinating.

Finding Out

Trent went away to a conference in Kansas City for a few days.  I promised myself I would wait until he returned to take a test, and that it was probably silly to take a test anyway.  The night before he got back, I went to Target, but kept my promise.

That weekend we went to SLO.  It was wonderful to be in driving distance to home again, and we had a marvelous time with delicious food, trips to the beach, long walks for the dogs, and getting to see my sister Kate.  Unable to shake my suspicions, I took a test early Sunday morning.  A very faint second line showed up... but something was there!

We were thrilled, but still absolutely in disbelief that this could be happening after our crazy month.

However, when I repeated the test a couple days later... there was no mistaking it.

Weeks 1-4

Technically the calendar begins before our addition was even on the scene.  We were rambling around Colorado, going for long hikes, seeing Trent's family, and spending long hours in the car.  The next week was a rush of unloading our POD in Davis, driving to SF, and starting our jobs at Stanford.

Despite absolutely everything being crazy and up in the air, I have to say I was a bit suspicious that something was happening.  I just felt... different.  Strange twinges, crazy leg cramps, lots of thirst, super tired.  Just in case, I stopped drinking coffee and alcohol, all the while thinking I must be out of my mind, the odds were absolutely not in our favor and all my "symptoms" were just due to our crazy couple of weeks.

But something just seemed... different.

Highlights included:  Outside Lands Music Festival with Yvette, finding our tiny little casita in Menlo Park and moving in one crazy weekend, getting settled in our jobs.  And finding out about our newest addition!

Monday, August 27, 2012

Our story begins with a happy surprise.  I finished my PhD at UNC on July 17th, and just a couple days later, we packed up a POD and the beloved Subaru, and started the drive across the country.

We had a wonderful time exploring the country, seeing friends and family, going on adventures and hikes, and plenty of time to discuss everything.  The future, our careers, our goals, our plans.  We are planners.  We don't jump in to things.

We arrived in Davis, unloaded the POD into Paw paw's house, said our goodbyes, and headed to San Francisco, where I was about to start my new job at Stanford.  The first few weeks were intense, getting oriented, finding our way around, long hours of commuting, and lots of apartment hunting.

Then it all fell into place.  We found a tiny, but adorable, cottage in the fanciest neighborhood in Menlo Park, just blocks away from my work.  We both fell in love with our jobs and their potential.  We felt almost settled.

And then the surprise.  The exhaustion and emotions were not simply due to our crazy first few weeks. We had another little scientist tagging along...

So as any good scientists do, here we will keep our "lab notebook."