Early Father's Day Post

So as you all know tomorrow is Father's day. This one is fun and exciting because of course my husband Paul is expecting his second child - his first boy. We are going to get together with his family at his parent's house for some Father's day fun and I will try to remember to take my camera so that I can share some of the antics with everyone.

In the meantime I'm going to attach something that Paul sent me while I was at work on Friday. His logic and thought processes are a couple of the many many reasons that I love and respect him. I thought his theories might be able to give others pause for thought as well, that's why I am sharing (with his permission I might add).

"A thought process that popped into my head.

Who am I?

Who am I is a question that I have not really asked myself very often, nor is it a question that I believe passes through the minds of many of us with any regularity. Who I believe I am speaks to my own belief in who I really am inside, and how I present myself to others. But how I am perceived by others is not something that I really know or understand.

Do the people that know me think of me as I think of myself? Can they see past my demeanor to my nature with clarity? Probably not. Is my demeanor even interpreted by others in the same way that I see it?

Probably not.

How do others think of me in all honesty? Am I just put up with? Do people look forward to me being around? How much of my perception of how others perceive me is tainted by false smiles and forced laughter? Nuanced looks that I miss, inner thoughts of irritation that I can't hear?

Who am I really?"

It certainly gave me pause for thought about who I am and how I am perceived by others. I realize that for the most part his thoughts above were rhetorical, however I would like to share with you who I think my husband is. What follows is by no means a complete interpretation of his multi-faceted person, it's just my humble opinion of the person I cherish most.

My husband is an amazing person. He is an incredible father, a wonderful son, an adoring uncle, a caring brother, and my world. He knows just what to say and when to say it - though he would disagree with this. He is an artist from the soles of his feet to the very top of his head and he rejoices at any chance to share his creativity and love of art. He is a teacher, not only to his daughter, but to anyone who takes the time to get to know him.

My husband is my center, he keeps me grounded when I am ready for lift off. He makes me smile when I am sad, and has the uncanny ability to make me laugh even when I'm crying. He challenges me to learn more and revels when I am able to logically throw him for a loop. He loves me for who I am, just as I love him for who he is. I am astoundingly lucky to have married my best friend - who just happens to be the most incredible man I know.

My words do not even begin to do him justice and I find myself angry and frustrated with my lack of adequate words to describe just how wonderful this man truly is. My aunt gave me a beautiful plaque at my bridal shower two years ago that I think sums it up better than I ever could - "It doesn't matter where you go in life. . . . What you do. . . . Or how much you have. . . . It's who you have beside you". I'm so very thankful it's you Paul! Happy Father's Day!! I love you!

Paul and his dad on our wedding day - two exceptional fathers I'm grateful to have in my life.

Someone give me MY doctor back!! Please!

OK, I had one of the most frustrating doctor's appointments of this entire pregnancy today! I was supposed to see my usual doctor on Monday, however she called out sick on Monday and the only time they could reschedule me was today at 9:40 in the morning - with a different doctor.

She left me waiting in the room for a good 20 minutes first off - and let me just say that is not the usual at my hospital. Once you are in a room to be seen you are usually seen in about 5-10 minutes. Then she wants to go through my whole history all over again! Um. . . you are not my doctor, you are a fill-in since my doctor was sick this week, you do NOT NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT ME!

Normally my doctor looks to see what my blood pressure was when they took it out front (I'm considered "high risk" due to high blood pressure at my first appointment - even though it's been pretty much perfect since then) tells me my blood pressure is looking good and we move along with the appointment. This doctor? No, she wants to know if I had blood pressure issues before I got pregnant. Well, yes I did but it was determined to be white coat syndrome. She wants to know if anyone ever termed me "chronic hypertensive". No, I've never been put on medication for the blood pressure and it has never been termed a "chronic" problem. She decides it is a chronic problem and puts it on my chart so now it shows up all over the place!

Then she tells me that due to my being "chronic" I have to start having non-stress tests 2 times a week starting at 32 weeks gestation. Wait. . . . WHAT?!?! You just decided I'm chronic - even though I'm not - you are not my doctor and now I have to have two extra appointments per week because of a decision you, who are not my doctor, made? Um, can I object?? I keep my mouth shut, more because I'm not sure of what will come out of it than any other reason, and decide well we're almost done I can discuss with my doctor at my next appointment if this is all actually necessary.

THEN - she measures my belly and says "This baby is measuring big!". I laugh and tell her his parents are both big people and that we are not worried (because my doctor has been measuring me all along and has not seen a problem with my measurements). Well apparently this doctor - who I again remind you is NOT MY DOCTOR - decides it is something to be worried about. She schedules an ultrasound (another appointment = more time off work BEFORE baby is born) to see just how big he is. Apparently, it doesn't matter to her that this late in the game ultrasounds can be off by a pound or more in either direction and are not conclusive at all - oh well!

She listens to his heartbeat and it sounds great - thank goodness - and then squeezes and pushes low on my abdomen to see if he is head down. It HURT!!!! But the good news is he is indeed head down - at least for the time being.

There's more, but I've totally bored myself now so I can only imagine how awful this is for anyone who decides to read it. What it boils down to is I am very much looking forward to my next doctor's appointment with MY doctor to suss out what exactly is truth and what is over-reaction.

I've seriously gained a new appreciation for my doctor now though that's for sure. She's a little older and I think she's seen so much that she doesn't tend to overreact about things - which for me and my touchy blood pressure is a very good thing. I'll keep everyone posted with what happens.

Doctor's Appointment Update

OK, so I just got back from the doctor's office and everything looks GREAT! Blood pressure was excellent, Liam's heartbeat was steady and strong, headache is probably stress induced but nothing to really worry about.

She made me drink that awful glucose drink and then go have blood drawn to check for gestational diabetes. If there is a problem I should hear from them today, if not, no news is good news. They also ran blood work to check my blood count to look for anemia and that sort of thing so we'll see.

I have to go back on the 15th as now my appointments are every two weeks and I'm trying to get them back on Mondays because Monday is a more convenient day. We were talking about how much personality he has already. She agreed that even in utero babies have developed their own personality. We know for sure you doesn't like being pushed on because he pushes right back.

I also have to start doing kick counts before I go to bed at night. I have to write down what time I start counting, what time I get to 10 kicks, and how long it took me to get 10 kicks. I don't think this will be difficult for my little man as he's usually pretty wiggly. They did say though that if I don't have 10 in an hour I need to go to labor and delivery - do not pass go, do not collect $200. So we'll see how that goes.

She also said that I can go swimming! Just that I have to take it easy because at this stage too much physical exertion and I could potentially put myself into preterm labor and we do NOT want that! I also got my doctor's note for short term disability today. As of now she has me off starting July 27 and off for 6 weeks after the baby is born. That was kind of exciting because 6 weeks means, at least at this point, that she sees no possible reason for a C-section. Woo hoo!

I think that's it for now. Time for a nap before I have to go pick Alie up from school - today was their beach trip - and help her get ready for the end of the year dance! Big stuff. Hope everyone is doing well.

28 weeks and some change

So I guess this whole pregnancy thing is going to come to an end at some point. As of Sunday I entered the third trimester - now it's the home stretch! I have something like 80 days left - pretty crazy when you think about it. I think it's kind of humorous that everyone keeps telling me I didn't plan things out very well because I'll be most pregnant during the hottest part of the summer. Oh well, not much to do about it now! Besides I'm kind of excited by the prospect of having a Leo or Virgo. His "due date" is the first day of Virgo so we'll see what he decides he is.

I've also been figuring out maternity leave and that's pretty crazy too. If all goes according to plan I will be out for four months - approximately anyway. One month before and three after. Oh! And Paul gets 8 weeks paternity leave!!! So excited about that! Nothing better than bonding as a family right after our little man arrives.

I have my 28 week check up tomorrow morning. Looking forward to that as I have some questions for her now. After this appointment they will go to every two weeks I think. I've started to feel kind of crappy lately. Nauseous and tired (I've been tired the whole time really) with a weird headache that comes and goes only on the right side - definitely mentioning that tomorrow to the doctor. Other than that things seem to be going pretty well. He's definitely getting stronger as his kicks now have the possibility of making my whole body move if I am sitting still. I've also definitely noticed the hiccups now. They are very "delicate" in comparison to his karate chops. I can almost see him in there - his little body bouncing with each hiccup - poor little guy. But all the books say hiccups don't bother babies in utero, I'd like to know how they know this? Did they ask them? :P

I've definitely been thinking more about when he's actually here and how crazy (in the best possible sense of the word) this experience is and will continue to be. I just can't wait to hold him and tell him how much I love him and kiss his little fingers and toes. Just thinking about those things makes me all giddy inside.

And I think I'm finally content with our gift registries. A lot of thought has gone into them and much revision but I think I finally have things pretty figured out. All in all things are going pretty well. Paul and I hung the paintings Paul made on the wall in our room where his crib and changing table will be. I don't have pictures of this yet or of the large canvas Paul just finished this week but here is a glimpse at the two previous canvases he did - the whole theme stays the same. Like a forest at night with the stars and fireflies out in force.


We have a firefly night light/lamp that we hung on the wall by the paintings as well. Things are slowly but surely coming together.

And just for fun - I took this picture with my phone in the bathroom at my work to send to my mom, she loved it so I guess I will post it here as well. It was taken last Friday at 27 weeks 5 days.

I will try to post an update after my doctor's appointment tomorrow to keep everyone in the loop. Hope life is treating everyone else well!

Love and kisses from the Ginsberg Family!