One Pregnant Day
This is what an average day now looks like for me:
2:00am and 5:00am (with surprising accuracy): Wake up and go to the bathroom. Some nights I wake up every time I need to turn over (because the muscle pain and odd sleeping angle makes it too complicated to do unconsciously).
8:00am: First alarm goes off. I take a maxolon without getting up. Usually have a cramp or two.
8:30am: Second alarm goes off. Drink a small glass of water, then get out of bed (probably visit the bathroom again) and go upstairs. Prep frozen raspberries to defrost on the table, put a tape on for three hours of daytime TV (which will take about two hours to watch due to all the ads, infomercials, and cooking segments). Eat Special K for breakfast (and vitamins B, C, D and iron) while checking email, posting the day’s twittertale segment, and perhaps writing a blog or reading some others.
9:00am: Go back to bed feeling ill.
12:00ish: Wake up and watch that morning’s tape while eating yogurt and raspberries, then a milo (can’t handle water yet, but I’m probably already dehydrated. The milo makes me feel sicker but the chocolate content makes it worthwhile), then a lunch of either peanut butter and honey weetbix sandwiches or bread with butter or nutella. I try to have at least 100mL of water with lunch, which quite often comes straight back up (but not into proper vomit; just a warning shot). Some chocolate or lollies as a reward for drinking water, and some kegel exercises.
1:00ish: Feeling good. Brush teeth, then immediately eat cheese and crackers (with up to 200mL of water) to dissipate the resulting nausea. Have metamucil (yuck).
1:30: Shower and/or pick one of the following: household chores or one errand or one visit to a friend or some writing or two minutes of extremely gentle riding on the exercise bike.
3-6pm: As above, but if I have a student I see them in this window, and try to avoid leaving the house at all that day so I’m well enough to do my one pathetic hour of work. Eat something starchy for afternoon tea as nausea comes back. Try to drink more water – or, failing that, another milo (while distracting myself with repeats of old comedies on TV).
5:30: Take one zofran, then keep still for half an hour, then have a snack to minimise pre-dinner nausea, along with at least 100mL of water. Cook/defrost dinner.
7:00: CJ is home, and we eat dinner (I sneak myself some chocolate while he’s not looking). I try to drink at least 100mL of water with dinner, and it often causes another regurgitation attempt. I reward myself with more chocolate, then have gaviscon and stay still for half an hour. Kegel exercises. Usually feeling pretty good nausea-wise although the lingering smell of dinner is gross.
8:00: I do some very gentle stretches on an exercise ball to help with back pain. If I’m doing well, I’ll do two minutes on the exercise bike. If I’m doing really really well I’ll do the dishes (about once a month).
10:00: Another snack (ideally yogurt, sometimes popcorn or more bready starch), and some more gaviscon. Stay very still for the next couple of hours (other than back-pain fidgeting) as muscle pain and nausea increases (generally I swallow vomit once or twice). Start getting super excited about bed time.
11:30/12: Go to sleep.
There are so many things to do every day (all the medicines and exercises and making sure I don’t get hungry), especially in the non-nausous window in the afternoon, that I often feel oddly busy despite devoting most of my days to passing the time until I can give birth and be non-nauseous once again.
My standard day is made up of about 11 hours of sleep, 8 hours of TV, 2 hours of staring into space, 1 hour of other activities (reading, talking on the phone), and 2 hours of doing something useful (including showering, brushing my teeth, and checking the mail). Some days – like yesterday – I do absolutely nothing. (I was so tired out and spacey that I cancelled my one tutoring hour, and also cancelled my plan to drive thirty seconds to the local shops to buy milk.)
I do think my nausea is decreasing (probably at least partly because I’m simply doing less) but the fatigue is amazingly intense. I felt drunk absolutely all day yesterday, and my whole body was heavy and sore. Lifting my arms was a huge effort, and walking across the room took a lot of pre-walk psyching up (and generally chocolate – I gained over two kilos this week, yuck). Talking was difficult, too (not for the first time). I concentrated super hard on reaching the end of a thought or sentence, and I still often failed. Slurring felt natural.
As of today, it is four weeks until I reach what CJ calls the “fully baked” stage – when Louisette would be considered early rather than premmie.
Regicide by dwarf
Gimli killed Aragorn, and Watson hid the body.
Perhaps I should explain.
Gimli and Aragorn are guppies, a decorative but tempestuous fish. Male guppies are constantly fighting (unless they are given a harem of female guppies, in which case they apparently get along fine, having better things to do – does that shed new light on “Lord of the Rings” for anyone else?) This is roughly what mine look like (Gimli being the orange one):
Watson is a bristlenose catfish who is five times the size of the guppies, but doesn’t attack unless one of the guppies tries to take his food. On the other hand, he’s been known to dispose of bodies before today. (Oh, and Watson is actually a girl – you can tell because, unlike this picture, he doesn’t have a moustache.)
I like to think it was actually Watson who ordered the hit. He is the big fish, after all.
I first noticed something was amiss when I saw Gimli chasing Frodo. Frodo is the smallest fish in the tank, a neon tetra, and had maintained his health by keeping out of everyone’s way. (Frodo is of indeterminate gender – is anyone surprised?) But Gimli’s thirst for blood was unquenchable.
I immediately removed Frodo from the main tank, and put him in with Gandalf, our Siamese fighting fish. Fighting fish will attack anyone with decorative fins (as will guppies), hence his solitude. He was a bit grumpy about sharing his space, and chased after Frodo a little, but isn’t nearly as vicious as Gimli. Frodo is neither a challenger nor a handy snack, so he is allowed to stick around.
And so an uneasy peace returned to the household.
Next time, I should name my fish after family members.
Different Folks
CJ and I have a lot in common, which is handy. But every so often one or both of us realises how different we are.
Guess what these books are?
That’s the books CJ is “currently reading” from the library. Which is to say, there are more library books by the front door ready to be taken back – and there are other books CJ is currently reading. I read one book at a time – maybe two, in unusual circumstances.
When we married, CJ owned about four hundred books* and two hundred DVDs. I owned about half a dozen books (having relied on the library system for many years), and a similar number of DVDs.
There are other differences between us, too.
Our TV set top box has just died. Fortunately, it was bought by C “buy reputable brands and pay extra for an extended warranty” J, rather than Louise “if you can’t fix it with gaffa tape, live without” Curtis – so it’s covered by warranty.
Insert your own conclusion here.
*not the only reason I married him
The Foldaway Office
I’ve linked to Brass Bolts before. It always has the most gorgeous pictures. The most recent article is on the steampunk office. My personal favourite is this one, for reasons that I think are perfectly obvious:
How to get published
Rachelle Gardner is an American Christian literary agent with a great blog. She wrote a post on how to get published, which is an excellent summary of the American system.
Australia is similar to the USA, except you don’t necessarily need an agent to get published (some choose to get an agent after having an offer for publication – agents are at their most useful when dealing with contracts), and the place to look for impartial advice is the Australian Society of Authors.
Narnia #5 of 7: “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” by CS Lewis
Of all the Narnia books, excluding the clear death-and-resurrection tale of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, this is the most allegorical. Two of the familiar Pevensie children literally fall into Narnia with their (rather horrible) cousin. They are rescued by Caspian, who is journeying through unknown seas to find seven men loyal to him, who were exiled many years earlier. But he, along with others on board, hopes that the journey will culminate in finding the end of the world.
They have a series of adventures – slavers, dragons, a sea monster, and Deathwater Island – which can be enjoyed as adventures or as tales of hope and faith and compassion.
Free Sample (from the start):
There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. His parents called him Eustace Clarence and masters called him Scrubb. I can’t tell you how his friends spoke to him, for he had none.
Rating: PG. I’d call it absolutely G and safe for anyone, but one character is a close parallel to Jesus Christ (in one of the later books this character clearly states that he exists on Earth as well, is known by a different name there, and that the children have been brought into Narnia so that they can more easily recognise him on Earth), and some atheists have found that offensive. The books do focus on the adventures, rather than allegory about 95% of the time.
Experimentation
In over two and a half years of marriage, CJ and I have never once eaten tofu. Every so often I make a dodgy fried rice with whatever is in the fridge – usually ham and eggs, with sugar and soy sauce for flavouring. This week I tried something new. I cooked coconut-flavoured rice by adding a cup of coconut milk to the uncooked rice instead of water (then stirring it a few times as it cooked, rather than just letting it go). It tastes brilliant. I fried the results with Chinese-style honey soy tofu (a pack of it from a supermarket shelf – in the same aisle as cold meats and cheese), and topped it with boiled eggs. We then added soy sauce to taste.
This is a great vegetarian meal, and without the eggs it’s even vegan.
The future of awesome
This week has been a lot better physically than last week, and I’m feeling good as I count down the weeks (eight to go).
I did have a peculiar incident yesterday. When I woke up, I stretched – like a mad fool. The muscles in my left leg snapped into a bad cramp – and after the initial severe pain wore off it stuck around (in fact it’s not entirely gone now). I literally crawled to the bathroom and was able to limp back. Unfortunately, lying down made it much worse and when I tried to get up an hour later CJ had to come and massage me before I could turn over (somewhat necessary in order to get my legs to the floor). I limped severely all day, but luckily I didn’t need to drive anywhere. Although it was painful, it had plenty of novelty value so I kind of enjoyed it.
It’s probably caused by a lack of magnesium (that or calcium, but since I drink almost a litre of milk a day it’s pretty obviously not that).
Louisette has started hiccuping, and was kind enough to hiccup while CJ was home last week, so he could feel the movement.
And on to today’s official topic! Here, in no particular order, are some of the plans CJ and I are looking forward to doing with our future children (and yes, there are some significant differences in the costs or age-relevence of these items):
Take the kids to the zoo.
Buy a house with a yard (but make the kids share a room – if we can all stand it).
Take the kids to Questacon, especially in Winter.
Play with plasticine, and playdough, and make potato stencils.
Buy primary-school popularity for the kids by having a pool.
Expand the house (or shove CJ out of his study) so the kids get their own rooms around the onset of puberty.
Have a granny flat so the kids can be “neighbours” for a while between living at home and moving out. Charge rent based on their income, until it reaches market value.
Play with frisbees.
Fly a kite.
Take them to Canberra’s best playgrounds (the castle, and the snake playground).
Go camping with my brother and his family.
Lots of cousin time! (My sister and her family might even be living in Canberra, which would mean all my direct siblings are here in one city!!)
Go paddle boating.
Rent a four-person bike.
When the kids are old enough, teach them how to look after fish. . . then a cat or dog. It’s a brilliant gift for them, and it teaches responsibility for others.
Do you have kids? Feel free to steal an idea (or four)! Or tell me some more awesome kid-related suggestions in the comments.
Who’s in the wardrobe?
My nerd network is sufficiently sensitive that two different friends sent me this within the last twenty-four hours. And I am doing my part and passing it on to you. You’re welcome, specfic lovers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qN9X9tyHkw
From the point at which there was a large war-era house, I knew what was going on (having failed to notice the title). I did write a review of “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe” only a few weeks ago, after all.
Felicity Banks 