Boost me out of here!

Wow, there is no one around today, the day before the long labor day weekend.  I'm literally counting down the minutes until they cut us loose.  I have a great job, that I love, and one of the best things is that they basically let us all go at 1-2 the day before a holiday. 

Nothing new to report on the baby front, Wife was feeling great all day yesterday.  I met her for lunch at one of her favorite spots down here in the Financial District and she ate almost everything on her plate, which never happens.  So I went shopping after crossfit and picked up a filet mignon and some things for a salad for us, but she wasn't the least bit hungry.  That seems to be the pattern, she'll be starving and over do it at one meal and then just not be hungry at all for dinner.

I told her a while back that I would make her some spaghetti with meat sauce, salad and garlic bread for dinner tonight, but the CEO of her company brought in BBQ for lunch today.  She loves BBQ, so I have a feeling I'm going to do all this shopping and then find out she isn't hungry at all.  Oh well, all I can do is try.

Great day at the gym yesterday, finally.  We did squats and a little metabolic conditioning and I finally performed up to what I expect of myself.  A friend of mine from high school was there too and we lifted together, and he told me he is taking off from his bank and starting his own hedge fund later this fall.  Could be something to keep an eye on as an opportunity, I really want to make some more money and get us into a house, if possible. 

Gotta run and get out of here, have a great long weekend.

In heat

I just met up with the wife at her BART exit and went to Starbuck's for a green tea and decaf latte, she looks smoking hot and feels great today.  The last couple of days, when she's complained about feeling sick I've run through the checklist of precautions she has to fight it.  Do you have on your seasickness wrist bands? No. Did you take the anti-nausea medication your doctor prescribed? Well... no.  Did you eat the ginger candy (natural cure) we got you at whole foods?  Well... no, I don't like the taste of ginger. 

As a man, this would be like walking out into the cold of the morning every day without a sweater or jacket for a month and then complaining that it is cold.  So she did all three today, and guess what?  She feels great!  Amazing how that works, isn't it?

She was wearing leggings with a short skirt over them this morning and sat on my lap while we talked, so of course now I'm in heat.  Things have definitely slowed down in that department because she feels so crappy all the time, so its been a while.  I think most men probably take care of that themselves, but I'm going to hold off.  Every time I do that, it automatically turns out to be the day she wants some "private time", so not only am I not really interested, but I need her to dress up like a Cal Trans worker and speak to me in a British accent to get where I'm going.  Every one ends up beat up, confused and the dogs think I'm killing mommy.

Work has slowed down a little today, but the two other guys who are in my role are out so it could get a little crazy.  I usually manage to pull it off, so hopefully it stays quiet.  

Did another benchmark workout yesterday and stank the place up.  I looked back at my performance on this particular workout for the last three years, and this was my worst performance by far.  It's pretty frustrating, need to focus and get better every day.

Hope anyone reading this has a great day.  Also, I think it is a given, but unless I specifically say so - the pictures that appear on this blog are never of me or my wife. 

Just me and my gyno...

No big deal!   Round two of the visit to the doctor de la vagina was yesterday, and guess what?  We arrived to a fully packed room of giant, miserable looking women and a bunch of screaming kids.  When we went to check in, the nurse let us know they were running about an hour behind.  I seriously should offer to help out with the operational issues in this office...

So we ended up going by Wife's family's house for a little while since its only about 5 minutes away and the nurse was going to call us when they were ready for us. Nothing to interesting to report there, Wife was talking to her moms about the issues she's having with her sister, so I tuned out and watched CNN's coverage of the Republican convention.  I don't care what party you are in, is there anything more stupid than a convention?  Anyway, off my soapbox.

We got the call to come back in at 5 PM, and my fantasy football draft was at 7 PM.  No big deal, right?  Plenty of time for the doctor, the model of timeliness to do her thing. 

So we went in, and were actually shown right into a exam room.   First we did a little question and answer thing, and let me tell you - my wife can machine gun the questions.  Right on cue, in the middle of a discussion about what she can eat to help with nausea,  Wife said, "I need to go to the bathroom to be sick."  Then she commenced with a 5 minute puke session that reverberated through the entire office.  The doctor and I felt awful for her and I got her some ice cold water once she finished. 


And what better way to finish off a rousing puke session than to jump in the stirrups for some cervical testing?  OK, I have something to get off my chest, I am deathly afraid of most health procedures.  I've feinted, out cold, twice in my life - including once just because of a discussion during A&P in high school ( I was known from then on as The Kid Who Feinted).  So stirrups, speculum, giant qtips, etc are not really my thing.  My Wife was a champ, of course, and I just averted my gaze until the whole thing was over.  I suppose it is good training, because I am terrified of the day when the baby is due (end of March, btw). 

So the final step in the check up was hearing the baby's heartbeat.  The doctor used some kind of super mic and found the heart beat right away.  "Boom - boom - boom", it sound so strong and so fast - I pictured a little fetus running on a treadmill.  Wife was all teared up, and I was just overjoyed, there's a little son or daughter of ours in there and he or she is developing and growing and sounded so determined. 

We got out and got home in time for the ff draft, which suddenly wasn't that big of a deal at all.  My team is a'right, a little weak at RB because I decided to take Tom Brady in the first as this is a pass scoring heavy league. 

I've taken the last two days off to rest from the gym, heading back in for an ass blaster of a workout.  Hopefully, I'll see some progress instead of regression this time.  Eating is still crappy, but today's the day it turns around! 

False start

So the wife and I both left work early on Friday so that we could go to the gyno/vagina doctor together and listen to the heartbeat and experience the magic of our Mars Bar of life.  Total clusterfuck.  First of all, it was in area that I hate driving through (thus guaranteeing it will be where I buy a house) and way the hell out there.  Next, I walk in and all these women are joking around about how giant their wombs are whatever and they all get awkwardly quiet when I show up.  But the icing on the cake was when, after an hour of waiting where I forgot to bring a book, the doctor had to run out and deliver a baby.

They sent us home.  After taking half days from work!  Is that the business model?  Can't a nurse hold the microphone up to your stomach and answer questions about the different types of screenings and test?  For god's sakes.

It wasn't that big of a deal though because they can fit us back in at Tuesday evening and I got to go workout early, I just like to be dramatic. 

What else happened?  Oh, I went mountain biking with my friend, who has a... (shit, let me check my phone) let's call it 8 month old baby.  Anyway, the ride was great, and we were talking about the whole issue with having kids immunized these days and the risks.  Scary stuff, things I hadn't even thought about and considered before.  He said kids get twice as many shots now than they had in the past, and all of these shots have things like aluminum, formaldehyde, whatever in them.  Some of the things: chicken pocks and tetanus, do you even need to be immunized for that?  Can't you just deal with it when it comes up rather than expose your child to something where the side effect might be... oh, autism? 

I don't know.  This was all based on our conversation and I haven't buckled down and down the reading/research myself yet, so that will be interesting. It can be a little overwhelming, can't it?  I need to read something on sleep training as well, that's a must read before the end of March...

We also told my parents yesterday.  I was a little anxious about it because I had just heard my mom tell my brother and his new wife to wait before having kids... but my brother is also not working, so I was hoping that was why.  Anyway, it went really well, my mom jumped up and gave Wife a hug and told her how happy she was and we talked about due dates and how we'd been hiding it at a couple of family events.  Best case scenario, really.  I don't know why I worry so much about telling my parents about things like this and when I was engaged, I guess I just always have a need to anticipate the worst and they never let me down.

I'll need to work on that, I suppose.  

Nerping the leedle

Nothing much to report today.  No drama and no throwing up, thank god.  We have a big day tomorrow as we are going into see the doctor together, I'm really not sure what it will be about - I don't think she is due for a sonogram but maybe they'll listen to the heartbeat?  I'm really looking forward to it, should help make it seem a little more real than my beautiful wife getting a little bit softer in the middle. 

She jokingly told me I'm supposed to be gaining weight out of solidarity yesterday, never going to happen!  My eating has been really good this week and I've hit 3 days at the gym in a row.  Today is an off day so I am going to get some yard work done when I get home and then have an adult beverage and catch up on Hard Knocks while she's in the city getting her hair did.

She is scheduled to go on a business trip next week, so I'm kind of interested to see if things still happen according to plan now that she's disclosed her pregnancy early to her boss.  So far the boss lady has been nothing but great, but we'll see how it plays out.  Her company is purchasing one or two other companies in the next month or so, and she was anticipating getting a promotion.  Hopefully, that will still be the case as she tipped the hand a little early.

Oh, and the neener neener is not purple :/

Breakdown

So yesterday at work, Wife's best friend told her she can't hide it any more and she is 6 or 7 weeks pregnant ( I forget).  This is the same friend who got engaged a week before us, married a month and a half after us and whom works with my wife.  All Wife's plans of telling her friends and having a little moment of happiness at work or whatever just went flying out the window.

Not to mention, she's been toughing out a few weeks of morning sickness and we haven't told a soul and the friend just blabbed about it on IM.  Wife breaks down, goes in and tells her boss (since they will both be on maternity leave at the same time) and leaves for the day one unhappy camper. 

She goes to her parents house, and fills them and her brother (recently moved back home) in.  I get all kinds of congratulatory texts and send one to my wife, "Guess we're telling people today!" Ha. 

Any way, went to crossfit after work and had a horrible workout on a benchmark program, felt like vomiting and irate afterward.  It's the worst time I've ever put up for that workout since I started crossfit.  Too much time away and travelling.  Time to buckle down.

After that, I met Wife over at her parents and her sister had just gotten there with our 2 year old niece.  She said all the right things but was decidedly cool and decided to leave early.  It was pretty transparent, I'm not sure if she is jealous of the attention, or because her daughter won't be the only grandchild any more or what, but she is such a pain in the ass.  She started questioning my wife on names and whether or not we would do the test for Down's Syndrome, just all kinds of personal stuff. 

So something to keep an eye on, she's a know it all type of person who thinks whatever she does is best.  We'll see how that plays out as things move along.

I need to figure out when to tell my parents as well.  I've been planning on waiting until 12 weeks all along, but this throws a little kink in the plan.  They say that if you tell someone before 12 weeks, you need to be prepared to tell them if something goes wrong.  I'd be fine with that, so I'm thinking about talking to my parents this weekend. 

Oh, and then wife barfed a couple of times this morning while she was getting ready for work.  It seems to be based on her taking her prenatal vitamins, so we'll keep an eye on that. 

If you read this... you might get pregnant.

Sorry I've been an absentee upcoming baby daddy, flew out last week to attend my brother's wedding in Michigan for which I was the best man.  It was quite a shin dig, and I'm so glad it all went well and is behind me. 

I think I've mentioned it before, but I had to give the toast and it has been hanging over my head all summer like the hangman's noose.  I hate public speaking, which sucks because I'm actually really good at it.  I get crushed by anxiety and adrenaline and my voice cracks, it is horrible. So I told my brother about it and he gave me a beta blocker and an adavan (sp?) and told me to take it 45 minutes before the toast. 

And then I went up there and completely nailed it.  I don't know how we can get our hands on that stuff, but I swear to god it is a miracle.  I was near panic leading up to the toast, and then... it was fine, my voice was strong, everyone laughed at all my jokes.  Afterward, at least twenty people told me it was the best best man's speech they had ever heard and one guy with a nose ring told me it was inspiring. 

All I can think about is the occasional client presentations I have to give, need to look this stuff up.

So at the wedding, it seemed like everybody was pregnant.  Two bridesmaids, including one who whispered that she was 10 weeks (two weeks ahead of us) and some people in the crowd.  It's one of those situations where you think its just you and then realize, everybody has either done this, is doing it or will do it. 


Between that and my wife's best friend and coworker calling in sick and conspicuously saying she's waiting for the Aspirin to kick in (pregnant women can't take ibuprofen), I think she feels a little less special.  But then we realize its our baby and part of us and how cool that is.

Funny moment of the trip was when I was reading about what to expect in weeks 7-10 on my Kindle with her during the flight back.  We read a blurb about how increased blood flow is going to turn her neener neener purple and she was horrified while I was laughing my ass off.  I guess I'll need to check that out soon. 

Anyway, great to be back.  Great to be sleeping in my own bed and be back to see the dogs. 

I ran once while we were there and did some heavy front squats yesterday but I really need to get back in a groove.  My eating has been shit, so that's my focus for this week.  Here's a picture of the 2011 and 2012 crossfit games champ front squatting the hell out of something.

The silence is... spooky

I've been busy for the last couple of days with a presentation and a big deal culminating that's taken a lot of extra  work to get across the goal line.  I hate presenting, I get nervous and my voice starts to shake, it is the worst.  I tried to ground myself and focus, but I still got off to a shaky start.  I recovered pretty quickly though and definitely got stronger as the presentation went on.  It helped that the clients were asking questions as well, instead of just me droning on.

It kind of worries me about the toast I'll have to give at my brother's wedding next week, I've been practicing every day but I am sick of this hanging over me all summer and can't wait to get it over with.  He did a great job at mine, and he told me later he'd taken a BETA blocker.  I'm going to see if he has one I can borrow.

On the baby front, my wife is feeling great these days, albeit a little bloated.  So much so, in fact, that we got a little frisky last night.  I've read that some women feel great with it and some, not so much, so I've kind of let her take the lead in that department. So far, its been less frequent, but I think that would be natural for someone that feels like throwing up or gassy all the time, so whatevs.

I think her feeling better can be interpreted two ways - she's through the worst of the morning sickness phase or something's wrong.  My wife is one of those people that immediately assumes the worst, so I'm pushing the "that's fantastic, you're through the worst of it!".  We have a doctor's appointment in two weeks to hear the heart beat, so I'm sure everything will be confirmed as great then.  

We're camping this weekend, so this will be a big test to see if she can sneak her little pooch by her mother.  I also noticed that her brother was talking a lot about babies last weekend, so I'm kind of interested to see if she spilled the beans to him.  I honestly would probably be relieved if she did, not being able to talk about it when I  see my brother next week is going to be really difficult.  He's my best friend and it just seems so natural not to talk about something so significant with him, but that's the deal.

We're taking the dogs camping by the weekend, so I expect this to be a total shit show.  I love them, but keeping them entertained and an eye on them all weekend is going to be a little much.

Easy like Tuesday Morning

So after a long weekend of picking up ginger snaps, ginger ale and some nauseous medicine the doctor prescribed, it feels like that issue has been nipped in the bud.  Hopefully, no more fake puking behind planters in front of Starbucks!  I think right now, she just is bloated and feels full all the time.  Her belly is definitely starting to show, at least to me.  I think it is because she is so damn skinny.  She'd actually lost two pounds when she weighed in at the doctors, so she's clearly not eating out of control. 

When I met the wife, she was about to go to a yoga teacher's training to get certified, so she was practicing power yoga 4-5 times a week.  Since we moved in together, she's worked out about... quarterly.  So I've gently been encouraging her to start some kind of low impact regime so that she feels better while she's pregnant, and bounces back a little quicker afterward. 

For the record, I'm not even worried about that - but she has a huge fear of losing her tight little body, which is probably shared by all expecting mothers.  I think the fear is spurred on because her sister took almost two years to bounce back. 

Her brother recently moved back into town from LA, and he joined a gym right down the street from us, so I'm hoping they start taking classes together.  My wife is similar to me and gets lost in her head a lot, and I know how important being active is to me, so fingers crossed.

I just got back from meeting her for decaf coffee and tea, and she's already talking about cute maternity clothes and we're at 7 weeks!  In my head, that means one pair of jeans with that stretchy black band and maybe a shirt, right? Ha ha, I'm dead.

It's official

So A went to the doctors today to doctor's today for her first visit since we took the at home test.  She was just at the OB/Gyn for a regular visit in June, and they'd talked about going off the pill but even she said, "Wow, that was fast!" No shit.

But any way, it's official!  We did it.  I haven't gotten all the details, but apparently she's also having blood drawn and a sonogram. 

Work is killing me, I'll write more when I have a chance.

Haven't worked out in two days, so hopefully I'll get out on time today. 

Ginger Baby

Ginger - she needs to eat it to stop feeling like she's going to puke, and we will probably have a ginger baby.  I'm strawberry blonde with blue eyes and freckles, and she's blonde with green eyes and freckles, so we've come to accept the fact that we will have a ginger baby with an afro.  It's fine, I'm good with it.  We can all huddle under umbrellas and marvel at you people that tan. 

So we just hit six weeks, the eyes are black spots, the spinal chord is forming, there are paddle hands and a heart that's beating at 100-150 beats per minute.  The fetus is the size of a lentil.  Pretty amazing stuff.

We took a picture of Wife's belly last night, it has grown a tiny bit.  It looks like she just ate whatever she wanted all weekend, a little pooch. 

Overall feeling better by using her bracelets in the morning.  There was a rough night in there sleeping though, she's not quite to the "peeing all the time" phase but she's just generally uncomfortable.  And eating like a horse.

I keep hearing about "sympathy weight gain" and immediately think, "That's for weak men."  Now I understand how it happens, you might leave work feeling great and excited about grilling a steak and having some salad for a nice paleo dinner, but that all goes out the window when the guilt tripping starts about having chinese food or pizza for dinner instead.  


Can't write as much as normal, but the 300c ended up costing $2k to fix.  That's a lot of diapers.  I'm beginning to feel like I can't catch a break financially.