On Pregnancy at 40

So by now you know I’m all preggers and we’re expecting a baby girl in April. That puts me at 29 weeks “gone” today and I have to say this has been a fantastic experience.  I feel absolutely fabulous!  Yes, I’m a bit uncomfortable at times and I’ve bulked out and not in the muscular way gymaniacs go for. I’ve experienced the achy back, finger welling, heartburn, sleeplessness and the occasional crankiness that comes with the territory of growing a baby, but the rewards have been amazing. 

I’m so excited to have been given the chance to start a new life.  Derek gets to be a Daddy for the first time and I know he’ll be the BEST. He’s already a great step-dad.  Nigel will get to experience being the big brother instead of the baby of the family and I know he’ll be a hero in his little sister’s eyes.  Jacob gets to participate on a level his 17 year old self doesn’t really care about or appreciate right now, but maybe, just maybe he’ll think about his actions and not end up a teenage daddy himself.  There’s nothing like a squalling infant to make a teenager think, right?

At 6 & ½ months our little girl is a real presence already.  We can all feel her move, kick, squirm and hiccup.  She tells us what she wants for dinner (through Mommy, of course… she loves pad thai and ice cream!)  We have great pictures from the 3-D ultrasound that give us a real chance to visualize how she looks.  We can tell she has her daddy’s hairline!  And hair…hence the heartburn I’ve been experiencing if the old wives tales are true. 

This pregnancy has been the easiest of my three…no morning sickness, no anxiety or fear, no edema, no crying jags, good energy, a wonderfully supportive husband, family and friends…hell, I can’t even go the grocery store and unload my own cart.  Even total strangers have been super nice to me.  People I barely knew have gone out of their way to reach out to me and give me super useful things like maternity clothes and baby equipment FOR FREE.  I am completely overwhelmed by the kindness I’ve received and plan to pay it forward when I get the chance.

Just 2 & ½ months left, 11 weeks or so if the due date is right, and we’ve painted the nursery PINK, of course.  We’ll be putting the crib together this weekend and getting everything set up, registering for baby party gifts (no cake and mint SHOWERS thank you, this is my 3^rd child after all, but we will celebrate with friends and family… beer and wine WILL be served even if I don’t partake!)  We can do what we want, how we want…that’s one of the nice things about having a baby later in life….we really don’t care what we’re “supposed to do”.  It’s liberating! We’re almost there, entering the home stretch and have nothing but good thoughts, eager anticipation and happiness in our hearts ready to welcome her into the world.

I sure can’t wait for little miss Kensley to get here and to introduce her to all the family and friends who are eagerly awaiting her arrival.  We’ll see you soon, sweetie!

 

I'm not just getting fat....

So being knocked up at 40 is a bit intimidating.  We had hoped it would happen a couple years ago because 37 or 38 seems a lot younger than 40, but there it is.  It didn’t happen then and I really had gotten used to the thought that it wouldn’t.  I was sort of planning a ski trip this winter (well, they can ski, I’d shop, sightsee and drink hot cocoa), and toying with a scuba diving excursion this fall or early spring.  Those plans have gone right out the window, right along with our sanity. 

My boys are 16 and 12 respectively, and that’s a long time in between siblings, not to mention a long time since I changed a diaper, had to get up every couple of hours to nurse a baby, deal with bottles, diaper bags, teething rings, belly gas, spit up, stepping on toys and all that jazz.  Derek’s never done it, so we’re both in for a bit of a shocker.  The kids’ reactions were priceless.  I got a, “holy shit, mom….oh, uh, sorry…wow” from my 12 year old, Nigel, followed by an incoherent “uhhhhhhhhh, ohhhhhhhhhh, hmmmmmmmm, uh, that’s great, Mom” from my 16 year old son, Jacob.  Nigel then told me he would teach him how to skateboard “really good.”  When pointed out his brother might actually be a sister, he said he’d teach her anyway and he was happy about it.  He was all grins as he was sheepishly and tenderly handling the ultrasound pictures.

The ultrasound we had on Tuesday really made this pregnancy real for us.  A picture is worth a thousand words, especially a moving picture showing a strong heartbeat, arms and legs and hands and feet, tiny little eyes and a great big head.  An ultrasound really is a miracle of science.  I kind of half believed this was true until I saw that little baby in making with my own two eyes.  It’s still amazing at 40. I’m glad I’m not that jaded, yet.

Everything is looking great. So far, so good!  I’m 13 weeks along and Baby Conrad, whom we have dubbed “the pickle”, will make his or her appearance sometime around April 6, 2012. I haven’t had any morning sickness; only some slight 4pm nausea, and I’m tired and draggy, but otherwise I feel fine.  I miss wine and sushi. My Weight Watchers/dieting is on hold for now, so don't think I'm just getting fat. I'm getting fat for a reason!

   

   

Happy Father's Day, Dad

It’s Father’s Day this Sunday and I am looking forward to celebrating my Dad.  We’ll gather at my brother & sister-in-law’s house, have a yummy meal, sit around slinging bullsh** and my brother and I will probably bicker. (That’s almost a given.)  My boys will be there along with my niece, and the kids will argue, fight, play video games and get yelled at for something. Tim’s dogs will be rambunctious, lick everyone in the face and steal food.  My Dad will sit back in the recliner after eating and watch it all going on with a smirk-like grin on his face.  I can only imagine what he’s thinking. Probably something like “payback is hell”… I know he’ll enjoy it.

I’m so lucky to have been able to grow up with a Dad like mine.  We were a single-parent family from the time I was 13, and that single parent was my DAD.   He’s a Dad that sticks by his kids. Sure, we can do wrong and often did, but he has always been there with whatever it is that we need.  I seek his advice often now that I’m encroaching on 40.  And his advice is always good.  He KNOWS stuff.  Why didn’t I realize that when I was 16, or 20, or 28 for goodness sake?

Some of the things my Dad taught me:

1. Blood is thicker than water and family is family.  You do anything for your family and they will do anything for you.  This is a generations-long tradition with the Masons.  Even now, I know if i commit some felony and have to leave the state, I’d have shelter with one of my Mason cousins. And there are a bunch of them.  As “interesting” as my relationship is with my brother, I call and he’s there. It works both ways.

2. Think for yourself.  Sure, LEARN from teachers, books, TV, church, mentors, friends, etc. Learning is good. But you must think about what you’ve learned and make your own decisions.  Don’t believe everything you read or hear. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  Dad quotes Occam's Razor - All else being equal, the simplest answer is most likely the right one. Of course, that’s paraphrased, but you get the idea.

3. Be independent.  As a girl, my Dad taught me that I shouldn’t be dependent on some man for my happiness, financial support or to change a flat tire.  He made me take a perfectly good tire off my 1976 Honda Civic and then put it back on. By myself.  I did it, and I can still do it.  I know how to wield a screwdriver, a power drill and a socket wrench. I can also support myself financially. I work, make a decent salary and know how to balance my checkbook.  I’d probably make more money now if I’d listened to my Dad when I was 20. I was pretty head-strong then and made my own decisions. I learned Rule #2 a little too well, maybe.      

My Dad taught me a bunch more things, but I think these are the top 3.  Thanks, Dad, for being who you are and for raising me to value family ties, think for myself and stand on my own two feet. You are a great Dad!  I love you and I still need you, though, so pick up the phone when I call!  Happy Father’s Day!! 

Don't make me laugh too hard....

And god-forbid, don't let me sneeze.  All you chicas 39 and over know what I mean. I shoulda' done those dang kegel exercises.

Turning 40 isn't so bad, its just that the warranty recently expired and everything is beginning to wear down, malfunction, jiggle, droop, drop and just plain break. And I'm not the only one. My husband Derek is 40 this year, too, and has developed plantar fasciitis. Bless his heart, all he wants me to rub lately is his feet. 

Sore feet also puts the kabosh on dancing and going to shows at The Handlebar.  The concrete floors in there are murder.  Is that why we were the oldest couple in there Friday night for the Chris Cab set?  He's pretty fly for a white reggae artist. (Is that what the young people still say, "fly for a white guy"?)

After our dive vacation to Curacao last year, (OMG, Curacao was awesome!! We saw a spotted eagle ray during that trip! )

 

I felt so freakin' tired. Like worn out, can't get out of bed and go to work tired. So, I went to the doctor and told him I was tired and there was something wrong with me. He poked and prodded, tested and xrayed, and lo and behold he said I wasn't getting enough oxygen. He didn't know why, but prescribed me some asthma meds and sent me on my way.  After a year of this and feeling like my chest was constricting all the time, I went back & got higher doses and a referral to a pulmonologist.  

So this specialist talked to me and poked and proddded, tested and xrayed, and lo and behold he said I don't have asthma.  Well, that's GREAT. I mean, I'm glad I don't have asthma, but what the heck is wrong with me? Did scuba-diving using a community regulator give me black lung or something? Did I screw up my lungs by not doing a full 5 minute safety stop?  Why am I taking all these asthma meds?  Hmmmm, maybe you have....sleep apnea???  I'm going for a sleep study next week. That's why it's called practicing medicine.  Practice makes perfect, right??  If at first you don't succeed, try, try again?

So I'm undergoing more testing and junk like that, but I can guaran-damn-ty you that no 20 year old is writing about health issues in her blog.  That's what getting old does to you.  My grandma used to say, "It's HELL getting old."- (Kathryn Cone Way).  Grandma wasn't joking.  Heaven help us if I start writing about bathroom habits. Ya'll just commit me to the nursing home. Do come and visit once in a while. Bring Depends.

Time...we are a-wasting....

This is my very first blog ever. I don't know whether I will actually blog or not. I suppose I'll try it out and see. That's how I make most of my decisions anyway. Trial and error. Research and analysis go hang....that takes too much planning and effort, i.e. wasted time. I want to put my effort into the here and now. I dig instant gratification. It's Mint! (Just saw Super 8 - what a great movie!!)

A Katydid is a bug, related to a cricket. This is a Katydid...

katydid nymph

I named my blog Katie-Did. This me, Katie....


Katie-did - not a nymph, prefer to be related to mermaid...

Recently, I've got a lot of time on my hands. It's like I've gotten a pay raise, but with time. The boys are with their Dad all summer, Derek's working in Hot-lanta all week, so it's just me, Charcoal Charlie the tripod dog and Boops the grouchy, recently-diabetic kitty-cat. He's a fatty-lumkins.

Boops

Charcoal Charlie posing with his boy, Nigel

I'm taking a world history class to take up some of this new-found time. I wish they offered the text book on audio-cd.  Why do academics make history so BORING?? It's not boring, it's the delivery. They have me confusing ancient Greeks with ancient Romans and dreading Charlemagne. How did I get to be 40 and not know ANYTHING about Alexander the Great, Augustus (Octavius) Cesar or Byzantine history???  And, do I really need to know it if I don't know it by 40?

I'm strongly considering possibly exercising with this new-found time.  The community pool is open and there's never anyone there. I could go and swim laps. If I do, I want to use my mask and snorkle, and maybe my fins. I'll call it snorkling practice. I really just want to be able to breathe. And cover a bunch of laps. I will be a bad-ass. Maybe I'll drop a few pounds and get skinny.  I can't go do it now though, a thunderstorm is brewing and I don't want to get zapped.  Then all my time would be up. Not good.

The thing with having all this time on my hands is I can't decide what I should do with it. I end up wasting it watching Weeds. I dig Weeds. It's Mint! I just finished watching the whole last season. I can't wait to see what Nancy (a/k/a Nathalie') does next...she's a total sociopath, but I love her anyway.

I'm also feeling rather artistic lately with all this time I've found. I've decided to create my own book plate. No, I can't just go buy a ready-made one and add my name to it or print a silly sticker. I want to design and produce it myself. I want it to be a reading mermaid.  This is my latest drawing of it....
 

Katie's Custom Bookplate

Then I decided I wanted to do a carving and stamp of it.  This is how it turned out....


This is all because I love my books. If I loan my books out (which I almost never do because I love them and I WANT THEM BACK), they will have my name and my mermaid stamped in them. Then the borrower will return them because I've put MY art and my name in them, right???  Right??? Uh, hmmmm.... maybe I will just buy another copy of that book I love and want to keep, stamp it and then loan it. Then I'm only out about $7.50, get to use my cool artsy-fartsy stamp I made and still get to keep my friend. I get a little pissy about my books in case you didn't notice. It's because I love them.

Speaking of books, and I could spend a lot of time discussing books, I'm currently reading A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.  Cool book. Vampires and Witches and Magic and all that jazz. Not Twilight-y. I can't stand whiney.  I'm also reading a couple of other books, and review the books I read on Goodreads. If' you're interested, look me up there.

Anything this is wasted effort represents wasted time.
Ted W. Engstrom

Because, if one is writing novels today, concentrating on the beauty of the prose is right up there with concentrating on your semi-colons, for wasted effort. Neil Gaiman

I really should be studying, but will probably go watch another back episode of Weeds. All this extra TIME has polarized me into inaction.