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Maternity & Parenting Center

The Great Name Debate

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Many of you have asked about names for this baby . . . . and the truth is, we don’t have a name for him yet. But, even if we did, we intend to keep the name quiet until after he is born. Truthfully – well, we don’t want any opinions on whatever name we decide. We have discovered that prior to birth, people feel quite free to tell you what they think of the name you have selected, and then they start to lobby to convince you to change the name. After the baby is born, even if they hate the name, the worst that most people will say to your face is “how unusual!” We’re okay with that, and sufficiently superstitious that if we actually pick a name, we’ll be keeping quiet.

Now, in all of our attempts to come up with a name for this baby, we have identified a number of “joke” names for the baby. We’ve been far more successful at agreeing to these names than real names, so we have focused our efforts here. In the spirit of full disclosure, I thought I would share our 4 favorite “joke” names with you:

Name #1: Our first name for the baby is PGeorge. And no, the P is not a typo. First, we thought of “George” because of the looney toons cartoon (spoofing Of Mice and Men) where the abominable snowman is chasing bugs and hugging him to death while he desperately tries to escape and saying “I will love you, and hug you, and kiss you, and squeeze you and call you George.” Elliot and I have been obsessed with that line since his then 3 year old nephew, Ethan, came to stay with us a few years ago and spent the entire weekend chasing Nugget around and hugging her to death (she had the exact same expression on her face as bugs did in that cartoon). So, we just kind of imagine all the little nieces and nephews (and aunts, uncles, grandparents, and us) doing that to this baby, too. We added a “leading silent P” because both of my brother’s daughters have names that begin with P (Paige and Peyton), and we didn’t want him to feel left out from the newly created “tradition” on our side of the family.

Name #2: Giodie (pronounced Jodi or Jody). Elliot has 2 sisters-in-laws named Jodi/Jody (one spelled Jody, and the other Jodi). They both have the same last name as this baby, and we joked that we didn’t think there were enough Jodis in our family, and since Jody can be a boy’s name . . . well, you get the drift. So then we started to think how we would differentiate this baby (the family calls the others Jody “y” and Jodi “i” when we talk about them), so we were thinking Giodie “G” would be funny. And the “ie” on the end . . .well, we wanted to be different – we don’t have a Jodie either, yet.

Name #3: In light of the American financial crisis, one of Elliot’s friends was discussing the fact that China owns most of our national debt, and one day, China will call it in and the US will become a colony (or territory) of China. The friend suggested that in order to ease the transition for our child, we should have a Chinese name for our son . . . so we decided on Ming-Ha. Now, for those of you who are Jewish, there is another joke in there. We then decided if we gave the baby a Chinese name, we also needed to make sure we could find an appropriate Hebrew name. As we discussed it, we thought that Ming-Ha sounds a lot like an americanized version of “Mincha” (the Hebrew word for afternoon prayer service), so we joked that Mincha could be his Hebrew name. We also thought Havdallah (the Hebrew word for the prayer service that closes out Shabbat) could be his middle name. Okay . . . it amused us!

Name #4: Last week, we were watching some cooking thing on PBS, and Gwyneth Paltrow was on it and needed to go feed her daughter, Apple. I started laughing hysterically (don’t know why it was SUDDENLY funny to me) and I told him that if Gwyneth can name her child after fruit, perhaps we should name the baby Melon. We had a long debate about types of melon (and of course, the requisite joke about is it bad to name a boy after fruit), and different kinds of pears, and other silly types of fruit names, but I decided I liked Melon – Mel for short. Elliot then told me it looks like I swallowed a melon, so it was very appropriate.

Hope you enjoyed our name discussion!

Another Appt

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Today was another follow-up appointment to monitor my contractions. Last night was a rough night – I was in a lot of pain and I had contractions pretty steadily throughout the night. Yesterday I tried to reduce the anti-contraction medicine, so today we are going to return to taking the maximum dose at scheduled times (every 4-6 hrs) to see if that helps. I am also staying on the tylenol every 6 hours. I’m still measuring right on target, but I seem to have lost another pound this week. They also sent out another urine culture to see how my UTI is doing. I have to call the maternal fetal medicine place and ask when I can do another course of the 2nd medicine. Other than that, I seem to be doing okay. They don’t really know if the contractions/discomfort will continue throughout this pregnancy or if they will magically disappear, so I’m supposed to focus on each episode at a time and not try to project for the rest of the pregnancy.

Perhaps I spoke too soon . . . .

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Well, after my great sense of relief that everything has been going so well, my fibroid (you know, it kind of feels like it needs its own name . . . please feel free to offer up options) started to get pissed off again. It hurts. It stings. It is stabbing periodically – I’d say, it is generally displeased with my current state of being. Around 4:00 today, the contractions started back up. I had been emboldened by the past 24 hrs, so I had dropped down to only 1 pill of the anti-contraction medication “as needed” – so perhaps that approach is now letting these contractions sneak in there. I’m not so happy about it. I took one pill at 2:00 today, and I took a 2nd pill at 5, and the contractions do seem better, but I may need to think about returning to my structured regimen of 2 pills every 4 hrs. And to think I was having visions of stopping the medication, just taking tylenol, and avoiding future bouts of contractions. Ahhh . . . how foolish and cocky I can be.

Hanging in

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I stopped my medication for the fibroid yesterday afternoon, and so far, so good – no hospital visits yet! I am definitely uncomfortable, and the contractions have increased, but I am not in excruciating pain, and the contractions are not regular. Let’s hope this continues along like this – I could manage the rest of the pregnancy like this.

Next step . . . let’s make it to my appointment tomorrow morning without any more trips to the hospital!

Wish me luck!

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I’m a bit nervous. . . . since I started taking this 2nd medicine on Thursday afternoon, well, I’ve felt pretty good. I hardly have any pain/discomfort connected to my fibroid right now, I’m tolerating the side effects of the medication well, and the contractions are few and far between. I was able to resume “normal” activities today . . . I babysat my nieces (okay, I made Elliot do all the work, chasing and lifting) but we went to play at Niki and Eric’s house, and we ate dinner, and then we put them to bed. After we finished babysitting, we stopped off at Ken and Erica’s housewarming party, and finally got home. I’m tired, but feeling great. Tomorrow, my mom and I are going to run to a jewelry show we’ve been wanting to attend, and I’m hoping I feel well enough for that.

I will be taking my last dose of this wonderful medication at 11:00 am tomorrow, and the medicine is due to wear off around 5:00 pm. I’m just worried that the pain and contractions will return, and that we’ll end up back in the hospital. Let’s hope the medicine did more than mask the problem and actually did some healing the past few days. We are supposed to attend Bill’s birthday party tomorrow night – I hope we make it!

Our renovations

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Many of you have been interested in our home renovations. The background is that Elliot bought this house over 12 years ago. When we met, the house was a mess, and we couldn’t sell it, so we decided to renovate it. Our goal is to move in there for up to 2 years, sell my place (which might be bigger, but it is a townhouse/condo) and then move into a bigger house that we actually can fit in. This house is a “cape cod” that was built in the 30s, and at some point, it was expanded with dormer windows to create an upstairs. All in all, it has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms upstairs, a kitchen/living room/dining room/powder room on the main floor, and a rec room/laundry room/bedroom/full bathroom in the basement. So, it is kind of a tight fit for us, especially since we both work out of the house.

So, here is the “tour” – these pics were taken a few weeks ago. We are really hoping this will be finished next week . . . but I’m not holding my breath. I called the contractor and yelled at him from L&D at the hospital! When you walk in the front door, the stairs leading upstairs are right in front of you.

If you look down the hallway to the right, there is a closet and it leads to the 1st floor powder room:

Powder room:

To the left of the powder room is the kitchen:

We removed the wall between the kitchen and dining room, so now it is more like an eat-in kitchen:

The dining room connects back to the living room (here is a view of the dining room/kitchen from the living room):

The living room is just to the left of the front door:

When you go up the stairs, the baby’s bedroom is the first door on the left at the top of the stairs:



Just across from the stairs (and immediately outside the door of the baby’s bedroom) is the baby’s bathroom:

There is a long hallway upstairs (view with back to baby’s bathroom) – there are two half-closets that will be linen closets on the left, there is room under the window before the closets for a window seat, and the door at the end of the hallway on the right leads to the master bedroom:

When you enter the master bedroom, the main room is to the left, the master closet is to the right, and the door to the master bathroom is straight ahead. This is a pic of the entranceway to the master bedroom from inside the room:

This is a picture of the master bedroom from the back end of the room (the entranceway would be to the left):

This is a picture of the master bedroom standing in the entranceway with the master closet behind:

Here are pictures of the master bathroom:


Here are pictures of the master closet:


From the main floor, just across from the powder room and before you enter the kitchen, there are stairs leading to the basement. The basement is pretty open, with the laundry room to the left, a rec room area and a bedroom to the right:

Rec room:

Bedroom:

Bathroom:

As you can see, we still have painting, carpet, cleaning, and we have to finish the wires/lighting and vanity tops.

Finally . . . . an answer!

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It has been a rough couple of days for me. I returned from the hospital yesterday and took a nap. At 3:00 pm, I awoke with contractions and excruciating pain in my lower right abdomen. I went ahead and took another dose of the medicine (1/2 the dose they gave me in the hospital), and the contractions improved but didn’t stop. I took the 2nd dose 1/2 hr later, and still the contractions did not disappear. The pain in my lower abdomen gradually worsened. I called the midwives, and they told me to drink more water, wait for my next dose at 7:00 pm, and call back at 8 if the contractions did not improve. At 8:00 pm, I was in pain, but the contractions were feeling better. I ended up calling the midwives again, and was told to get in the bath for 1/2 hr, keep drinking water, and take my next double dose at 11 pm. Elliot had gone to Kol Nidre services, and I called in and listened on the phone.

By 10:30, I was in excruciating pain, and the contractions suddenly started to be 3-4 minutes apart again by 11. We called the midwife, and she said I would probably need to go back to the hospital. She suggested taking 2 tylenol (thinking it would help the pain of the abdominal strain) and take another double dose of medicine at 11, and give it no more than 1 hour. I sent Elliot to walk the dog and we started getting ready to leave for the hospital. While Elliot was walking the dog, I lay down and relaxed . . . and for the first time since we got back from the hospital, I started feeling better! The contractions slowed, lessened in intensity, and were fairly spaced out. The midwife suggested I try going to sleep, I take my next dosage at 3:00 am, but that if the contractions woke me up to head to the hospital. She said if I made it through the night, I needed to go into the office in the morning to be checked. I slept until 3:00, took my next dosage, and then slept until 6:00 am . . . when a contraction woke me up. I had contractions over the next hour, took my next dose at 7:00 am, and then started feeling better at 7:30 am.

We went to the office at 9:00 to be checked. My contractions seemed to be controlled, and I was relatively pain-free at that time. I kept feeling these “mini” contractions and some pain radiating out from one spot on my uterus, and I just felt like something else was happening. After talking about our options, the midwives decided to send me for an ultrasound at the Maternal Fetal Medicine office to check my cervix and see if there was a problem with my placenta. That left Elliot enough time to get to services for Yom Kippur for several hours. I missed services since I was directed to bedrest.

At 1:45, I picked Elliot up from synagogue and we went in for the ultrasound. The good news is, they identified the problem! Apparently, since my 20 week ultrasound, a big giant fibroid grew on the outside of my uterus. I did know that I had a small fibroid on the outside that was about .5 cm before I got pregnant, and I was told it was nothing to worry about. Well, it decided to grow . . . huge. It is almost as big as my fist now, and apparently, it is angry and pissed off and causing all the problems/pain/contractions. The good news is that I do not have an abdominal strain. The bad news is, it will be difficult to treat this fibroid and it puts me at greater risk for pre-term labor. I will probably have contractions on and off throughout the rest of this pregnancy, and the fibroid will likely cause me pain. They added another medication which I can only take for 48 hrs at a time until I’m 32 weeks along. It will help the pain and help control the contractions. I started it tonight, and it does seem to be helping some – I hope the next 48 hrs really puts me in a better place and that the pain holds off. I can live with staying on the anti-contraction medicine, but I really don’t want to spend the rest of this pregnancy in pain from the fibroid. Oh . . . and I’ll probably have to have surgery after I have this baby to get rid of the fibroid, since it will probably cause issues with future pregnancies too (not that I can think about that now). So . . . odds are good this baby will make an earlier appearance rather than a later appearance. I really hope the contractors finish the house and we can move before this baby comes.

Anyway, we did get some good news . . . the fetal fibronectin test (the vaginal swab they did to check for pre-term labor) came back negative, so I should be safe for at least a few weeks! Also, I passed my gestational diabetes test . . . barely, but I still passed. Let’s hope the meds work and I can keep this baby in at least 8 more weeks . . . and that they are not 8 miserable weeks for me.

A Little Scare and a Trip to Labor & Delivery

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Well, I just got back from the hospital – I spent the night in Labor & Delivery last night :(. After my appointment yesterday, I ran to 2 stores trying to locate the support brace for my abdominal pull before I started my mild bedrest orders, and by the time I got home, I was in EXCRUCIATING pain. Even with the support on, it kept getting worse. By 4:00, I could barely move, and I was so miserable. I started to wonder if I was also having contractions (my belly kept feeling tight) but then I thought it was just the support belt I was wearing. I remained pretty uncomfortable no matter where I was sitting.

Elliot and I went up to bed around 1:30, and when I got into bed, I couldn’t get comfortable. I started to realize that I was having contractions . . . about every 2-3 minutes. We started to time them to be sure, and I tried drinking water to see if that would chase them away. At 2:00, I decided it was time to call the midwife. I was told I could try drinking more fluids for 1/2 hr, but then to go to labor and delivery if they didn’t stop. Part of me couldn’t decide if I was being crazy but we decided to go on in and get checked. I was a little concerned they were going to hook me up, laugh at me and tell me I was having gas pains or something ridiculous like that.

Good thing, we went in . . I was having pretty intense contractions every 2-4 minutes. They had me on the monitor (and my midwife was so nice and considerate of my needle phobia – she agreed not to immediately put me on an IV if I would drink 40 ozs of water, and she gave me the anti-contraction medicine orally). Luckily, the meds worked, and about 1/2 hr later, everything receded. They kept me there for observation the rest of the night. I was released about 1 hr ago to a day of bedrest and I have more anti-contraction medication I’m supposed to take. The good news is there were no significant cervical changes, and the baby is fine, but I’m just exhausted!

I was getting worried about having this baby at 28 weeks. They did a vaginal swab test to assess my risk of preterm labor (apparently they can detect a protein that is 90% accurate in predicting labor in the following 2 weeks). Those results won’t be back until today or tomorrow. I have to take the meds as long as I have contractions, and if the meds don’t control the contractions, I’ll have to go back to the hospital. I have to go back for another checkup next week. If they start to see any cervical changes, I’ll be put on bedrest, and if the swab test comes back positive, they may admit me to try and keep me from going in to labor.

So . . . that is my update. I’m going to nap now. Let’s hope this is just one of those things, aggravated by the UTI and the abdominal pull! I’m NOT ready to have this baby yet. The good news is we are now pre-registered for when I really do go into labor.

28 week appt

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I’m trying to stay positive, but today was a slightly rough day for me. It was my 28 week appointment – fairly routine, gestational diabetes test scheduled, and not much else to worry about. HOWEVER, last night, I began to realize that the dull ache on the side of my abdomen that had been bothering me since Sunday had escalated to the point of excruciating. After much debate, DH & I decided I should tough it out until our appointment this morning.

I arrive for my appointment, and quickly discover that the nurse forgot to give me the glucola to drink at home BEFORE my appointment. So, at the appointment I have to quickly inhale the horrific orange goop without vomiting (quite a task), and then sit and wait an hour so they can draw my blood. We went into the room for my appointment, and then things went downhill. The good news is, the baby’s heartbeat was great, and I’m measuring right on target. I did not gain any weight again, but this midwife seemed totally unconcerned by my lack of weight gain, so I did escape the yelling/lecture. We quickly moved on to more “fun” subjects . . . including the return of my UTI. Yup, it is back. Or perhaps it never left this last time. And my numbers were through the roof – the infection just keeps getting worse. So, I’m being placed back on antibiotics . . . for the rest of this pregnancy. Fun, huh?

So, after discussing my lovely UTI, I brought up the pain in my abdomen. After some discussion and a quick check, I was informed that I have pulled a muscle in my abdomen. I have to go out and buy an abdominal support brace, which she thinks I’ll have to wear for the remainder of the pregnancy :(. I’m definitely not pleased about that either. And it looks like I have to drop out of yoga class now, too :(.

Next bit of fun? We talked about my morning sickness and other tummy issues I’ve been having . . . and I was basically told there isn’t much more we can do. I’m supposed to stay away from fiber/veggies (haven’t heard that one too often, right?) and understand that the antibiotics will probably just make it worse.

So then it was off to visit with the nurse to have my blood drawn. Let’s just say she was not quite adept at drawing blood. Four (yes, I said 4) stabs later, and lots of moving the needle around, she finally got the blood, but it involved tears and hysteria from me. I have good veins . . . any competent phlebotomist should be able to draw blood from me without incident. I was really unhappy today, pretty worked up, and now I look like a junkie with track marks. It is days like this that it is difficult to keep the thrill of being pregnant and not get caught up in the bad stuff. Let’s just hope the test comes back negative and I can at least avoid having to do the 3 hour test!

A registry!

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We did it . . . we finally started a registry yesterday at Buy, Buy, Baby! Yes, we have been putting it off, and no it isn’t anywhere close to complete, but we started it! Elliot was a bit of a maniac with the gun . . . if he could shoot it, I think he put it on the registry. Of course, he has no idea that I have the power of edit on the web site, so many of the items he placed on there may have “magically” disappeared. He initially registered me for 4 different breast pumps! I think Elliot can’t wait to go back so he can have the gun again for more play time. He is also currently obsessed with strollers – I’m not exactly sure what the fascination is about, but he can’t stop investigating strollers, and was quite upset that I wouldn’t go inspect and select the strollers yesterday.

We still want to start another registry at Great Beginnings, and we may put some things online at Target or Babies R Us, too, to make it easier for out-of-town friends and family, but we finally got the ball rolling. We also went ahead yesterday and bought a reclining chair for our living room – so that will complete our living room furniture. We still need to go back to Great Beginnings and pick out a glider, but we hope to do that this week.

As for me . . . . today I am 28 weeks pregnant! Overall, I’m feeling well. This little guy is kicking up a storm. For some reason, he seems to have a fascination with my cervix – he continually likes to poke it and make me uncomfortable. I’m sure when I tell him that during his teenage years, he’ll turn bright red with humiliation and say “eww, mom, do you have to say things like that!” Is it wrong that I am looking forward to embarassing him like that one day? I also have a pain in the lower right side of my abdomen – I hope it is nothing, but it is extremely uncomfortable. I guess I probably pulled a muscle or something . . . I think it started yesterday – I’ll have the midwife check it out at our appointment tomorrow! Here is my latest belly shot, taken today:


Tomorrow we go back to the midwife for my gestational diabetes test (wish me luck!) and a regular checkup. As of tomorrow, we will now be on a 2-week appointment schedule. I can’t believe how the time is flying! Now . . . if only we could get those renovations on the house finished, we’d really be in business!

On another note, I’m obsessing about my dog, Nugget, again. She has skin and allergy issues, so back in July, I switched her to a high-quality grain-free diet. I’d tried all the other tricks, but read an article indicating that many dog skin allergies may be caused by the grains in commercial dog foods. I think her skin has been better, but she has also had a skin infection that won’t quite go away, and has been on antibiotics, so it is hard to tell. My one worry with the new diet is that it is very high in fat, and I was afraid she would gain weight. Today I took her to the vet, and we have to go back on antibiotics for the skin infection. But, I learned that she did put on a bit of weight – maybe .4 lbs. So, of course, I’m wondering what to do next! I’m not ready to give up on this grain-free diet, but I don’t want to make her fat, either. I think Elliot is ready to kill me for obsessing this much over dog food.

After our appointment, I went to the pet food store (since we are almost out of dog food anyway), and found a different grain-free brand that has a low-fat version, but of course, it is even lower in fat than the food she was on before switching to this diet (and if the fat content is too low, it can give dogs dry skin and make them itch!). So . . . I couldn’t decide what to do! I know it isn’t a good idea to change dog food too many times, but I also want to do what is best for Nugget! I can’t believe how indecisive I’m being! So, I was an overwhelmed pregnant lady in the dog food store today. The saleswoman kept making suggestions, and all I wanted to do was strangle her. First, since the new dog food we’ve been on has double the calories of her previous food, she suggested cutting my dog’s food intake in half. Great idea . . . when you are dealing with a big dog. My dog is tiny – and only gets 3/4 c. food per day. And she is already pissed about that, because back in her younger days, I used to give her more like 1 1/4 c. per day. She now KNOWS when I cheat her out of even just one piece of kibble, and is not afraid to cause a raucous if she doesn’t get her share. She has made it quite clear she will not tolerate any more reductions in quantity, caloric count be damned! And my favorite comment from the saleswoman – why don’t you let your dog taste the new brand and decide which she likes better? Um, yeah, my dog will eat rabbit poo, vomit, and dead frogs – exactly WHAT makes you think she has discriminating taste and will “prefer” one over the other – it is food, she’ll eat it (or rather inhale it), probably within about 3 seconds after I place it in her bowl!

So, after coming home and doing some research, and discovering that this new low-fat dog food also was given 6 stars by a pet food analysis web site (that I’ve decided is reliable and have been consulting for the past few years), I decided that perhaps we will try switching to the new low-fat grain-free dog food. For some reason, I felt the need to share this piece of information with Elliot – whose response was the classic “okay.” Men! He could have at least feigned interest in my momentous decision. I might even be able to give her closer to 1 full cup a day, so she will probably love that. Do you think Nugget realizes how much agony I go through for her? And to think she gets pissed at me when I put the food down 5 minutes late.

Oh . . . and here is a pic of my adorable spoiled princess: