Lisa Bonnema

Mom. Writer. Speaker.

Archives for 2005

The Third Trimester is Here!

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Hard to believe that we’re officially in the last trimester. Seems like just yesterday I was anxiously awaiting that 12-week mark. Now I’m 28 weeks and shocked at how quickly each day passes. This baby will be here before we know it!

Of course, I have reminders every three seconds that a baby’s on the way. Our little soccer player is definitely a thumper and nicely lets his mommy know he/she is running out of room every chance he/she gets. The movements are truly amazing (and reassuring!), but I’m afraid they are now going to turn into torture. At my last doctor’s appointment, I was told to start counting movements daily at 28 weeks to make sure I feel at least 10 kicks/shoves/pokes, etc. in 2 hours time. This doesn’t sound hard, but for those of you who know me well, you might as well ask me to check my child’s breathing every two seconds. I understand why I need to check, but I’m not looking forward to it. Part of me knows this baby kicks way more than I have to count, but I still don’t want to be worried if I only get 9 kicks in 119 minutes, praying for that final kick in the last 60 seconds. I’m sure once I actually start counting, it won’t be a big deal, but I am finally at the point that I’m not worrying about anything and “going with the flow” as my friend Cara would say, and now this. I guess it’s all par for the course. God has certainly taught me to rely on Him throughout this pregnancy – a lesson I know will be invaluable once Jeff and I are officially parents.

Other than that, all is well. I’m happy to say our nursery is about 85 percent done. Painting is finished; chair rail is hung; glider, crib, and changer are in place. The only thing left is the armoire (which we can hopefully order soon), hanging the window valence (we’re searching out the hardware), and lighting and other accessories. It turned out exactly how I wanted and Jeff seems to be pleased as well. The furniture certainly filled up the room fast, but there’s nothing I can do about that, so I’m just accepting the fact that I won’t need a whole lot of open space yet. We have a whole house to fill up with toys! I hope to post pictures tonight…

I guess I’m also due to take updated belly shots (it’s been 4 weeks already!), and I have to say I feel huge. Last night I tried to find something to wear to my girlfriend Jenny’s bachelorette party (to take place this weekend), and I was quite unsuccessful. Thankfully my friend Taco Bell was there to comfort me after two hours of mirror torture. Serves me right for having a pre-conceived idea of what I was going to wear when my options are close to nothing. Why in the world did I think I could still look “sexy” with a 2 ½-lb child inside of me? I even tried to see what I looked like dancing — BIG mistake! I may just have to offer to be the official coat rack at this point. I have a feeling that Jeff may have to make a late-night stop at TB after Saturday night…

Other Updates: Our next doctor’s appointment is next Thursday (6/9), when I’ll find out the results of my glucose test. Besides the very strange dream I had last night (I’ll spare you all), I don’t foresee any problems with that. After Thursday, we’ll also start appointments every 2 weeks until we hit 36 weeks. Then we go every week. I can’t even fathom getting to that point yet, but I know it will be here before we know. Heck, it’s June 1 already. How did that happen??

Well, I hope all of you are doing well and thanks for checking up on us. I plan to post some pictures to share soon, although I’ll know I’ll be seeing many of you at the family parties and other get-togethers that are filling up our summer calendars! Love ya!

No Worries

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“Don’t worry, it will all work out.” Those words — along with “relax” — are just about THE WORST things you can say to me. If I am worried and/or upset, these words are the last thing I want to hear, especially since they will no doubt make me even more upset. I’d rather you give me chocolate or sympathize with me, even if I am being my usual over-compulsive, anal-retentive self. NO ONE ever believes you when you tell them not to worry — or relax — so I feel they are truly ridiculous pieces of advice that do nothing more than actually cause more stress.

HOWEVER, I have to say that 9 times out of 10 there really is NOTHING to worry about. Rewind to my post a few weeks back about nothing being done on the baby’s room. Well, here we are — May 23 — and I have a beautifully painted baby’s room, a glider, a rug, all of my bedding (although still awaiting the quilt), and a changer and crib due in any day. I was actually able to stand in the baby’s room yesterday night with the rug in place and the glider in the corner and breathe a sigh of relief. Despite all of my worrying, it is all getting done — well before the baby is even close to due. If all shipments arrive on time, we could very well have this room furnished next weekend (except for the armoire, which we should be able to order in about a week). So pray that I can make it through some of the more important worries I have ahead of me without acting like the world is going to end. (And pray for Jeff too — his wonderfully patient soul can only take so much… :o)

Other news…
We STARTED the whole registering process on Friday, but we are nowhere near done. I’ll let you know when we’re finished so you planners out there don’t get too far ahead of us. Hopefully we’ll finish up in the next week or so.

We also got some stuff marked off our “general house” to do list, although there is still much to do. Even so, I AM NOT WORRYING. I know we’ll get this stuff done before the baby comes — or at least most of it. Heck, we’ve lived four years without this stuff being done, so we’ll survive even if we don’t get it done.

Had our 26-week doctor’s appt. on Friday and all is well. I had to cancel my Thursday night appt. because of a church commitment, but rescheduled for Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, this meant Jeff had to miss his first appt. He was pretty bummed, but it worked out okay because my mom got to come with me. It was really cool having her there. She got to hear the heartbeat and meet one of my doctors (Dr. F) It was actually the first time I met Dr. F, and I may even like him MORE than Dr. D, which I didn’t know was possible. He’s a very calming spirit, but very thorough. I like that A LOT.

Baby’s heart rate is 148, and I’m measuring just where I should be. That last part made me a lot feel better since some random strangers have taken it upon themselves to tell me I look “too big” or “too small” for being 26 weeks (actually 27 weeks tomorrow!). I have made an oath to myself to never say this to any pregnant woman I meet because the fact is EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT, which means there is no “normal.” And why do some people pretend to even know what’s “normal?”
Sooo many people told me I wouldn’t show until like 6 months, but I’ve been showing since 12 weeks. I remember telling Cara (my girlfriend in Maryland) that she seemed to be showing early — I even thought she was having twins! And we actually ended up showing at about the same rate. I FEEL HORRIBLE that I may have made her feel “abnormal” for even a second!! Lesson learned (sorry Cara!). And based on the “too small” and “too big” comments, obviously no one really even knows what is “normal,” otherwise they’d be telling me the same thing — not complete opposites. Anyway, that was pretty random… sorry!

Also signed up for our birthing classes. We start June 23 and it goes for 5 weeks. I’m pretty excited, but also a little nervous. This is where we talk about all of the stuff you know is coming, but put off thinking about because you have time. Well, starting this class is kind of admitting that time inching closer, which makes everything more real. For the most part, that makes me ecstatic, but there’s a part of me that is still scared to death. And, yes, I know that I won’t learn real parenting skills in a class — nor will anything prepare me for labor — but I have to say I’m a firm believer in education and reading. I wouldn’t know how to balance my check book if I didn’t read my 2nd grade math book. Of course there’s a balance, but I am not about to blindly go into parenting without preparing myself with some knowledge. I would never do that with anything else in life, let alone the most important responsibility I’ll ever have.

Okay, well, I’m obviously in a venting mood today, so I’ll give you all a break. I’ll post pictures of the nursery soon and update you on my glucose test –the next milestone — although with my newfound approach, I can honeslty say I’m not too worried about it!

:o) Lisa