Jean went to the doctor today, her regular doctor. The flu is pretty much gone, but her throat is still sore. My friend Kelley, who is due about a week before we are, apparently has strep – a potentially serious problem. Kelley's been out for a couple of weeks now, after having contractions steadily for weeks. If Jean were to have strep, we'd want to know now while there's time to treat it.
Luckily, she's fine. The sore throat is apparently just a remnant of the flu. Once again, we're spared the scary stuff.
Actually, we've been lucky throughout the pregnancy. Other than one slightly troubling test result (the unreliable AFP test) – which was contradicted by two targeted ultrasounds – it's been a breeze. I'm not talking about my side of things: Jean has repeatedly expressed her surprise at the ease of the pregnancy. Every month we've gone to the doctor's office, and every month things look great. Now we're going to start going every week, but it's still pretty routine stuff.
The first trimester was the trickiest. Jean battled nausea and exhaustion, and won. There were times that certain foods had to be immediately removed from the premises, and even one time when I went to the market at ten in the evening to satisfy a craving. But we suffered none of the nastier problems that can come with the first trimester.
The second trimester is when things started getting fun. Not only was she starting to show, but the discomforts of the first trimester vanished. She still needed tons of sleep, and her appetite was healthy, but she also seemed to have lots of energy each day. It was during the second trimester that the AFP scare came, but in just a week we were reassured that our daughter – we now knew it was a girl – looked fine.
It was during the second trimester, specifically when we were dealing with the elevated AFP indications, that I think we set our parenting style. We made a conscious decision not to get spooked by things. We decided not to be overly cautious parents, but instead to trust in the fullness of time.
The third trimester has been the most fun. Jean got bigger, though so far not uncomfortably big. Our baby received a nickname (Bumpy). We've had two baby showers, both of which were actually fun (and it's not at all like me to feel that way). I started making daily entries in this journal during the third trimester, and have really enjoyed recording my thoughts here. Hopefully one day my daughter will read these words.
We've worked out or are working out all the practical issues: the nursery is done, day care is reserved, we meet the pediatrician on Monday, and we're bracing for boot camp (the first eight weeks, according to my sister-in-law Joanna). We're one week away from the baby being considered full term (i.e. if she shows up next Friday, she won't be considered premature).
Perhaps the biggest challenge Jean and I face is the end of our time as just we two. I've got one big project to finish for work by the first half of next week, and then I'm going to be concentrating on spending as much time as possible with Jean. These will be our last nights without interruption for quite some time, so we want to make the most of them.
It was cloudy today, but no snow and no rain. It grew colder as the day went on, but it was still warmer today than it was yesterday.
listening: Riven (Soundtrack)
watching: Cupid
© 1999 Kevin J.T. Creamer