Big Foxy Summer

Okay, 7 vials of blood and I didn't ask what 7 tests were being run? Oye. I suppose I'll need to call and inquire as to what they were, but I feel like a dork for not asking while I was in the doctor's office. I was just too overwhelmed by the larger implications of my visit to pay attention to details, I suppose.

Three days into my Pre-Natal Vitamin foray: Happy to report ZERO indication of rash! Also, the queasiness that multi-vitamins always, always induce in me has been slight-to-moderate. But now I suppose I've got the key to the right balance of breakfast foods to eat to avoid this complication. Yesterday's eggs and toast = no nausea; Today's bowl of granola with milk = post-rollercoaster ride stomach.

I suspect that this will be my last Big Foxy Summer. Rite of Passage stuff - the last hoorah before entering the Mom Zone - minus the drinking and curtailing the caffeine in preparation, of course, because I really don't want to have to cut everything out cold turkey the moment I pee on the stick and test Positive for fetus.

My version of Big Foxy Summer theoretically will go like this: Since I live by Venice Beach, I plan to take full advantage...Saturdays reading on a blanket in my SPF 30, walking the dog mornings and evenings on weekdays, taking photos of surfers in the early morning, gardening without wearing a mask, bending over far enough to paint my own toenails, etc. I want to roller boogie down the boardwalk like the opening sequence to Three's Company (or Xanadu!) With all that extra Pre-Natal vitamin nutritional value showing up in my skin and coat, I'll glow! It's also the last Summer that clinging to my natural haircolor will be an option. Those grays are killing me, with their wiry texture and refusal to lay flat and play nice with the rest of my mane. So I'll let my hair grow and face the color situation when it's safely an option post-conception.

I've got to enjoy where I am for the next few months, because once Dexter is born, it's his show. And I'm happy and honored to someday play Ed McMahon to his Johnny Carson. I just want to relish one last Summer of being all about my own schedule and selfish priorities!!!

Prenatal Prelude

Highly weird to be on the cusp of chasing something that I've run from for the last, uh, 21 years of my life...but "someday" is "someday soon" now, and so I went to my very first gyno appointment that embraces the goal of future motherhood.

I called my gynecologist, Dr B, a little over a month back to see how far in advance of the big Conception Project I needed to prepare my body (read: stop taking the Pill.) Turns out, 6 months...which means I pitched them and we're using an alternate method.

Things about me:

1) I am 38 years old.
2) I got married September 30, 2006.
3) Agreed with my husband that we would begin "trying" on our 1-year anniversary.

Today I went to my first pre-pre-natal appointment. Had the routine exam, then the nurse drew vial after vial of my blood until there were 7 total.

I learned that being 38 doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be horribly difficult. Dr. Blanchard told me the story of her son's wife (same age as me)...and how they tossed the birth control in November and gave birth the following September. Her positive attitude is a major plus, because everyone seems so ready to caution a late-30s lady. As if I don't know the risks, the likelihood of miscarriage, the increased chance for a child with Down Syndrome, etc, etc. I know. Believe me.

But here's the thing. When I was at my peak childbearing years I was single, and I spent my late 20s/early 30s in a relationship that was not meant to be. I've never been Mommy-in-the-waiting. I've been myself, and felt that if I found the right person and we got married THEN I'd consider having kids.

ANYWAY...

After they took 1/18 of my body's supply of blood, Dr. B gave me samples of pre-natal vitamins, and a prescription to fill if I didn't have an adverse reactions to the samples.

Q: "What would be an example of a bad reaction?"
A: A rash.

I'm aiming for being a No Rash person, because if I do have a bad reaction, the other option is a chewable kind of pre-natal vitamins that are not covered by insurance and will leave me penniless.

After I paid my co-pay (I'm gonna meet that $250 deductible like a champ!) I took my woozy self over to Whole Foods next door and treated myself to 3 little containers from the deli department: Grilled Seitan, a Tofu Salad and fresh fruit with berries.

Don't worry - in the future, I will totally remember that "eating for 2" means me and a teeny, tiny person who needs 200 calories (not the full 2,000 that a lumberjack might require.)

More later...