Little Helper

One of the first projects on my sewing to-do list is the baby's quilt.  I knew I wanted the nursery theme to be woodland animals, but I didn't care for any of the pre-made stuff I found.  So I found some fabric I LOVED online and my mother-in-law got it all for me for Christmas.

So this weekend, I finally got started.

I didn't realize I would have a little helper.

As much as I loved the company and the idea of my little helper potentially chewing on the panels I had just put together (and doing some amorous activities with his buddy, the frog), I realized I needed a little space.

So we put the baby gate up (or dog gate as we call it).

Cotton wasn't really a fan.  I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture, but he is resting his chin on the top of the gate.  Doesn't that just break your heart?

I think they love me.

Side Note:  Taylor is completely capable of jumping the gate.  But she knows she isn't supposed to.  She's such a good girl.

Undetectable vs. Perfect

I've now been to several pregnancy doctor's appointments and several cancer doctor's appointments.

Without a doubt, I prefer the pregnancy appointments.

At cancer appointments, they use words like "undetectable" or they say things like "no sign of cancer for now".  And then they immediately point out the plan for the future... of constant tests and checks that will never end to make sure that there is no evidence of cancer (or if there is, that it is caught sooner rather than later).  So you leave feeling relieved, but knowing that you'll go through the whole thing in another 6 months.  And then 6 months after that.  And 6 months after that.

I'm still not sure if I can really say that I had or have thyroid cancer.  Has it been long enough that I can refer to it past tense?  I'm not sure.

But then you go to the pregnancy appointments.  Everyone is so happy and upbeat.  And while things aren't 100% in obstetrics, they still use words like "perfect" and say "everything looks wonderful".  They don't say those things at cancer appointments.

Either way, so much of it is out of my control.  I can't control how my baby is doing and I can't control if my cancer comes back.  But the atmosphere at the OB's office is much more upbeat.

Yeah... baby appointments are much better.

To Do List

So after my mid week freak out last week, I decided the best way to deal with my mounting anxiety (can we say nesting?) was to make a list of everything we needed to get done and talk it over with Phil.

Phil agreed.  He'd much rather help solve the problem than deal with a frantic, irrational pregnant woman.

Saturday morning, we went out for a coffee date.

We split the cinnamon roll and my coffee was decaf.  No worries.  I do miss caffeine.

And we made the nursery to-do list.

Now I know you can't see the entire list in that picture.  Just know this... it's LONG.  And most of the stuff on the list, I have to do (unless Phil suddenly learns how to sew which I don't see happening).

But the good news is that I realized most of my projects won't actually take as long as I had inflated in my mind.  And that is good news because I kind of want to get the nursery done before March 9th (the date of my baby shower!).

We have a list and we have a plan!  Now if you need me, I'll be holed up at my sewing table and going through crap stuff in the nursery.  And don't be surprised if most of my posts are centered around craft pictures and the amount of crap stuff we are getting rid of.

Mid Week Freak Out

Today started like any other day.  Totally fine.  I was feeling pretty good about the fact that it was already Wednesday.  So I got up and get ready, headed out the door for work at just the right time.  If I had left a minute later, I would have been late to work.

And then after the staff meeting, the freak-out started.  I won't go into the nitty gritty of the freak out and what caused it, but let's just say it may have centered around the baby and all the stuff we still don't have for the baby and the fact that none of that stuff is cheap.

Phil's undergraduate degree is in Chemistry.  I'm wondering why it couldn't have been in alchemy.  Seriously.  Where's a Sorcerer's Stone when you need one?  (No?  Harry Potter reference anyone?)

Then the freak out morphed into all of the things we need to do before the baby is born.  Like the fact that I am making the baby's baby.  Or perhaps that the nursery is still holding all of our extra crap we haven't gotten around to throwing/giving away/selling.  Plus we need to paint it and put the furniture together and blah blah blah.  The list goes on and on.

Pretty much the only thing we are up to date on is the actual growing a baby part and the birthing class.  And I suppose those are the important things anyway.

Phil did the best he could to calm me down via text messages and gchat.  But really nothing can really calm me down when there is a big To-Do list except actually crossing things off the list.  Couple that with the fact that Phil's PhD project needs to be his number 1 priority (after the health of his family, of course) and I kind of feel like I need to be doing EVERYTHING.

Insert third freak out.

(Deep Breathes)

{image source}

Then my baby kicked me and rolled around.  I realized that these are good problems to have.  At least I'm not worried about having cancer at the moment.  :)  And that's when the freak-outs ended.

Protein

The topic of this week's birth class:  Nutrition.

Thanks to my wonderful friend, Karla, I feel like I know a little more about nutrition than the average bear.  So when we were driving to class Sunday afternoon, Phil and I kind of thought we would be extremely bored.  In reality, while I may know about everyday nutrition... pregnancy is a whole different story.  You need a few different things when you are making a person from scratch.

I won't go into all of the details, but the main thing I took away from the class was that I do not eat NEAR enough protein.

And honestly, I knew I was missing something in my diet because I haven't been feeling right for a while.  I've been tired more than I think I should but I couldn't quite figure out why.  After the instructor explained how important protein was in the mix, it all made sense.

So protein and I are basically bffs, which is why I am so glad I found THESE cookies on pinterest last week.

{image source}

Grain-free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Dough Bites

Are they low in calorie?  Probably not because they are made with peanut butter.  But other than that, they are jam packed full of protein.  What are they made of?  Chick peas, natural peanut butter, agave, baking soda, vanilla extract, and some chocolate chips.  That's it!  Really nothing bad.

I'm not saying I am going to be eating 6 of them.  But at least I don't have to feel guilty about having 2.  After all... I need the protein, right?

Good News

I already had written and scheduled for last week when all of a sudden I was inspired with like 3 or 4 or 5 blog posts all at once.  So I had to decide which posts went up first and all that jazz.  Difficult choices, I know.

But one I think DEFINITELY wanted to post about was some of the GREAT news we got last week.

So even though I finished my thyroid cancer surgeries and treatment and whole-body scan, my time at the doctor's office is not over.  Every 6 months for a while, I'll have neck ultrasounds and blood work done to make sure I don't have any thyroid cells (or in my case thyroid cancer cells) that have come back.  It is especially important since the type of cancer I have/had has a 30% recurrence rate.

My first set of test came last summer, right after I switched endocrinologists.  My blood test was fine, but my neck ultrasound showed some enlarged lymph nodes that had to be investigated further.

It was an extremely scary and anxious time for me.  I didn't really enjoy having to have more tests and wait even longer to be told everything was alright.

But I did find out that everything was alright.  And I was sent on my way for the next 6 months.

That meant I had my next set of tests done in December and my follow-up appointment with my doctor was last week.

He confirmed that my ultrasound and blood tests came back great.  Undetectable levels of thyroglobulin and undetectable levels of thyroglobulin antibodies.  My neck ultrasound was clear.  As of right now, no sign of cancer.

Phil and I decided we needed to celebrate.  And since I can't currently enjoy a glass of champagne, that meant pizza and a cookie.

It was a very nice little celebration.  And we look forward to many, many more in the future.  :)

I'm Turning into a Hippy

I've lived in Oregon my entire life (minus the year I lived in England, but you get the point).  And Oregon is kind of known for our hippy, tree-hugging ways.  We are, after all, the home of Portland.  I don't know if you've seen Portlandia or not, but let me just tell you... it's true.

It is funny because it is true.  And then it becomes not funny because it is so true.

Even though I own a pair of birkenstocks, several flannel shirts, recycle, and my own personal rock climbing gear (because I used to go rock climbing outside fairly frequently in college), I would not consider myself a hippy by any means.

I eat meat.  I don't compost.  I don't ride my bike to work.  I don't use Seventh Generation household cleaners.  I don't eat organic.  I'm not afraid of BPA (my husband is getting his PhD in toxicology and if you're interested, he can talk for HOURS about how the whole BPA thing isn't factual).  I don't use clothe grocery bags.

But now that I am pregnant, I am finding all of these hippy-ish tendencies coming to light.  It partially has to do with the almost toxicologist husband.  But I'm finding I all of a sudden have this large concern for the environment.  Don't get me wrong, I love the environment but I never thought I would make decisions about my baby based on the environment.

How are my hippy-ways surfacing?  Let me tell you...

-  We signed up for Bradley birthing classes because I want a natural childbirth.  If we get down the labor road and I decide I can't take the pain, I reserve the right to change my mind and beg for an epidural.  But if I had my choice, I'd rather not.

-  I want to clothe diaper.  It's partially because disposable diapers are so expensive and partially because I hate the idea of all those diapers doing to a landfill.  Especially since I know enough about diapers to know that they take forever to degrade and even if their are incinerated (like the garbage in our area is), burned garbage releases pollutants into the air.

-  I already make my own laundry soap.

-  I want to breastfeed as long as I possibly can (within reason).  I'd like to go the whole first year.  Part of it is because we are having a boy and study after study has indicated that breastfeeding significantly helps boys with socialization and reading skills (how on earth they confirm this, I have no idea but I did read it).  A big part of it is that my husband is still a student and formula, like disposable diapers, is expensive.

-  When it came time to pick out bottles for our registry, I only wanted glass ones.  Why?  Because Phil informs me that glass is the only product that won't have some kind of by-products (like BPA, only real).


I have no idea where any of this stuff came from.  I know my family thinks I'm a little crazy and idealistic.  But whatever.  I'm going to be a new mother and I'm allowed to have my own crazy ideas about how I want to do things, right?

I promise I will still bathe regularly and shave my underarms.  :)