White Noise

There are so many ridiculous things out there that a baby allegedly needs, but the white noise machine might be my least favorite—especially the ones that simulate womb sounds.  Because let me tell you what: my womb is rarely just making pleasant swooshy sounds.  It would be more accurate to play zoo noises, I think: the buzz of pedestrian traffic with intermittent roars and monkey screeches.  What is happening in my digestive system? I don’t know, but it is happening a lot and it’s loud from the outside—I can’t imagine what it sounds like from the inside.  But this is good, I think.  We will be able to vacuum and C can play guitar and the cat can cry all night long, and the baby should sleep through it all, right?

C was always a sound sleeper. I vacuumed his room and made all sorts of racket while he slept as soon as he was home, and I’m glad I did.  He’s 14 today, which is both hard to believe and not.  He has always seemed so much older, and I can hardly remember my life without him, yet it feels like he should still be a little kid.  I mean, he’s still a kid legally and in the way most of us are still kids, trying to figure things out, but he’s so responsible and thoughtful and kind and independent already… it’s pretty impressive. 

For his birthday, he had friends over for a backyard movie party—they watched Back to the Future—and tonight we went to Monty’s Blue Plate, where he ate Chicken in a Pie, I had huevos rancheros, which I’ve been craving since 8am, and sadly, neither of us had room for dessert.

I’ve never been a huge cake/cookie person, but this baby wants me to eat as much sugar as possible, which is bad, because it turns out my blood sugar level is pretty high, so I’ll have to have a 3.5 hour glucose screening.  The lab tech told me I need to eat 150 grams of carbs for 3 days before the test, then she said, “I know that sounds like a lot…” but I didn’t think it sounded like much.  I can just eat Fettucine Alfredo and garlic bread each day, right?  Because my Alfredo craving has been out of control for some time, and I’d like an excuse to eat it 3 days in a row.  So far, I’ve been pretty good about controlling myself, I’d say!

The beautiful cake display at Monty's...

Just before I went in for the first glucose test, I ate this delicious, huge chocolatey cookie, and after I drank the glucose drink and started getting shaky, I thought, “Duh. Don’t eat sugar before a glucose test.”  I’m thinking that’s why my level was high, so I’m not too worried about it.  And I’ve been reading up—if I do have gestational diabetes, I mostly have to stay away from sweet things, which shouldn’t be too much of a problem for the next 80 days. 

That’s right: only 80 days left (if all goes according to estimation)!  If I leave now, I can still make it around the world before I’m due!  (Or teach a few workshops, go to work, make it to all of these doctor appointments, visit the dentist, pack the house up, move all our stuff to another house, unpack the stuff in the new house, make a baby room, go to a few baby showers, take a few childbirth/baby classes, go to yoga each week, and get Carter settled into high school…)  

Wasn’t it just January last week?