Project Pregnancy

Pregnancy Is Different Now That I'm a Mom

Taylor Newman — Sat, 11 May 2013 19:16:37 +0000

A question I’ve been getting a lot lately is whether this pregnancy has been different than my first.

My Mama Moral Dilemma

Sarah Preston Gorenstein — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:19:19 +0000

My OB asked me if I was done having kids after the one I'm about to have, my second. Knowing it took us two years to conceive this time, he cautioned: “A lot of women like you—who’ve been through IVF—find themselves pregnant again when they least expect it. Have you thought about birth control, or tying your tubes while you’re having a C-section?”

Weird Stuff Happens to Your Pregnant Body

Sarah Preston Gorenstein — Tue, 07 May 2013 10:19:52 +0000

See that photo on the right? Those are my thankles (thigh-ankles). They’re bigger than calf ankles, or cankles.

I had terrible edema with my first baby starting in my first trimester; I’ll never forget what my then-OB said when I asked her about it. “Welcome to motherhood!”

Motherhood? Motherhood brings on swollen ankles? I think she meant to say, “Welcome to pregnancy!” But she never gave me more than 5 minutes of her time, which is one of the reasons I don’t see her anymore (that, and she misread my 20-week ultrasound, but that’s another story for another blog post).

My Before-Baby Bucket List

Taylor Newman — Thu, 02 May 2013 18:57:02 +0000

September has edged suddenly into sight – in a this-is-really-happening kind of way – and although I have a busy several months ahead of me, I’ve been drumming up a bucket list of things I want to be sure to do before a new baby takes over my world once again.

Why I Just Hired a Doula (Actually, Two)

Taylor Newman — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:17:57 +0000

I didn't hire a doula for Kaspar's delivery; I'd heard of them, but only vaguely, and I think I understood their work to be mostly post-delivery-related. (As it turns out, while there are strictly postpartum doulas, most work with mamas and couples before, during and after D-day itself.)

My Birth Plan

Sarah Preston Gorenstein — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:19:47 +0000

We had our 33-week checkup last week, and everything looks good. We also got a few things confirmed: 1) I’m still big, and I weigh a lot. Glad we got that squared away. 2) My blood pressure was high, but seconds later when they re-took it, it was back to normal. So that makes a lot of sense. And 3) The baby is clocking in at 5 pounds 3 ounces, in the 80^th percentile, and they’re estimating (just an estimation, this is never totally scientific) that she could be almost 9 pounds at birth.

Excuse me!?

This Is 39

Sarah Preston Gorenstein — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 04:23:08 +0000

We’ve been talking about Mommy’s age a lot lately, because Monday was my—try not to choke on your coffee—39^th birthday. Yep, THIRTY-FREAKING-NINE. It’s gross. I’m old. I’m an old pregnant mom. Anyone see the movie “This Is 40”? It was written for people like me. And it’s hilariously dead on. Judd Apatow’s a genius. I watched it on my way to Scottsdale, with Preston sitting next to me, and I laughed so hard I was crying—uncontrollable, ugly laughter—and praying that neither Preston nor anyone else on the plane could see what I was watching on my iPad.

The Age Gap

Sarah Preston Gorenstein — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 21:12:33 +0000

This topic seems to come up a lot, mostly by well-meaning friends and acquaintances: “How old is Preston?” they ask. What they really want to know is: “How far apart will he and the baby be?”

When I say he’s 3 ½, and will be about three months shy of his fourth birthday when the baby is born—I get the head tilt with some version of this response: “My sister and I are four years apart, and we’re very close.” Or, more likely: “My brother and I are four years apart, and we were never close.”

Get Ready, Big Bro: Preparing Preschoolers for New Siblings

Taylor Newman — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 17:21:48 +0000

Kaspar isn’t old enough to really ‘get’ what having a baby brother is going to mean for our family – i.e. we’re adding another, very small and needy person to the mix, which basically spells a new world order for little big man. But, at 3, he’s definitely picked up on the fact that something significant is about to happen along those lines.

Pregnancy Fantasy Vs. Reality: How Do You Bridge the Gap?

Taylor Newman — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 23:19:27 +0000

I’m four months along and counting, and, so far, I haven’t exactly been ‘resting up’ during this pregnancy. I’m a busy mama with two part-time jobs – one is a desk job I do mostly from home, and the other is a massage job in which I’m on my feet and super active for hours – and additional freelance work on top of that. While I love my worklife and have arranged it this way so that I can spend most afternoons with Kaspar (I knew from the moment he was born that I’d never be happy in a 9 to 5), juggling all of this -- plus mamahood -- while pregnant has, at times, felt kind of crazy.