Bump and the City

My water broke late Sunday night (Jan. 30) but I didn’t have contractions until early Monday morning. My husband and I spent all Monday in labor waiting, until finally my doctor said it was time to push. But Alex wouldn’t come out. The poor guy had to be suctioned out with a vacuum on his head.

The actual birth was fine thanks to the epidural but the aftermath was painful. I ended up hemorraging pretty bad and there was no anesthesia for my uterus area. It was the worst pain I had ever felt.

Turns out I had an infection and had a fever for a couple days. I didn’t even get a chance to hold Alex.

In the end, we are all doing great. It was scary at the time but totally worth it. We’re debating if Alex should be an only child… We’ll see.

My son Alexander was born just before midnight on Jan. 31. He was supposed to be due Feb. 26 so he was a month early.

He was technically a preemie so I was worried about his health. But he came out healthy and we took him home from the NICU after 6 days, just in time for the Super Bowl.

Now that Alex is thriving, I look back and am glad my third trimester was only 2 months long. In early December, the excitement of being pregnant gave way to discomfort and hormone-driven mood swings. I had gestational diabetes so I was monitoring my sugar and pricking myself several times a day. I had to watch what I ate and was having a hard time sticking to a healthy diet. Plus I was at the hospital 2-3 times a week. Not fun.

Walking was difficult. And I would get such bad heartburn that I couldn’t sleep. Needless to say, I was not enjoying my third trimester and was eager to have the baby.

I think Alex knew that and decided he was ready for the world. And thank God he came out healthy.

So I’m at 31 weeks and I’ve gotten HUGE! Just a couple months ago, I had a belly that looked like I had eaten too much, but a few weeks ago, I suddenly ballooned. My belly was so big I couldn’t sleep and I had to buy one of those weird pregnancy pillows. I kept rolling over onto my back in my sleep, which I was told is not good since it cuts off your circulation. Once I got the pillow, I felt a lot better.

I’m still tired (never got that surge of energy everyone said would come in the second trimester) and I seriously waddle. I get winded easily, which is not the greatest thing when all we do in NYC is walk everywhere. These streets aren’t making me feel brand new— they’re making me feel decrepit.

I failed the glucose test preggies take at about 6 months so now I’ve got to prick my finger several times a day to check my blood sugar. I’m in danger of gestational diabetes which I learned is pretty common, but now I’ve got another thing to worry about.

On a happier note, I had two great baby showers— one in LA and another in NYC, hosted by my very dear friends. I’ve never been to a baby shower and honestly I didn’t really want one, but my friend Susan said it would be fun and she would organize them, so I agreed. It was super cheesy and so not me, but it was nice to celebrate this big occasion with my friends and family. I would have liked the guests to have been drinking champagne or something since it is me we’re talking about, but I guess people weren’t into it.

What’s really cool is I can feel the baby moving now. He moves a lot, which is good. The hubby feels him too. Sometimes, I worry if he’s not moving, but I guess there’s not much to do in there.

Christmas is around the corner and we’re not traveling. The hubby and I will be taking it easy. Our tiny fake Christmas tree is up with the sentimental ornaments we’ve collected from various places. I made it to a few holiday parties and while I couldn’t partake in the open bars, I didn’t mind so much. There’s always next year.

One of the biggest changes to my body since getting pregnant (other than my huge belly, that is) has been my huge boobs. My 34B quickly ballooned to 38C in my first trimester. My husband says it’s the best thing ever, but for me, they’re just annoying. It’s like carrying around a bowling ball on my chest. My back hurts from the extra weight and I’ve had to trade in my sexy lace bras for old grandma-looking ones with back support. Sucks. But the worst part was the tenderness. My boobs were so sensitive I couldn’t even wear a bra and anything that touched them hurt like hell. So long foreplay. Now that I’m in my second trimester, they’ve stopped growing and aren’t painfully tender anymore, so all’s good. It’s like I got a boob job for free! Wonder what it’ll be like once I start lactating. That should be fun.

In the first 3 months of my pregnancy, I wasn’t comfortable telling friends I was pregnant. I had a miscarriage scare at 7 weeks, so I decided not to say anything til my second trimester. 

A lot of good that did.

I still went out to dinner with friends and when I’d order water or diet coke, the immediate response was “OMG you’re pregnant!”

Apparently, there was no other reason why I wouldn’t be drinking. After all, Grey Goose on the rocks was a staple in my diet. I had the reputation of being the life of the party, often challenging large Irish men to drinking contests. I was that carefree party girl, who on a few occasions, would find herself being escorted out of the bar by a nice but stern bouncer.

I was also that girl that lived like a guy — ambitious and driven, focused on my career rather than relationships. I dropped men when they got clingy and enjoyed what Manhattan had to offer. My mantra was “work hard, play hard.” Hence, I was the “Samantha” in my circle of girlfriends.

So when “Samantha” was the first one to get married, to a man six years her junior (her “Smith Jerrod”), it was a bit of a surprise. But nothing compared to the announcement that “Samantha” was having a baby. The wild child is with child.

Suddenly I get this vision of that one Sex and the City episode where the girls’ wild-now-pregnant friend is taking her top off on a table in the middle of a party. That won’t be me.

A co-worker told me something interesting the other day: The baby will adapt to your life. You’ve been around longer. You shouldn’t change your life just because you’re having a baby.

Hmmm, we’ll see about that.