Thursday, December 14, 2017

Currently: December

Well here we are in the final month of the year! Here's what's currently going on in my life as we close out 2017!

Reading: We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter. I've heard great things about this WWII novel that focuses on a Polish family. At the beginning the book, the author shares a shocking statistic:  90% of Poland's 3 million Jews perished during WWII. How awful is that? Think of all the potential future generations that were wiped out by the Holocaust. 

Loving:  feeling the baby move, which was what I was loving last month as well. I felt the baby have hiccups for the first time this past week which was a neat thing to feel! I've gotten to know the baby's movement patterns. He or she is most active in the evening, especially when I am going to bed. We might have a night owl on our hands when he or she is born!

Feeling: pretty tired and still having lots of issues with my RA. Lately I've been getting what I refer to as 'microflares.' Before I would get a flare (which means swelling and pain in a joint) and it would last for 2-3 days and then I'd get another one about a week later. But recently I have been getting flares that last about 1-2 days but come more frequently. For example, last week I got 3 different flares - one in metatarsal joints of my left foot, one in my right hand and one in my right wrist. I saw my doctor last week and she's upping my dose of steroids for awhile to see if we can end this cycle of flares. I'm crossing my fingers and praying that I get a break as I've had weekly flares since early October!

Thinking: about how excited I am to go back on a RA injection medication once the baby is born. I honestly kind of hated giving myself weekly injection before I got pregnant but now I am yearning to get back on a good drug! Luckily there is one that is safe for breastfeeding so I will start that asap after the baby is born. Like maybe at the hospital. Ha. 

Anticipating: my baby shower in mid-January. My mom and sisters are hosting it. This will be my only baby shower so they invited family and friends. I got the invitation last week and it is so darn cute! I can't wait to see all the details they come up with! I love that they asked guests to bring a book instead of a card!

Watching: holiday movies! I watched the 4 Hallmark movies that my friend Erin sent me, which were so cheesy and good! Now I want to watch some of my other holiday favorites such as The Holiday, Love Actually and You've Got Mail. I know You've Got Mail isn't a traditional holiday movie but I love to watch it this time of year. Plus a portion of the movie takes place during Christmas so it's "kind of" Christmasy.

Grateful: that we will see both sides of our families around the holidays. We'll spend Christmas with Phil's mom and then we will head to my parents' lake home for NYE weekend. My dad turns 70 on the 28th of December. My dad does not like attention so we will celebrate this milestone birthday by eating out as a family on NYE. 

Working: on moving things around in the guest room to make room for a few baby items. I got rid of 1 of the 2 bookshelves in that room to make room for the changing table (which we need to assemble soon!). We'll shift things around a bit more to make room for a glider as well. That's about all we plan to put in the guest/baby room, though. The baby and I will share a closet and a hamper (my closet is in the guest room since I have waaaay more clothes than Phil and they wouldn't all fit in the closet in his bedroom). 

Listening: to lots of podcasts as usual. I'm starting to shift towards more pregnancy/parenting podcasts these days in preparation for the baby's arrival. I started to listen to The Mom Hour recently and I am really enjoying it!

Wishing: for a break from flares - even 2 weeks would be great!

What are you loving, watching and grateful for?

12 comments:

Gracie said...

I know you're ready to be done with the constant flares. I'm so sorry you've had so much pain lately!

Marlys said...

Those darn flares! I am glad they don't last as long as they did, but being more frequent doesn't exactly diminish the frustration.
We are getting more and more excited for your delivery and to meet Baby Segner. It will be so blissful to have a new baby in the family again! The shower should be lots of fun - always are!
I haven't watched much TV lately or movies, but hopefully this weekend we can catch one as we don't have any plans except to wrap gifts etc, which I can do at the same time!
Oh, Mabel Murphy's doesn't take reservations on New Years Eve, but she said if we get there between 5 or 5:30 we shouldn't have a problem getting seated. Do you think that is okay?

Nora said...

I have been watching the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime and I love it! It's such a fun, fast-paced show.

Jeanie said...

A wonderful update! I'm loving all the lights and decorations everywhere (especially at home), watching too many Hallmark movies and too much news and grateful for my clean diagnosis this week!

Hi, I'm Marty said...

That is some heavy info from the book you're reading. Still, glad you're enjoy it.

Marty

katielookingforward said...

Hooray for a doctor who listens to you and adjusts accordingly! here's hoping you can get a reprieve over the holidays.

Charbelle said...

I love that you're feeling baby move! I hate the flares :( I hate you can't catch a break! We will be able to spend Christmas with both sides of our family as well and I am so excited!!! We have all our presents wrapped and under the tree minus the one name I drew and I have what to get I just need to purchase it. My aunt gave me ideas this week. It's so hard to buy for a 27 year old guy! I am excited for your shower! That will be so special!!!

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

I can't wait to read that book! I put it on hold as an ebook at the library, but now I am thinking maybe I should do it as a physical book, as the wait time is so much shorter! However, the city of Oakland has been on strike and this means that all the libraries have been closed, which is a major bummer. Luckily I had just gone and gotten three books, plus I have not been reading as much lately, so I should be good for a while!

So sorry to hear about the continuation of your flares. I was really hoping that for your sake they would be mostly in the first trimester and then would peter off as your body got used to the extra hormones or whatever. I just imagine you in the L&D ward, shouting, "steroids! Give me steroids NOW!!!" instead of an epidural or the like...

Stephany said...

I can't believe how often you are dealing with your flares. That's so sucky. :( You are such a trooper for dealing with that. Growing a baby is difficult enough, but to add constant flares to the list? UGH.

Let's see... I am currently grateful for a quick and easy dental cleaning this afternoon! I can't believe I went FIVE YEARS without going to the dentist and now I'm in and out in half an hour! Sigh. Lesson learned.

Leigh said...

Baby moves are the best! Definitely miss that part of being pregnant

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

Sorry to hear about the constant flares. That is going to be such a relief for you once you can get back on the injections.

Loving - that we've been having warmer weather, and that almost all the snow melted. It's looking like a brown Christmas, unless we get snow this week.

Watching - We started "This is Us", and it's pretty good.

Grateful for - my mom being out of the hospital. She went in two weeks ago, and we were instantly panicked, but it turned out to be just a UTI, which I guess are quite common with MS, so she stayed there a few days and then went back to her home. It's always so scary to get a phone call from Saskatoon, as it's never good ...

Amber said...

Baby moving is definitely the best part of being pregnant so I'm glad you're now feeling baby move regularly so you can at least have one small enjoyable part amongst all the terrible flares!! I am rewatching Scandal on netflix and flying through it because I spend so much time on the couch these days either feeding, burping or rocking the baby! haha. I am hoping to be able to start reading while nursing soon but still need my extra hand too much that I don't think I'd really be able to focus on the book.