A lot to cover

Our weekend turned out to be ridiculously busy which means, this will be a long-ass post.

Pregnancy massage
My weekend started with my pregnancy massage at About Faces.  It was simply divine.  I was not sure what to expect.  I've had multiple regular massages before, so I wasn't sure how this one would be different.  The masseuse was young and so sweet.  I told her that I was having trouble with my upper right shoulder and lower back.  She explained that she could work on those areas, but during pregnancy they can't do deep massages really.  The focus is more on relaxation and getting the circulation going.  I climbed under the sheet and blanket, where I immediately melted into the pillow and body pillow set up for me.  The main difference is that during most of the massage, I was on my side.  She did a fantastic job, and my shoulder felt better just about instantly.  The massage was $95 without tip which is kind of pricey, but worth it!  Now, if only I had an income that could allow me to go every couple weeks :) I'm hoping I can go a couple more times during the pregnancy.

Friday night
I worked for a little bit on a final project I have.  You see, for the project, I had to pick someone in my life to play a mock client.  I was assigned to pick a man to play the role, and it couldn't be a significant other.  Luckily, Kim's hubby agreed to play the role of my client.  So Friday night they came over, we took care of some of the school stuff, then we all went for a quick pizza nearby.  We got home early enough for Ian and I to watch Couples Retreat.  I fell asleep about 3/4 of the way through - that massage had definitely relaxed me!

Saturday
Saturday we got some errands done and I did school work.  We checked out a bakery as I was craving pastries like crazy.  Patisserie Poupon's pastries were delicious.  We got way too many to try, and nothing disappointed us.  Oh, the macaroons were a.mazing.  I was in sugar heaven.

Saturday night we met up with a couple of my law school friends to see Valentine's Day which was better than I thought it'd be.  We laughed a lot, I of course cried during some parts (stupid hormones), and there were enough twists in the story that I was sad when it was over.

Sunday
Sunday morning, we went to church and then the day went downhill from there - well, not all of it, but the annoying parts put me in a crappy mood.  Tessa needed some attention, so Ian walked her to the grocery store and I drove to meet them (I did some reading while they were walking).  I pulled into the parking lot, saw a lady about to leave, so I pulled up and put my indicator on.  I waited patiently for the woman to pull out, and as she was pulling out, some jerk came up behind her and pulled into the spot, stealing it from me.  I was SO pissed.  I honked, but he and the girl in his car didn't even bother looking around.  I finally found a spot and Ian and Tessa greeted me.  The entire time in the store, I kept looking for the couple and told Ian I was going to bitch at them.  But as luck would have it, I couldn't decide which couple it was (there were two couple look-alikes) so I never spoke up and said anything.

Cesarean prevention class 
The class was SO interesting, and reaffirmed our decision to go natural.  It's not because having an epidural is bad, or because having a cesarean is the worst thing - it just adds more risks that I am not willing to take on.  And as more medical interventions have become the norm since about the 70's (and continues to increase), it's interesting that it has not improved baby or mom mortality rates.  The U.S.'s labor and delivery care is not anywhere close to the top in comparison to other countries - yet we spend more money on interventions that are supposed to help mom and baby.  There are so many more statistics that I could go on and on about - but if you're reading this and pregnant, or plan on ever having kids, I urge you to do some research.  We are currently reading Pushed together, and it provides such great information to help us make our decision.  It truly scares me that women are being pushed to have unnecessary interventions, when mom and baby are both healthy and not high-risk.  It's important to know your rights going into labor, and know that you do not have to consent to anything the doctor or nurse is encouraging you to do.  Every single thing they do to you during delivery is your choice.  I will not forget this. 

Also, the class further confirmed that we want to hire a doula for the labor and delivery.  I want someone with me who knows the ins and outs of delivering a baby, knows techniques to help me through it, can help support Ian and help him comfort me in ways that he may not know how to without her, and be able to keep us focused on what we want.  Also, if something doesn't go according to our plan, I want someone there who knows me better than the nurse or doctor, who can explain things and talk through things with Ian and I without the presence of a doctor or nurse, who may have other motives besides our best interests and wishes.  And if the worst happens, if I do need a medically necessary intervention like a cesarean, I want someone who can be with me the entire time so that Ian can go wherever our baby goes when he/she gets checked out after delivery. 

The class was a huge success in my book.  I feel better informed and assured that we are making the right decision for our situation.  Please do not take our opinion about our delivery as me saying that if you do something different, it's wrong in any way.  Truly, it's a completely personal decision that requires a lot of thought and understanding about who you are.  This is simply the plan that we think works best for us and our personalities, and is what we want for our baby to be entering the world.  If you want more details, feel free to leave me a comment and I'll either answer it on the blog, or if it requires a more detailed response, leave me a way to contact you and I'll be sure to answer if I can.

Sunday night
We got home from the class to find that the parking spot Ian had shoveled for me, that we had saved with a chair, was taken.  I wouldn't be upset if there were other open spots near our house that weren't covered with snow/ice (I'm so scared of falling now that I'm pregnant!).  We knew where the person lived, although we don't really know the person.  So I went to their door and knocked.  A girl answered the door and I asked if she owned the particular car.  She explained that it belonged to her sister-in-law, who wasn't home.  I politely explained that I'd appreciate if she could just pass the message along as to why I've been saving that spot (it's ice free for this pregnant lady!) and if she could move it when she got a chance.  The girl then gave me attitude so I lost it on her.  I totally get that legally this woman can totally move our chair to take the spot.  I get it.  But everyone on our block has been so respectful about not taking the spot that they didn't shovel out, especially considering a lot of the spots can only fit that particular car in and out.  My SUV simply won't fit in a spot where, say, Ian's might.  So if someone with Ian's size car swoops in and steals a huge spot that clearly fits an SUV, where are the SUV's supposed to park?  It means Ian will have to go out and shovel more to make a spot for me.  As of this morning, the car is gone so it better stay that way! 

I'm pretty sure Ian was embarrassed by me losing my shit on this girl (I wasn't TOO bad people).  But I'm also pretty sure he's happy that I took my anger out on the appropriate people instead of bottling it up and taking it out on him.  At least he should be :)