Get a Rare Look Inside a Byrd Nest in NYC

A colleague introduced me to something today called Eagle Cam... It's a bald eagle with her baby eagles...

This got me thinking...

Should I do a Byrd Cam once my baby byrd is born??? How horrific would that be?  Me, totally sleep deprived and a screaming newborn!!!

Take a look at the Eagle Cam and "Get a Rare Look Inside a Bald Eagle Nest in the Wild"

Fire in the Heart

For the most part, yesterday was a good day.  I took my meds, so I didn't puke. I had a delicious pizza lunch at Artichoke with one of my colleagues and a lovely trade magazine publisher, who I adore.  I got a nice amount of work done and then I capped off the day by paying my good friend A a visit.  She has a newborn, so I've been taking note during our visits.  Her baby, H, is completely adorable and quite well behaved which is giving me pretty high expectations for my little one.  She keeps telling me how tough it is to have a newborn, but whenever I see them together it looks so easy and he's so sweet, that it's tough to believe it's hard.  However, given how shocked I've been by the toll pregnancy has taken on my life, I am trying my hardest to heed her words of wisdom and mentally prepare for the next phase of this process.

Lucky for me, I still have about 4.5 months to get ready.  After some chatting we realized it was dinner time and A asked me if I wanted to order in or eat this rotisserie chicken they had in the fridge.  Eating out is really challenging for me because of how bland my tastes have become, so as lame as it sounds, the chicken sounded quite good, especially when paired with a 5 bean salad A had from Whole Foods (all the baby books recommend eating beans for a variety of health benefits).  We sat down, I nursed my plate for close to an hour, hour and a half and did a pretty good job (I can't believe how I have to force food down my throat these days, it's wild)...

By then it was getting close to 9pm, and I decided it was time to call it a night.  I gave A + H a kiss goodnight and headed out into the spring snow/sleet/ick storm to try and get a cab.  Standing on the corner, arm raised, I didn't see anything coming, but I stayed hopeful (which is odd... I have a track record of throwing mini tantrums when I can't get a cab... it's one of those NY things that makes me feel completely helpless and stranded when all I want to do is get home).  I see these two guys stumble out of a bar across the street from where I've been patiently standing for a minute or two and I can tell they're going to be competition for me... The battle is on... All of a sudden an off duty cab starts to roll down the street... My arms are waving... I can tell the driver see's me and he see's them and it's up to him.  Lucky for me, he pulls right up to me and says, hop in... He says, "Those guys were going to try and steal the next cab from you and I couldn't let that happen."  My savior.  I tell him how I can't believe these men would try and steal a cab from a young lady who is pregnant, carrying a heavy backpack (there will be posts on this later) in the snow/sleet/ick AND who has clearly been waiting for longer than they have.  So then he starts asking me about the baby, what will we name him / her, etc... A very nice cabby... the kind who deserves a big tip!  As we're rolling up to my apartment, he says to me, "Can I make a same suggestion?"  I say, "Of course"... And he says, "Anakin."  To which I reply, "Like Skywalker?"  And he says, "Exactly."  Then he goes on to ask me if that's too strong of a name.  And I didn't want to ruin this lovely cab ride home, so I told him we would think about it.  It would be a contender. I paid my fare and headed up to the apartment and that's where it happened...

FIRE IN THE HEART

Crazy, terrible, horrific heartburn... the kind where you think you're having a heart attack and you have a golf ball sized pill stuck in your throat.  This is altogether something new for me... I never experienced heartburn prior to pregnancy and didn't even really know what it was.  I pull out the doc-approved cherry flavored Maalox and begin to chug. I build a mountain of pillows, prop myself up and read my Us Weekly waiting for it to subside... waiting, waiting, waiting... How long does this stuff take to work??? My husband comes home, rubs my back for a few and all of a sudden, heart no longer on fire... THANK GOD.  Time to go to sleep.

Back on the sauce...

After feeling quite spritely all day yesterday I thought things were looking up!  Well, at around 6pm, the clouds formed and nausea struck... I tried to eat to make it go away - a bag of popcorn, jar of apple sauce, PBJ - but had no success... It was pretty disappointing, but not altogether unexpected.  I kept eating -  a quesadilla, chocolate covered almonds - and then just decided at 9pm I should call it a night... If I was sleeping, I couldn't be puking.

I got into bed, took my ginormous Citra-natal pre-natal (anti-nausea, yeah right) vitamin,  cuddled up to my snoogle and pulled out my kindle to read a little "What to Expect..."  What did I learn?  My baby is the size of a sweet potato (though other sources claimed it was a turnip and an onion) and that apparently that weird line that's formed on my belly is normal.  In fact, that the line only goes from my belly button down is an indication that I may have a little girl on my hands... Apparently pregnant gals having little boys have a line that extends above the belly button.  Who knows??? I will find out in 2.5 short weeks when we have our anatomy scan appointment.  I passed out, kindle in hand, just like every other night.

Woke up this morning to nausea and decided I didn't have the energy to fight it today... I have to go into the office, battle a NYC spring snow storm and even have a lunch meeting (PIZZA!!).  So, I took the kytril and my B6 and ate my Luna (lemon zest is the best) and now I'm showered and off to work...

Wish me luck!

Daily Conundrum

I'm always hungry but I don't want anything to eat! I thought pregnant ladies were supposed to crave all sorts of things. The only thing I crave is to not be hungry!

I'm a Lucky Lady

Today is one of those blissful days where I get to work from home.  This means I don't need to rush my getting out of bed ritual (including my luna bar, b6, etc... ) and I get to hang out in sweat pants all day.  This is truly something I enjoyed prior to pregnancy but it takes on new meaning these days.  To be able to walk around in sweats with my bump hanging out is completely fabulous.  And on top of that, when I don't have to rush out of bed in the morning, my odds of barfing go way down... So far today, no drugs and no puking... Perhaps I'm turning a corner (like I have thought many other times during this pregnancy) or perhaps this is just a good day... who knows, but regardless, I LOVE IT!  I can pop into the kitchen whenever I feel slightly hungry and set up shop on my oh so comfortable couch and work to my hearts content. Oh, and did I mention nap time?  Being able to take an afternoon nap is huge!!  I'm so sleepy lately that even a quick 30 min or hour long nap makes a really big difference.

I'm one lucky lady to have a job that I love and that allows me the flexibility to work from home at least one day a week... 

Hopefully today is the day where everything changes and I stop feeling sick and join the land of the living again...Fingers crossed!

Getting Down to Brass Tacks...

Ten reasons why pregnancy isn't all fun and games:

• Reason #1: The nonstop nausea and puking.  I am currently 17+ weeks and still nauseous all the time.  Technically, since I'm in my second trimester I "shouldn't be" sick anymore according to the doctors and the books... but guess what? I am... It's been 11 weeks of nonstop, unrelenting sickness.  I've taken meds prescribed by my doc... Zofran for a few weeks until it stopped working... Now I'm on Kytril, which works most of the time, as long as I take it before I get out of bed... If not, the floodgates open.

• Reason #2 :  This former foodie now HATES eating.  I have always LOVED food... It's been my hobby... I read Bon App and Food and Wine, am obsessed with all the food blogs, and love cooking and eating out all over NYC.  The more exotic and spicy the food, the better... Indian has always been a favorite.  Now that I'm pregnant, I cannot go near the kitchen... the smells make me hurl and my diet is reduced to kiddie food.  A typical day of eating for me now includes: Luna Bar, English Muffin, PB&J sandwich, Yogurt, Banana, Apple Sauce, Red Wax Cow Wheel, Jello, Butter Noodles and a Glass of Chocolate Milk. And the worst part about it is that I truly despise feeling hungry... eating is like torture... I have to choke food down to stave away the hunger...  What I wouldn't give to savor some tikka masala and a spicy vindaloo ... but even the thought of it at this point makes me gag.

• Reason #3: I have nothing to wear. Being 5ft tall and moderately curvy I have always had a challenging time buying clothes.  Getting pregnant has only magnified this issue... Finding maternity wear that fits me is a total bitch! I have hit up all the usual suspects for maternity clothes since I'm trying to keep things inexpensive - Gap, Old Navy, H&M, Target.  (Who wants to spend alot of money on clothes I will wear for 6 months??)  Finding tops has been ok; I've picked up a few maternity tops, and been able to pick up a few size small shirts at H&M (instead of XS, my normal size) and that's been working for me. But I have had to return all of the jeans I've purchased - either too long, too tight or the belly band hurts my bump! Thank god for maternity leggings... If not for the two pairs that I have, I would go naked, or at least bottomless.  I cannot wait until it's warm enough and I can just wear dresses every day!

• Reason #4: I feel like I have no life.  Besides my husband, wonderful colleagues and my parents, my social interaction has been minimal... I am so worried about feeling nauseous and getting sick that I don't really make plans with people... Or, if I'm feeling ambitious and do make plans, 9 times out of 10 I cancel them.  I literally have not done anything fun in so long... No sunday brunches followed by a girlie movie, no shopping days, no food / bar crawls... Nada..  And on top of that, what kind of company would I be if I were to hang out?   Who wants to be with the cranky pregnant lady who just wants to complain?  I certainly don't... I hate feeling like a no fun stick in the mud.

• Reason #5: Bodily functions galore.  Without getting too graphic, let's just say that there is a robust list of things that happen to your body throughout pregnancy and it isn't pretty.  List includes: constipation, indigestion / heartburn and horrific "i can't stand to be in the same room with myself" gas... I wonder what's next???

• Reason #6: Having to hear other people talk about how great they felt during pregnancy is torture.  Each time I hear "I felt sexy while I was pregnant" or "I still work out every day even though I'm 7 months" I want to scream! 

• Reason #7: Constant fatigue.  I'm freaking tired man... All the time.  I sleep about 12 hours a night and still want to nap every day... How is that possible?  

• Reason #8: I'm not comfortable... My belly just feels so big and tight... My back aches... I feel like my balance is totally off and I may tip over at any moment. 

• Reason #9: I have to pee every 15 minutes.  Enough said.

• Reason #10: I am moody and a total grump... can you tell?

I'm Sorry Baby

Dear Baby Byrd Greene,

I wanted my very first post to be a letter to you... Let me start by saying that you are very much wanted and very much loved.  I am grateful to be having you and want nothing but the best for you.  This blog is in no way a reflection of how I feel about you, but more a place for me to vent about the many changes that are happening to me, my body and my life.  Despite what many books and blogs say, pregnancy is not all sunshine and roses.  You'll understand when you're older. 

I also feel like it's my duty as a woman to let other women know that pregnancy is no walk in the park... I don't know if women have been hiding pregnancy side effects from each other for years thinking that if others knew, the human race would cease to exist or what the deal is, but baby, I went through my first 30 years of life having NO IDEA how challenging pregnancy could be.  In the movies and on TV it looks so nice and easy.  You get an adorable round belly, people are super nice to you, you get foot massages and special yoga classes... It looks quite easy and then you have an adorable pink baby!  I know that there are some women who are lucky enough to have real life pregnancies like that, but as you may have guessed, I'm not one of those lucky ladies... 

I know that when you arrive, all of these terrible months of suffering will be forgotten as I ooh and ahh over how adorable you are...

But for now, and for the rest of this blog, it's not about you... it's about me.

I hope you understand.

Love,
Mama Byrd Greene