Saturday, April 7, 2007

Happy birthday to me

I can't believe I'm 37.

I still watch MTV (Vic says he's going to cut me off when I turn 40). I still listen to Justin Timberlake. I still read Us Weekly. And am I going to be a pop culture fanatic for the rest of my life? Or will I finally outgrow it at some point?

It's interesting because even though Vic is a few months younger than me, he comes across as much more mature and serious. He has rarely been carded in his life - but then again, that's probably because he started sprouting facial hair at age nine. I used to get carded all the time. Even up until a year or so ago, I've been mistaken for a student.

The last few years have taken a toll on me, though. I don't know how much of it is due to the natural aging process and how much of it is from the stress of work, life. Even though I haven't spotted a gray hair yet, I'm noticing my body gradually aging. My bones creak sometimes. Lines are starting to show on my face. When did I get old?

My birthday itself was very nice. My parents watched Nico while Vic and I had dinner at Maharaja, an Indian restaurant we both really like. Vic loves the cashew naan they have there. He usually orders chicken tikka, while I get baingan bharta, an eggplant dish. Afterward, we saw "Blades of Glory" - a movie featuring Will Ferrell, one of my faves!

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Preggers!

Hooray! We are pregnant with our second child and have made it through the first trimester!

We had an OB/GYN appointment today and so far, everything is looking pretty good. I had a bit of internal bleeding earlier in the pregnancy, but the doctor told me to stop exercising and take it easy for a while and didn't seem too concerned.

It's such a relief getting through the first trimester and being able to tell people that I'm pregnant. The risk of miscarriage is much lower now, and with my age, I want to make sure everything is OK before telling people other than family and close friends.

This pregnancy has been hard to keep secret. It seemed like I started showing very early, pretty much as soon as I knew I was pregnant! In fact, last month, a professor confronted me at an awards reception at the university president's house and nearly outed me. Joe came up to me and commented on what I was wearing, which was an empire waist top. He winked and said, "Tell me about this outfit!". I hesitated and he smiled and said he could tell I was pregnant. I asked him to keep it quiet until I was ready to tell people.

This pregnancy has been tougher on me physically than Nico's was. I'm five years older this time (once you're 35, all of your pregnancy paperwork states "advanced maternal age") and now I have an active preschooler to chase around. During this first trimester, I've been much more tired than I remember being when I carried Nico. There were a few nights this time around where, after dinner, I said I was going to lie down for five minutes - and then I woke up the next morning! I've been a lot more nauseous this time too. Nico's pregnancy was pretty easy - I didn't have any morning sickness at all. As long as I didn't let my stomach get too empty or too full, I was fine.

Another difference is that, when I was pregnant with Nico, I was a freelance writer working from home. This time, I'm working full-time in a pretty high-stress job. The work-life balance is something I really struggle with, so that will definitely be a challenge for me throughout this pregnancy.