My letter to Old Navy

I went into Old Navy today for my first foray into maternity clothes. I left disheartened because the stupid store didn't have ANY maternity clothes. You have to get them on-line. The following is the e-mail that me and my pregnancy hormones wrote once I got home.


To Whom it May Concern-

I have a complaint regarding your maternity wear and in-store availability.

I am pregnant with my first child. As with many people in the country, we are on a budget. I have always loved shopping at Old Navy because of your affordability and selection of current styles. Your sizing is never really consistent so I always make sure to try my items on at the store. No big deal.

I live in Colorado Springs, CO and have 2 Old Navy stores near me. The one I normally shop at is the store in Chapel Hills Mall. It is smaller and the selection is not as great as the one located at Powers & Barnes in Colorado Springs, but it is more convenient. There is a small maternity selection as the Chapel Hills store, but nothing impressive. The other store, as I said, has a larger selection and is a little bit nicer. I went to the Powers & Barnes store today to look at their Maternity section, but they do not have a maternity section. Granted it might be the hormones, but I almost started to cry I was so frustrated.

Before I was ever pregnant, I had heard about how affordable and great Old Navy was for maternity clothes and was excited to start shopping. Now I am frustrated with you for ostracizing your pregnant customers and forcing them to get all their maternity wear on your website. I will not buy clothes from Old Navy on-line. As I stated previously, your sizing is inconsistent and I do not want to start a game of "return these pants that didn't quite fit and hope I get a pair that does."

It is not like women are going to stop getting pregnant anytime soon so why do you not sell any, or a better selection, of them in your stores? You are sending a message to all your loyal pre-pregnancy customers that they are not important enough once pregnant to cater to their needs. If we want, however, we can go your website, pay for shipping and get clothes that may or may not fit.

I hope you can address this situation in the future so other budget conscious pregnant women can shop IN your store, try on maternity clothes and not feel like pregnancy is an affliction. Thank you for time in reading my e-mail.

--
Sara E. R
Colorado Springs, CO

This might be TMI for some. Pregnancy related.

I had my fifth ultrasound this past Wednesday on my first day of week 12. Woohoo! I survived my first trimester. I have been reading various message boards and most women don't even get their first ultrasound until week 12. I was kind of curious as to why I was so special. I knew my OB was keeping a closer eye on me, but I only speculated as to why. On Wednesday, I got my answer.

I have a uterine blood clot. This is the reason I have been spotting since week 4. It is also the reason I went to the ER in week 9. So what does that mean for me and the baby? At this point, not very much. I think my OB didn't tell me earlier because he didn't want me to worry. It is preventing the placenta from attaching 100% to my uterine wall. The blood clot, however, is shrinking and the placenta is attaching as the clot shrinks. He showed Dave & I where the placenta is attached and where it isn't. We were super relieved because it is not nearly as bad as it sounds. Also, my OB reassured us that the baby is not affected by this. In fact in the ultrasound he/she was moving around and the heart rate was 167.

I am so happy that the 1st trimester is over, our baby is growing and that our family is healthy. These hormones, however... I cry at everything! I watched a Lifetime movie yesterday about a woman who had twin sons that were autistic. I was sobbing when Dave came home and he was terrified that something was really wrong. Granted, my entire view on Autism is based on the wonderful boy that I work with and the strong support system that he has. It makes me sad that so many people are ignorant to this disorder, but that is another blog on another day.

My morning sickness is waning, but I still have my moments. Dave has been a gem during this past month rolling with the punches like a pro. He takes my sense of urgency seriously when I tell him that I need a Oreo Sonic Blast now. A true test of a man is how he treats his woman during pregnancy. I know that when I have gained 40 pounds, have cankles and hemorrhoids and all those other lovely signs of pregnancy, Dave is still going to tell me that I look beautiful and mean it.

Alright. I have to go to Costco and pick up some yogurt and veggie sausage now. I hope this wasn't painful for you to read!

Pregnancy Brain

I wouldn't have believed it. I probably would have made fun of other people who claimed to have it. Now I've got it. Pregnancy brain.

I should just kiss handwriting goodbye for awhile. I tried writing in my Belly Book and there are words in there that I wasn't even thinking and misspellings up the wazoo. Just typing that last sentence I had to go back and insert words I forgot to type. Chalk it up to not eating well enough or 10 hours of sleep a night just isn't enough, but I think pregnancy makes you stupid.

I was talking to Dave last night about how my body really isn't mine anymore. The baby sucks all the nutrients out my food, reaps the benefits of all the sleep I'm getting, is making my blood supply double hence all my bloody noses, slowing down my digestive system and the Dr. said if I don't get enough protein the baby will start stealing it from my muscles. How can you not love the person that stole your body for 9 months??

Seriously though, I get weepy when I think about seeing him/her for the first time. I am already in love with this child and just want to hold them. Our last ultrasound, when I was exactly 10 weeks along, showed us the most clear picture yet of this child. He/she looked very much like a baby and was moving their hands and legs around. The heartbeat filled the ultrasound room and Dave & I were in awe! We have another one scheduled next week when I will be exactly 12 weeks along.

I am almost done with the 1st trimester!!!!!!!!!!

Rockabye Baby

I was just playing around on Amazon.com and found the absolutely coolest thing ever! Maybe not ever, but I am pretty excited about it. There are some CD's that were made in 2007 that are the lullaby versions of some of my favorite bands!

ROCKABYE BABY

So far I want

1. Radiohead
2. Smashing Pumpkins
3. U2
4. The Ramones
5. Bjork
6. The Cure
7. Queens of the Stone Age

Now I know there is a chance for our kid to be cool!

We are Pregnant

So you already know. You've heard from me, Dave, my Mom or facebook. I now feel comfortable blogging.

Baby R. is due on October 21st. I am currently 9 weeks and 2 days pregnant. This has been a very interesting couple weeks with many highs and lows.

Here is my timeline:

• March 4 - Red Wings vs. Avalanche game. My last beer.
  
• March 5 - The thought of dinner made me want to throw up.
• March 7 - Still feeling nauseous I decide to take a pregnancy test. It was positive. I already had an ultrasound scheduled (for unrelated reasons) for March 10th so I decided to wait until then start getting excited.
• March 8 - Another pregnancy test came back positive. So I am thinking I am about 4 weeks pregnant. Pretty cool.
• March 10 - Day of ultrasound. The tech tells me that I am 7 weeks and 6 days pregnant. The baby has a heartbeat. I remain calm for about 10 minutes and then start crying. A lot. Tears of joy.
• March 11-16 - Nauseous every day. Not fun.
• March 17 - Ultrasound. Dave comes this time and gets to see little Baby R. The heart beat was 174 beats per minute. Old Wives tale says girl.
• March 19 - Worst day of morning sickness yet. Cannot go to work. Cannot get out of bed. Went to ER in the pm due to heavy bleeding and cramping. 5 hours later we see our baby in an ultrasound moving his/her little hand around. Very relieved.
• March 20 - OB/GYN appt. My doctor says that heavy bleeding in 9th/10th week is not normal, but not unheard of. The placenta is attaching itself to the uterine wall and starting to make progesterone on it's own. That is thought to be the cause of the bleeding.

I have 2 more ultrasounds scheduled within the next two weeks. This is going to be the most photographed baby in the womb ever! By the time I am 11 weeks pregnant I will have had 5 ultrasounds. I am glad that my OB/GYN is keeping a close eye on me though.

We are thrilled to be having a baby! I have wanted to be a mother for so many years. I think is the job I was born to have. Dave is going to make a wonderful father. He comes home every day and plays with the dogs in the backyard. It doesn't matter if it is raining, snowing, hot and sweaty, whatever. When they accidentally swallow a cat toy or eat a tomato, Dave is the one on the phone with the vet. I cannot wait to see him hold our son or daughter!

As for the baby's sex and name. You are all going to having to wait until he/she is born. We are not even going to find out the sex although we already are set on the names. Don't you just love surprises?

Baby R. at 7 weeks and 6 days

Baby R. at 8 weeks 6 days

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

This was an absolutely delicious edible arrangement from Becky! I have to admit that I ate half of them in one sitting. The chocolate coating was at least 1/8" thick. Yummy!

I did it again!

My favorite American Idol blogger, Jim Cantiello, mentioned my comment again in his live blogging! This time he also called me a jackass, just like him. Is this the best day of my life or what!!

Jim Cantiello's American Idol live blog

Look for my shout at the end!