It's a Boy

My sweet little boy was born one month ago, April 30 at 3:23 am. He was 22 1/2 inches long and weighed 9 pounds 4 ounces.

I didn't intend to be away from the blog from so long, but he is a very demanding eater; I was spending 12+ hours a day nursing for a LONG time. Fortunately, he's started to go longer between feedings now. I'll be back soon, but for now, I can't tear myself away from starring at (and kissing) this little face.

Moses Basket Alternative

In keeping with our efforts to contain cost and clutter (unintentional alliteration), we haven't bought a bassinet or Moses basket for the baby. Instead, we plan to keep it in a regular basket for the first couple of months.

I've had this basket for years; it was given to me as part of a housewarming gift and held bath towels and melamine kitchenware, but I've seen similar baskets at Ikea and discount stores like TJ Maxx. What I like about this basket is that even though it's made of natural materials it's extremely strong, it's shallow, and it has handles.

To prepare the basket for baby, I simply folded up a towel to the dimensions of the basket and then inserted the towel in a pretty embroidered pillowcase. Remember, you don't want babies sleeping in anything too cushy because it can be a suffocation risk. The towel provides enough padding while still being a firm...and it's easily washable.

Because babies outgrow Moses baskets and bassinets so quickly, they can only use it until they learn to roll over, it just makes sense to re-purpose a regular basket for a few months for baby, and then re-integrate the basket back into home storage when you're done with it.

P.S. I totally don't think you need a Moses basket or bassinet, but because my husband really wants to co-sleep with the baby and there's some increased risk of SIDS with that, a basket seemed like a good way to keep the baby in bed with us without compromising safety or splurging on a co-sleeper.

40 Weeks

Using my conservative due date, based on my cycle length, I was 40 weeks yesterday. Using my more traditional due date, based on my last period, I will be 42 weeks tomorrow. Physically, I'm ready to be done with this. Emotionally, I don't know if I'll ever be ready.

If you can't get enough of "Baby Watch 2012" be sure to follow me on Instagram. I'll be able to announce the baby there before I'm able to announce it on the blog. (Turns out I'm going to have to have a hospital birth so I won't have internet access for awhile.)

And just for fun, I've set up a little poll over there in the upper right corner where you can register your guess for this baby's sex. I don't have a strong feeling about it, but I have a hunch. However, Chuk has a strong feeling about it and his guess is the opposite of mine.

Gender-Neutral Renters' Nursery

Over the weekend, we finished the baby's room. By "finished" I mean, as good as it's going to get before the baby comes.

Above, you can see the view from the doorway if you're standing in the hall.

If you follow me on Pinterest, you know that initially, I had wanted to do a nautical themed room. Chuk was concerned that a nautical room would look too grown up for an infant and would read as too boyish with so many blue accents. Since we're waiting to find out the sex of our baby, we needed a gender-neutral nursery. Ultimately, we decided to do a room of bright, happy colors with vintage accents, particularly vintage sports accents.

(From all the cords in the corner, you can tell I don't bother to stage photos. Eh, the room doesn't need to be baby-proofed immediately, right? Don't worry, we'll secure them before the baby becomes mobile.)

The main challenge in decorating this room was that, as renters, we can't paint or change the flooring or other fixed elements. Builder beige walls and taupe carpet doesn't really contribute a lot to the idea of "bright, happy colors", but fortunately baby accessories tend to be bright.

In these photos, the room looks significantly larger and better proportioned than it is in reality. Because the rest of our apartment is small too, we need to keep all the baby toys in this room and it has to function as a playroom as well as a bedroom. (It's also my husband's office. His desk and all our files and office supplies, as well as general household storage, is in the closet.) To accommodate all these functions, we tried to keep the furniture against the walls and added storage to the wall, so there would be space to play in the center of the room.

We couldn't afford to spend a lot so we took advantage of gifts, things we already owned, second-hand finds, DIY projects, and generally just made do.

We still need to finish the crib skirt, hang artwork, and decide whether or not we're going to paint the dresser (there's a long story behind it that makes the decision less than straightforward.) I'd like to find an affordable and colorful rug to disguise the carpet too, but so far, we're really happy with the room. It is such a satisfying feeling when your vision materializes the way you imagine it will.

Sewing A Changing Pad Cover

I found it shocking to learn that changing pad covers cost more than the actual changing pad for a changing table. As usual, I decided to tackle the project myself to save a little money. I had no idea how to do it, but it wasn't too hard to figure out a "good enough" way.

I simply sewed a hem around the edges of the fabric, then laid the fabric upside down on the changing pad and pinned just the corners, taking up the excess fabric at the corners (like you would when wrapping a present.) Then I sewed a straight line down where I had pinned to form a corner and repeated for all four corners. I turned it right side out and slipped it over the changing pad for a semi-fitted cover. The professional covers have elastic around the bottom (like a fitted sheet) but I find it looks exactly the same if I just tuck the ends under the pad. I was able to make three covers for less than the cost of buying one.

Due Dates Annoy Me

Bear with me while I go on a crabby rampage, OK? Pretty much everyone's favorite question to ask me is when my due date is. It's understandable in some respects: I've been pregnant for the better part of a year and it looks like I'm smuggling a very large watermelon under my clothes. However, it irritates me when people don't accept my answer or continuously ask me the question again and again as if my answer is magically going to change.

Here's the thing about due dates that people fail to recognize: They're really called ESTIMATED due dates. No one knows when a baby is going to come. No one. Even if you're being induced, you don't know that the baby isn't going to come early.

Generally, estimated due dates (EDD) are calculated by adding 40 weeks to the first day of your last period. What this fails to take into account though is that all women and all babies are different. If your menstrual cycle is longer or shorter than 28 days, the 40 weeks is already off.

Secondly, even though ultrasounds seem like they're super accurate because you're told you're "X weeks and # days", after the 12 week of pregnancy ultrasounds aren't very accurate at dating pregnancies because fetuses develop at different rates after that point. (Think about how some babies walk at 10 months and others walk at 13 months. It's the same type of thing when they're still in the uterus.) The EDD from ultrasounds also seem to be a moving target since almost everyone I know who has had more than one ultrasound has had her due date changed, which is always funny to me since the conception date didn't change.

In addition to your cycle and your baby's development, the 40 weeks is just an average too. A baby is considered full term if it comes anytime between 37 and 42 weeks. So basically, your baby is normal if it comes anytime within a one month time frame. My birth instructor told us that on average, first babies come ten days after the EDD and one of the books I'm reading says that the chance of a woman delivering on her "due date" is only around 5%.

So when people ask me when I'm due, I tell them "in April", which is about as accurate as I can be. I'm not a psychic. These nosy parkers never accept that answer though. More than one person, most often a Facebook "friend" I haven't seen in 10+ years, has gone on to insist, "No, when is your exact due date? I want to write it in my calendar." Hell no. If you found out about my pregnancy on Facebook, you can find out when I have my baby on Facebook. I don't need you emailing me to ask if I've "popped" yet. (Incidentally, this is my least favorite phrase ever. Do they think the imagery of popping or exploding is pleasant to a woman facing imminent labor? Really? Think before you speak, Dummy.) Multiply the same mildly annoying question by every single person I know and some random strangers who decide they have a right to be up in my business and you get one irritated mama-to-be.

The icing on the cake of irritation is my father-in-law who asks weekly if we have a more precise due date yet. We have explained to him numerous times all the above information about how EDD are just guesses and there is no way anyone could be certain, but he refuses to accept it and just keeps asking. It's enough to make me want to bang my head (or his?) against the wall.

Now, when Chuk or I get an insistent due date questioner, we quip, "It's a baby, not a library book." If we can get a giggle, usually it's enough time for us to change the subject. Phew.

Since you readers are all nice and I have gotten one respectful question about this issue, I will tell you I have two EDDs. I was told by one midwife that I'm due April 8, which was simply based on 40 weeks after the first day of my last period. My current midwife has my EDD as April 20, which she calculated according to my freakishly long menstrual cycle.

Personally, I'm really hoping to either have the baby April 18 because 18 is a special number to me (I think this baby was conceived on July 18; Chuk proposed on August 18; my dad's birthday was September 18; and my birthday is October 18) or April 25 because that was my grandma's birthday. (I've written about her here, here, and here.) I would also be happy with April 8 because Easter is my favorite holiday.

The absolute worst day for me to have this baby is April 15 because Chuk has a second round Jeopardy audition that day, which cannot be rescheduled. Because I want him to fulfill his life dreams, I've told him he's going to the audition no matter what, but he insists he wouldn't go if I was in labor. Obviously, this means I'm going to have the baby on April 15 or 16 because that's just how the universe works. I would appreciate it if you kept your fingers crossed that I'm not in labor April 14-16 anyway though. (And although it's secondary to a healthy baby, if you want, you can also keep your fingers crossed that he makes it onto the show because that would be so fun and make him so happy.)

Curtains in the Nursery

We're still plugging away at getting this baby's room ready for it. In a closet I had a pair of curtains from the room I rented when I moved to DC eight years ago. They're just cheap-y white cotton curtains from Ikea, but I have always liked the texture of them; they look and feel like linen.

They were an awkward length for the window, neither floor length nor cafe length. Though I generally prefer floor length curtains, I think shorter curtains are safer in a baby's room (so they can't be tugged on.) I sewed a big hem on the both panels and then added some ball fringe to the bottom to make them a little more fun. I love the way the ball fringe looks with the Jenny Lind crib we have.

I had the curtain rods and finials from that same Ikea shopping trip eight years ago. Chuk kindly hung them so I wouldn't have to stand on a chair with my big belly.

Other than the cost of four yards of ball fringe, which I think cost around $13 (and I still have some left over) the curtain project was free. It only took an afternoon and turned out better than I imagined it.

P.S. Try not to be too jealous that four out of the five windows in our apartment look out onto an alley with a cinder block wall adorned with peeling paint.

Lighting the Nursery

Apparently, the nesting instinct skipped our house. So when it finally dawned on us "This baby is coming soon" we decided we needed to kick it into high gear and get our former office/guest room ready to become a nursery. We had sort of been working on it for months, but our efforts were more along the lines of brainstorming ideas and decluttering and rehoming nearly everything that had been in that room. It was a big job in and of itself, but it has left little time for the fun, "prettifying" part of it.

While "prettification" is all well and good, we're still working with a budget which is best described as "the closer to zero the better". I had the lamp pictured above for at least seven years. No joke, I have a thing for acrylic furniture and accessories and it matched my feminine, single girl bedroom back in the day. It does not match our gender-neutral nursery though.

With no overhead lighting in that room and no desire to buy a new lamp when I already had a functional one, a lamp makeover was in order.

Two quick coats of silver spray paint and a new lampshade later, it looks like a new lamp. We already had the lamp and spray paint, so I'm counting those costs as $0. The lampshade was $7.99. Less than $10 for a "new" lamp, nice.

Linking to 320 Sycamore.

Not the Brightest Bulb

I had a prenatal appointment today and the midwife began it by asking me some questions one of which was, "Have you started having contractions yet?" I responded that I didn't think so. I never got the tightening sensation, but I had been getting crampy in the evenings and at night but that I wasn't sure if it was just part of my normal aches and pains or something more. She said it could be Braxton Hicks, but wasn't necessarily so.

Later, as she was doing my abdominal exam, she said, "You're having a contraction right now. Do you feel how hard it is there?"

I said, "I thought that was just the baby pushing against the wall of my stomach."

She said, "No, those are contractions."

I started laughing and said, "Well, in that case, yes, I have contractions all the time."

What a dummy! Who doesn't know they're having contractions? Hopefully this means an easy labor.

Pregnancy Makes Me Clingy

When I hear other pregnant women talk about what they're afraid of it always seems to be pain in labor or something being wrong with their baby or that they won't be a good mother, but I'm not really afraid of any of those things. However, in the last month or so I've become absolutely terrified that this baby is going to change my marriage for the worse.

Chuk and I are in such a good place in our relationship that whenever I someone tells me "A baby changes everything" (and people say crap like that a lot because apparently people love to try and freak you out) my heart starts to pound. I don't want anything about my marriage to change. Yet, it inevitably will change; we'll have less time for each other, less money and more stress.

I think part of this stems from my own parents, who were happily married for seven years before having three kids in four years. Their marriage started deteriorating not long after and they eventually divorced. While neither of them ever blamed (or even insinuated) kids had anything to do with their split, the chain of events seems pretty apparent to me. Additionally, the happiest couples I know are childless couples.

The manifestation of my fear is that I've gone from being a sane individual to the clingiest person that has ever walked the face of the earth. I don't want to hang out with anyone other than Chuk. If I could just stay home and cuddle with him on the couch while we watch TV all day and all night I would be a happy, happy woman. Despite how much I hate being pregnant, I find myself hoping that this baby is late because I think, "These are the last few weeks we have left as just the two of us for the next 18-25 years."

Even though we planned for this baby, and it was not a decision either of us rushed into or took lightly, I never anticipated feeling this way. Chuk and I talk openly about my fear. He tries to reassure me, but sometimes I think I'm not ready to have a baby. (Too late to decide that now!) Realistically, I know the only way to get over this feeling is to get through it, and I will, but I think it's important to put it out there because maybe someone else is going through the same thing. I don't know anyone who has this particular anxiety during pregnancy, but surely I can't be the only one. I think it's important that we're honest about our feelings (for better or worse) so that we can support one another.

My Post-Pregnancy Fantasy

While I consider myself a girly girl, I don't go in for a whole lot of pampering. Sure, I like it, but at this point in my life, it's not really worth the expense to me. I haven't had a manicure since my wedding day and I've never had my eyebrows shaped.

I like the girl on the right's hair, but I wonder if I should try to be more daring.

Generally, this low maintainance lifestyle works for me, but for most of this miserable pregnancy I've had one dream that keeps me going (you know, besides getting a cute little baby at the end) I want to go to a fancy pants salon and get my hair done. I have no idea why this is my fantasy and not something more predictable like a vacation or a massage, but it is.

Normally, I either get a $20 haircut from one of those chain places or have my husband just give me a trim. I've gotten more expensive haircuts before (never more than like $60 or $80) but I have boring hair and the cheap cuts end up looking like the expensive ones, so I just don't bother.

I have long, straight, dirty blonde hair with a cowlick in the front and I'm not willing to invest any time into it on a daily basis. I'm hoping a fancy salon will be able to take this information and give me an actual STYLE that looks good and will suit this new phase of my life. I want to look pulled together and chic, but still youthful. I'm guessing a cut and highlights are going to cost in the neighborhood of $2oo, which kind of makes me want to throw up, but the heart wants what the heart wants.

Feel free to send me pictures of cute hairstyles.

Baby Shower

While this Saturday finds Chuk and me sitting at home blowing our noses and whinging about our colds, last Saturday we were having a great time at our baby shower. We did a little craft of painting onesies and opened gifts and played just one little game guessing how many candies were in a baby bottle, but we mostly just hung out, ate snacks and laughed.

I'm always inspired by my friends' entertaining styles. None of them read lifestyle blogs so there is very little emphasis on making things Pinterest-perfect, but a lot of emphasis on making sure everyone is having fun. There was no theme, no color scheme, just a few little snack options (a cheese plate, veggies and dip, and some store-bought desserts) and they didn't even clean off their fireplace mantel, yet no one cared. I think there's a lesson in there for me.

Maternity Clothes on the Cheap

I'm in my third trimester of pregnancy and I've spent less than $100 on maternity clothes. I've had a hard time finding national averages for how much women spend on maternity clothes, but I've seen estimates ranging from $400 on a bargain website to $1200 on MSN money. One of my favorite frugal bloggers, Penny Saver, who is a never-ending source of inspiration for me, spent almost twice as much as I did on her maternity wardrobe, so I think I'm doing pretty well.

The first thing I did was evaluate my existing wardrobe to see what would still fit my growing belly. I was surprised how much still works for me. I had two empire waisted tops, two turtlenecks, a long sleeved tee, two polo shirts, two sweaters, and five dresses that fit me. Serendipitously, I prefer shift and wrap dresses; both styles work well as maternity dresses. I also had one sweater dress and the knit simply stretches over my bump. Cardigans, scarves, jewelry and other accessories should not be overlooked either as all of these pieces will fit you throughout pregnancy. (Simply don't button the cardigan.)

I think one of the reasons I was successful at finding so many pieces in my own closet that work for me is that I was very careful in how I thought about things. I spent a lot of time going through everything and trying things on. Have you heard that saying that you wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time? Your potential maternity clothes are probably in the 80% of clothes you don't wear very often/have forgotten about. Seriously, take an afternoon and try a bunch of stuff on.

Though I already had a lot of stuff I could wear during my pregnancy, I had to buy a few things to fill in the gaps. I bought:
1) a maternity band, which helped me wear my regular jeans into the second trimester. This is the one I have. I don't know if it is better or worse than other types, I bought it because it was cheaper than others I saw.

2) maternity jeans. All of my pre-pregnancy pants are mid-rise, which are not very forgiving with a swelling abdomen. If you typically wear low rise pants, you may be able to get away with not buying maternity pants. I bought these maternity jeans when they were on sale. I had to get them hemmed (at my dry cleaner's) which added to the cost, but even with the cost of hemming they were WAY cheaper than any jeans I saw at specialty maternity stores.

3) two pairs of leggings. (In retrospect, I wish I had only bought one pair. I haven't needed two.) I knew I had a lot of dresses already in my wardrobe, so my plan was to pair them with leggings to get me through the winter. I bought these online from JC Penney when I bought the jeans.

4) a pair of pajama pants. (In retrospect, I wish I had bought two pair because I live in these.) I bought these from Old Navy. They are regular (non-maternity) PJ pants. I bought them two sizes bigger than my normal size and they are glorious. Hands down, my favorite outfit is one of my husband's undershirts and these oversized PJ pants. It is a personal tragedy for me that I can't wear it out of the house. I wear it to bed and for lounging, too.

5) extra undies. Some women, including me, develop a problem during pregnancy where it feels like your crotch is bruised. It's simply a result of increased blood flow to the region, the baby putting pressure down there, and your body loosening up. I heard going commando or wearing bigger panties can help. I bought new panties two sizes larger than what I usually wear. They are the granniest of granny panties, and you know what, I don't care one bit. They're comfy.

6) a caftan. I was given a caftan from this etsy store for Christmas. (I'm not counting its cost in my total since it was a gift.) It is incredibly comfy and though I just use it for lounging, theoretically I could wear it out too. I'm thinking about wearing it as my post-delivery coming home outfit since I think it will be easy to nurse in. I am also thinking about buying another one for post-pregnancy.

The reason I listed my sources for things (none of the links are affiliate links) is because I want you to notice that I didn't buy anything from a maternity store. Maternity stores are a rip off. You're going to pay a ton of money for poor quality clothes. I'd rather spend that money on cute baby clothes or on decorating the baby's room.

In summary, to save money on maternity clothes I would suggest you try to reuse as much of what you already have as you can. You should consider buying regular, non-maternity clothes two sizes bigger than what you normally wear because simply being labeled "maternity" carries with it a premium price. If you do need specific maternity clothes, shop sales and clearance at department stores rather than specialty maternity stores.

Maternity clothes are not investment pieces for the rest of your life; you're only going to wear them for a few months, so you might as well save some money on them. Although my maternity wardrobe is small (it all fits in one dresser drawer) I have more than enough to last me the whole pregnancy, spanning three seasons, and I don't feel like I'm wearing the same thing everyday. And even though I am a housewife, I daresay that my maternity wardrobe would work just as well if I worked in an office.

21.5 Weeks

I spent all day yesterday either on my knees in front of the toilet or lying very still on my bed (unsuccessfully) willing my nausea away. I told my husband, "I'm throwing up like it's my job." Then I realized, it kind of is my job. I suddenly became VERY thankful I haven't had to work outside the home during this pregnancy. I have such respect for women who do.

Good Things About Being Pregnant

So, I realize I've been pretty negative about pregnancy. While, in my limited experience, it does mostly suck, there are some good parts to it too. What I like, in no particular order:

1. No more cleaning the litterbox.
2. Eating cheese is strongly encouraged.
3. People are always offering to bring you glasses of water and pillows.
4. Naps suddenly become much more socially acceptable.
5. Snacks whenever you want.
6. Greater body acceptance...That big tummy isn't my chub; it's the baby.
7. People are more forgiving of your flaws. Everything from grumpiness to forgetfulness is blamed on the pregnancy.
8. Finally, an excuse to browse through those tiny, cute baby clothes.

Edited to add:
9. No more periods!

Telling Family I'm Pregnant, Part III

We're lucky that we live close enough to Chuk's family that we were able to tell them we were expecting in person...the only people we told in person. We had already planned on going down to them for a visit because we were participating in a suicide awareness walk.

Because I am the best daughter-in-law in the world, I continued my habit of making Chuk's dad a cheesecake. We all ate dinner as a family and when we had finished Chuk grabbed the cheesecake, which had been covered since we arrived a couple of hours earlier, and put it in front of his dad and said, "We made you a sweet, little treat."

His dad gave us a weird look, probably thinking we made him something gross, and slowly peeked under the cover and saw that we had written "A BABY". Then he got a huge smile on his face and put the cover right back down. Chuk's sister was like, "What? What? What is it?" and then their dad took the cover off really fast with a flourish. My sister-in-law read the cake and screamed and then got all teary eyed and kept saying, "Really? Congratulations!"

There were lots of hugs and questions and my poor little niece was as confused as could be. So I sat her on the chair in front of me and said, "There's a baby in my tummy." Without hesitating, she lifted up my shirt and then gave me a look far beyond her 22 months, a look that said "You're full of $h!t." I don't know how to explain these things to babies, so I simply said, "It's hiding inside so you can't see it until you're two." She spent the rest of the evening kissing my tummy (which we all failed to get a picture of) not because she understood what was happening, but because we would all clap for her after she did it and that is a girl who appreciates applause from her fans. I can only hope our baby is just like her.

It was our least elaborate announcement, unless you count the email we sent to our friends, but it was so special to get to see the reactions with our own eyes. I only wish I could have seen my families' faces, but I have pretty good idea of how they looked.

Happy About Little Things

Yesterday, the maternity jeans I ordered online long ago finally arrived and, more significantly, I felt my baby move for the first time. This has been (and continues to be) a difficult pregnancy. While I know I should be thankful I was able to get pregnant easily and the baby and I are both healthy, I have to admit being in physical pain every single day for months on end has taken a psychological toll on me. Even though the jeans are just a little thing, that and quickening, which is a bigger deal, were just the little mood boost I needed to keep on going. I'm working hard on curbing my complaining and keeping my focus on the end goal.

Telling Family I'm Pregnant, Part II

I can't get these pictures to orient properly. (My mom sent them to me from her phone, so I think that's why they're wonky.) If I invest anymore time in trying to fix it, I'm going to lose my mind, so just tilt your head to look at them. Thank you very much.

I wasn't able to tell my mom about my pregnancy in person either because she lives in California too. This was really sad because my mom loves babies more than anything and has been longing for a grandchild for YEARS. She is the only one of her friends without one. So I knew I had to do something extra special to tell her about her her first grandchild.

I made her a mini book from Snapfish. (I wasn't compensated to tell you that.) Blogger isn't letting me link, but it was a 2 x 3 mini photo book and cost $6. I titled the book "Family" and it had chronological photos of our family starting with baby photos of my great grandfather, then my grandmother, my mom and then my mom's kids. Then the pictures started to include images of my siblings and I as we grew up so that towards the end of the book there were pictures of my wedding and recent pictures of Chuk and me. This book holds 24 pictures, so it was easy to tell the "story" chronologically.

The final picture was of my positive pregnancy test and I wrote the announcement on the inside of the back cover.

The book was so little I was able to stick it in a regular business size envelope for mailing. It was light enough for just one stamp, but I put two on it, just because I'm paranoid. I wrote on the envelope for my mom to call me before she opened it because I wanted to hear her reaction.

The few days wait for her phone call was agonizing, but when she finally did, it was so special. She started crying halfway through the book before she even got to the pregnancy announcement. When she finally figured out what was going on she screamed and started crying even harder. It was really cute and certainly the biggest surprise of her life.

She carried the book around with her everywhere in a ziplock bag "for protection" for more than a month and has also requested a back-up book so she can safely store the original while still showing everyone her book. She's kind of crazy, but I'm glad she likes the book. I keep telling her it's the best $6 I've ever spent.

Still Feeling Barf-y

But I heard my baby's heartbeat for the first time yesterday, so hopefully it's starting to balance out. (Can you hear the pleading in my "voice"?)

Anyway, I'm alive and hopefully I'll have the energy to start posting again more regularly soon. In the meantime, I'm getting lots of rest and trying to keep up with your blogs. Please send me recovery thoughts.

Pregnancy Sucks

Riddle: What's worse than puking your brains out on a Friday night because you're totally and completely drunk?

Answer: Puking your brains out on a Friday night because you're not drunk.

I thought I was turning the corner on this morning sickness stuff, but apparently not.

You know that phrase, "Misery loves company"? I woke my husband up in the middle of the night so he could rub my back while I threw up. Then I made him promise me that the baby would love me more than him, because really, it's only fair.