Mommy loves Baby Wynne ... and Caffeine!

I have never denied it.  I am addicted to caffeine.  Specifically, I drink Diet Coke. 

At its worst, this habit can reach 6 cans of diet coke per day.  At its best, this is just one diet coke per day.  It definitely hasn't been ZERO diet cokes ... since before I started grad school (8 years ago)!

When I get cranky and snappy and impatient, my husband/friends/labmates/advisor/boss have learned to ask "Did you have your diet coke today?".  Caffeine has also been my weapon against migraines and long commutes to work.

But when we started thinking about maybe having a baby, I knew it was time to let this addiction go.  And I had a plan.  A good plan.  I would be totally off caffeine before I got pregnant.  I would not let my "drug problem" affect my baby.

And then I was pregnant.

I know there was definitely one or two 6-diet-coke-days during those early days of pregnancy (during which I was ignorant to a growing Baby Wynne!).  And I felt so guilty about it.  I tried to quit cold-turkey, but the headaches (from withdrawal) combined with the nausea of early pregnancy was too much.  I have had only two really bad "pregnancy days" and the first was after 4-days of headache from the lack of caffeine.

So I did what any good scientist would do.  I went to the primary literature!  Forget those baby books that just say "don't drink this" and "don't eat that".  WHY can't I have caffeine?  And HOW BAD is it really?? 

Here is what I found from some very recent papers:

• One study found a slightly increased risk of miscarriage before 20 weeks with high (greater than 200mg per day) caffeine consumption (Weng et al. 2008 Maternal caffeine consumption during pregnancy and the risk of miscarriage: a prospective cohort study. Am J Obstet Gynecol).
• Though a recent review found that moderate or even high amounts of beverages and foods containing caffeine do not increase the risks of congenital malformations, miscarriage or growth retardation (Brent et al. 2011 92(2):152-87 Birth Defects Research (Part B))
• A review of dozens of articles found no risk of pre-term labor associated with caffeine intake (even at high levels) (Maslova, et al. 2010 vol. 92 no. 5 1120-1132 Am J Clin Nutr)

So, overall, it seems like high caffeine intake during early pregnancy slightly (very slightly) increases the risk of miscarriage, though it seems like normal amounts later on are not associated with bad things for Baby Wynne!  Yay!

(As for diet drinks, I did find one study that found a slight increase in the risk of preterm delivery with overuse of artificial sweeteners (Halldorson et al. 2010 Sep;92(3):626-33.Am J Clin Nutr.).  Which means I might need to cut back on the DIET Coke. )

There you have it.  This pregnant scientist plans to continue drinking small amounts of caffeine until delivery!  (And then a newborn might push me toward more caffeine again!)

Commonly Asked Questions #3

The third question asked after we say "We're having a baby!" is:

"How are you feeling?  Were you really sick?"

It's a very nice question.  It's nice that people are concerned.  But it just also strikes me as funny that SO many people ask it.  I mean, I expect it from family and close friends and maybe even women in general (I have learned that every mother likes to talk about their pregnancy (which I actually enjoy)).  But everyone asks.  Women and men.  Women that were never pregnant, women that have 4 kids.  Friends, work colleagues, people I just met.  It just strikes me as odd.  It's not something I ask a lot of pregnant women (though maybe I will now?).  I always asked my close friends, but never acquaintances or work colleagues or pregnant strangers I just met.  Again, very nice, just a bit surprising to me!
Common Answer: "Pretty good!  Can't complain!"

Truthful Answer: "The first few months were sort of like a perpetual hangover, without the joy of being drunk the night before."

Why have none of my friends ever described "morning sickness" as a hangover???  Because, for me, that is exactly what it was like.  Not a really bad hangover.  But maybe a 4-beer or half-a-bottle-of-rum hangover.  I was tired, and felt sort of like vomiting, but never really did.  I wasn't really hungry, but I knew that if I ate food, I would feel better.  And the food I wanted was usually french fries or pizza.  The smell of certain foods and trash (and preserved animals in the lab that I work in) really bothered me.  I could still function and go to work and drive without a problem.  I was also dehydrated no matter how much water I drank and I peed a lot.

You know, a hangover.

If someone described those symptoms to me, I would assume that the had a nice drinking binge the night before.  Though now I will wonder if they are just in the early stages of pregnancy. 

Maybe I have just experienced more hangovers than my friends that have recently had babies?  I mean, I did go to grad school for 7 years, and got in plenty of drinking in Buffalo/Canada before that time.  Perhaps this is why my mind immediately jumps to hangover.

Luckily, I made it past the "hangover stage" (which will forever be my new name for "first trimester") with only a few really bad days.  Now, I feel less hungover, though still tired.  I fear the tiredness has more to do with the amount of work and travel I do and the seriously minimal amounts of caffeine I drink.  Certain smells still bother me (eww -- bananas!!!) and some food just really grosses me out. 

But I am feeling pretty good!  Can't complain!  

Now you can comment!

Oops! 

I received a few messages on Facebook saying that non-blogger members were unable to comment on this blog. 

Sorry -- my bad.

There was a little box I needed to click in the settings menu to allow everyone to comment.  I missed it (baby brain?).

But now all is well!

You can now comment as "Anonymous" and just sign your name to the note (or not, if you want to say something mean!). 

So, please, feel free to comment away!!!!!!

The Nursery!

Here it is!  Baby Wynne's nursery!

Thanks to Nana & Pop-pop Wynne for the crib
and Grandma & Grandpa Snekser for the dresser!!
(Already the grandparents are spoiling Baby Wynne!)

 

While we live in an apartment near NYC, we're lucky that we have a spare room!
We converted this corner into the "nursery" while the rest of the room remains "guest room".
You can sort of see the bookshelf of toys and books to the right, and in front of that we still have a double bed for all of you to come and visit!  :)



It's Fisher Price Ocean Wonders bedding.



We painted the walls this green color when we moved in, but Ryan decided we needed an "ocean" to put our sea creature clings on, so we painted a two-tone blue border around the crib corner.
(Here, you can see the Octopus' Garden (in the shade)!)



And my favorite, purple whale!  :)

Surely, no one is surprised by the nursery.  I mean:
(1) It's green!
(2) It's ocean creatures!
(3) It's "gender neutral"!
(4) It's cute!
(5) It was on sale!

I will be honest .... and surely I will write more about this later ... Ryan and I like DEALS!  And this baby bedding was a great deal.  Of course, I bought it last July.  No, not July 2011.  July 2010.  Before we were pregnant.  Before we were married!

Honestly, we both really liked this baby bedding.  Ryan and I had spent some time at Babies R Us because some friends were having babies (as always!) and I mentioned that I would obviously like fish bedding for whenever we had a baby.  After looking at the four ocean themed beddings, we both liked the Ocean Wonders the best.  I liked the purple whale and that it didn't look too boy-ish with all the blue and Ryan liked the vibrant colors and the cartoon-like animals.  Then ... something terrible happened ... I went in to a Babies R Us again (for yet another baby shower gift) and it was gone!  I found out that Fisher Price was discontinuing the bedding and it was all on clearance.  I may have then called every Babies R Us in New York State to find one that actually still had it in stock!  Luckily, I found one!  :)  And we got the bedding for $35 (sheet, bedskirt, bumpers and quilt).  Anyone who has bought a crib bedding set lately knows they can run from about $100-$250!!  To get the one we wanted for a quarter of the price ... How could we say no?  :)

The fact that we already knew our nursery theme also contributed to the timing of setting it up.  Everyone is impressed that we have the nursery done "early" (some people may be cringing at the thought of having it done so many weeks before the baby is expected).  There's lots of reasons we wanted to get it done early.  If we waited "till the end" it would be December ... which for us means the craziness of giving finals, ending the semester, Christmas, and snow.  None of these sounded like a good time to set up a nursery.  Plus, I am already having enough trouble lifting and moving things.  What would it be like at 8 1/2 months pregnant?  It just seemed to make sense to us to get it mostly organized now.  Besides ... we're more than half way along!

OH -- And I want to point out that Ryan put the dresser together all by himself!  He is amazing and surprised me with it when I got home from work!  He is already the best dad (and an awesome husband in every way!)! 


We hope you enjoy the nursery!!!!!  And we hope Baby Wynne likes it too!

Commonly Asked Questions #2

The second question we get asked most often after saying "We're having a baby!" is:

"Do you know the sex of the baby?"

Answer:  Nope.  We're not finding out! 

Even before I met Ryan, I always wanted to be surprised when my baby was born.  The whole "It's a girl!" or "It's a boy!" just seems like another exciting thing to find out after a long and tiresome delivery.  And, luckily, Ryan agreed with me!  When are you ever surprised about anything in life anymore?

Besides, everyone knows how much we love green!!  I love all things green.  Ryan loves green.  We hope to have another kid that may be of the other sex -- so all of our baby stuff was going to be green anyway!  The nursery/guest room was painted a bright green long before we knew about Baby Wynne!  And the nursery was definitely going to be decorated in ocean animals (which is pretty gender-neutral).  So ... it doesn't matter what sex the baby is. 

Interesting Responses:

The idea of finding out the baby's sex seems to be pretty polarizing.  People either love it or hate it.

Love it: We have heard a lot of "good for you" and "oh, that is so fun!" or "I wanted to do that but my wife/husband couldn't wait to find out".  I think most people are on board with it (especially if they already know my love of all things green).  It's just one more thing to look forward to. 
It also seems that people love this because they get to guess!  Everyone wants to guess the sex!  They look at my belly, ask me questions about heartburn and urination and the baby's heart rate, and stare for a while.  More than one person has already told me they want to wait until I am further along to really get a look at my big belly.  (Surely more blog posts on this later!)

Hate it:  There seem to be 2 different "hate it" camps. 
The first are people who found out themselves and think we would be happier if we found out too.  I try to assure them it's OK and we can have a baby without knowing its sex (as many billions of people have over the history of human life).
The other people just really, really want to know and it is killing them that we have the opportunity to find out and haven't.  The main leader of this camp for us is Ryan's sister Lori.  Even before we were pregnant, it came up in conversation that we don't want to know the sex until birth.  This was probably after some lots of wine and during Lori's adoption processes.  When you adopt from China (as Lori did), you get to see a photo of the kid and learn a bit about them.  Lori may have even threatened to call my doctor's office and ask so that she could know (but she promised she wouldn't tell us!).  I think Lori (and some other friends too) really just want to know more about the baby (like the sex and the name) so they feel like they know Baby Wynne even before he/she arrives.  For some friends and family, this is also related to the intense desire to buy pink and blue clothes and toys.  Don't worry all -- you can buy pink and blue things come January!  :)



Overall, I think Baby Wynne agrees with us on waiting to find out the sex.  As I said before, during the 20 week appointment (which is the magical time in which a penis or vulva are searched for via ultrasound), Baby Wynne kept his/her legs firmly crossed (so even Daddy couldn't get the little peak he wanted!)! 

Commonly Asked Questions #1

We have recently been spreading the news about Baby Wynne to our friends and families and people at work (and random people at Babies R Us).  When we share the news, there are a few questions that are immediately asked.  I thought I would share them in a series of posts entitled "Commonly Asked Questions".

The first question asked after we say "We're having a baby!" is:

"When are you due?"

Seems like a logical and simple question. 

Answer: "January 11, 2012"

Some interesting responses:

"Oh a honeymoon baby!" or "Were you pregnant at your wedding?"

(Nope ... we were married on New Year's Eve 2010.  So unless I have the gestational period of a Blue Whale, we likely conceived AFTER the wedding... like 3.5 months after the wedding.)

"If it's born early, it'll be a tax deduction for 2011!"
(True.  Though I try not to think of my newborn as a tax deduction.)

"I hope it's not snowing when you go into labor"
(Thank you for feeding into my fear of a blizzard.  Of course, I will not be surprised when we get a giant storm ... as Baby Wynne has already survived so many natural disasters!)




Stay tuned for more Commonly Asked Questions ...

Finding out about Baby Wynne ...

To tell the truth ... Baby Wynne was a surprise!

This may be too much information for some of you, but I thought I would share our story.

After we got married on New Year's Eve, we decided we'd wait a while before having kids.  We love kids, but we have plenty of babies around to spoil and play with!  And we thought we'd enjoy a year of marriage before a baby!

So how did Baby Wynne happen?

Well, as Ryan and I both have PhDs in biology, I shouldn't admit this.  But we just figured that going off birth control pills wouldn't immediately result in a baby.  SHHH! Please don't tell my colleagues or my students! 

Honestly, the vast majority of the people we know that have gone on the "baby journey" in the last 5 or so years have all had many obstacles.  Multiple miscarriages, months of temperature taking or peeing on ovulation sticks, calendars and counting of days, progesterone injections, clomid pills for ovulation, a 16-hour plane ride to China.  From their experiences, I honestly didn't think it'd be so simple!

Then one day in May (just 7 weeks after giving up the pill), I realized I was a few days "late".  I took a test (which was in my bathroom closet, thanks to one of my "done for now" friends).  And, INSTANTLY, we knew about Baby Wynne!

I'd like to say Ryan and I had the most wonderful reaction to the news of our first child.  Well, Ryan pretty much did! He was immediately a proud father!  I was more of a shocked mother and may have dropped a few words that I wouldn't want my new baby to hear.  I may also have cried a bit.  A mix of surprise and guilt (over having a few alcoholic drinks and a serious amount of caffeine during those first two crucial weeks of development) impeded the excitement for a while.  Hopefully for the next one, I will have a better initial reaction!

And that is the story of how we found out about Baby Wynne!