Are we prepared now?

Chuck & I just completed 11 hours of learning about childbirth and caring for a newborn. We were in a class with 8 other couples between 28-34 weeks pregnant, and I'd guess between 28-34 years old (I'm 31 weeks and 31 years old). Our instructor was a woman who's been a nurse for over 30 years and has been teaching (both this class and a UT nursing course) for about 5 years. She was fine, but a little too hard of hearing.

Yesterday was more abstract for Chuck, and a little more overwhelming for me: the stages and phases of of labor, breathing and birthing positions, watching several childbirth videos, and learning about medical interventions. Our instructor gave very realistic demonstrations of each breathing technique (as though she were in labor), which was... interesting. Chuck learned the 5-1-1 rule, meaning he has to time me and we shouldn't go to the hospital until my contractions are 5 mins apart, lasting 1 minute each, for at least 1 hour. We also learned how the baby corkscrews through the pelvis so that the largest part of her head and shoulders are always going through the largest part of the hip bones. It's crazy how the body knows how to labor and the baby knows how to get out. It's as if we were made to do this.

Today's session was more about baby care, including breastfeeding, diapering, bathing, etc. These topics are all familiar to me - I used to babysit and taught babysitter training - but they were new to Chuck. I think he liked doing the hands on demonstration activities with the baby doll, learning tangible skills that will be within our control.

Afterwards I asked Chuck if he had any questions about the class, and he said "Well, do you feel like you're ready for childbirth now?". I told him that while it was important to learn the facts, the prenatal yoga does a better job of getting me ready mentally. As far as the medical stuff, the philosophy of my doctor and the hospital we're delivering at is in line with how I envision things should go, so I trust they'll know what's best for me if anything unexpected happens.

For now, the weekly countdown to b-day is officially in the single digits, and this certificate proves that we are, in fact, prepared:

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today we had heart-shaped pizza and made Valentine's at work. The picture is of me and Helen, showing off how full we are after eating pizza (haha!). I wore the red shirt Katie gave me waaaay back on my birthday, which hasn't fit me until now, and got so many compliments on it!

After work I had yet another OB appointment. I'm seeing Dr. Belt every 2 weeks now, but this appointment seriously took less than 10 minutes. They weighed me (136), took a urine sample (normal), took my blood pressure (104/62), found her heart rate, and asked me the normal questions: Any unusual discharge? No. Swelling in the hands or feet? No. Are you feeling the baby move? Yes! Taking your prenatal vitamins? Yes. Okay great - see you in two weeks!

Actually, I asked Dr. Belt if she could feel my tummy and tell me what position the baby's in. Lately she's been putting a lot of pressure on my upper belly, and I think it feels like her head and butt sticking up and out (can babies defy gravity in the womb?). Dr. Belt said she was head down at my last ultrasound (11 weeks ago) and she thinks she's probably still head down and that her feet are sticking up and pushing on me. Hmmm... I'm not sure I'm convinced. I think I feel her kicking (or punching??) around my lower belly, and whatever's protruding out of my upper right-side feels bigger than a foot. I guess it could be her heel or knee. Our next ultrasound isn't for another month, so who knows?

You always hear women say that their baby kicks so much, it'll probably end up being a soccer player. I think if that's true, mine will enjoy doing yoga and gymnastics. She's not as much of a kicker as a tumbler and stretcher. I swear she does downward dogs in my belly!

The funniest thing that's been happening lately is that every time we eat out at a restaurant, we'll be waiting for our food and Chuck will say "I wonder if this will be our daughter's favorite restaurant?". The other day we were at a cute French restaurant, and I said "Chuck, I don't think this would be any baby's favorite restaurant," to which he responded "Not when she's a baby, but maybe when she's 30!"... what!? He said it again when we were at this little burger joint, and he said it so sincerely both times, like he was really thinking about it... I laughed so hard, but really I just can't believe he's thinking that far in advance. I have trouble thinking past my first days back after maternity leave!!!

Celebration

This weekend we went out to one of our biggest splurge dinners of all time. I had a free dinner for two that I've been saving from my 2nd place win in the LAF Progralympics, so it'll be reimbursed! We went to the Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant where we had cheese fondue, salads, savory fondue, and then (yum) chocolate peanut butter fondue. You would not believe how many other pregnant women we saw eating there.

This was to celebrate an early Valentine's Day (our last Valentine's Day without kids), and one of my favorite anniversary dates; the 4-years of normal life after chemo anniversary. Everybody remembers different anniversaries when it comes to a cancer diagnosis. We never really pegged down an actual diagnosis date (that was a process), and Chuck remembers his first surgery date when they removed the actual melanoma. I always remember the day when he went back to work, I went back to school, and things got "back to normal" (whatever that means!). I'm not sure what date the insurance companies use, but we're definitely approaching the magic 5-year mark.

Anyway, this weekend we hit 30 weeks pregnant. I've been going to prenatal yoga since week 20, so I've always been one of the girls in the 20's. The women in the teens are like newbies, and the ones in the 30's always seem so far along. Even when I was 28 weeks I thought the 30+ week women seemed far away... and now I'm there!!

Okay, I still may not look huge, but this tummy is growing everyday!

Go ahead, touch the tummy...

One strange thing about pregnancy is that for the first 5 months or so, the only people who know you're pregnant are the ones you've told. People in the general public can't tell, or it wouldn't be polite to say anything if they suspected. Now that there's no denying it, people in lines at grocery stores and other shops have been asking me when I'm due, and starting random conversations with me about things like diapers. Surprisingly, no stranger has asked to touch my tummy. I think my belly's pretty neat and don't mind people I know touching it - but it's probably not all that exciting unless she's moving around or in an interesting position.

This morning after prenatal yoga, we headed over to St. David's South Austin Hospital for our own personal maternity tour. It's a pretty small hospital, much less crowded than the downtown hospitals. Parking is free and easy, and once we stepped inside, the nurses and volunteers were all so nice - we'd turn a corner and somebody would ask us where we were going and point us in the right direction. A male nurse who's been with the hospital for like 20 years showed us the labor & delivery rooms, the recovery rooms, and the nursery. They encourage women to room in with their babies, so of the 19 babies currently in the hospital, only 4 were in the nursery (and they were so little!). One of the nursery attendants asked me who my OB is, and said they're excited to have Dr. Belt and her practice deliverying at their hospital now. In fact, everybody was welcoming and seemed happy that we'd be delivering there!

Random Thoughts

Today 3 people told me I had that pregnant glow and complimented me on how good I look, and I felt really good too! Of course, I got a great night's sleep last night - after hardly sleeping at all the night before.

It can be really hard to sleep with a big tummy and a little creature inside that wriggles and protrudes as it moves. I had a dream the other night that she was reaching out and I could see her little fingers and arms sticking way out of my tummy. I kept trying to get her hands back in but she was pushing too hard. It was freaky!

She's big enough now that I pretty much feel every move she makes. It used to be that I'd only feel her if I was still and quiet, relaxing on the couch or laying down for bed. I told Chuck awhile back that I never felt her when I was walking or standing up, and he said that it's because she was hanging on for dear life! But now I feel her when I'm working, walking, eating, sleeping, you name it. She likes to stretch out and slowly move around from one side of me to the other. I guess once she's bigger she won't have as much room to maneuver.

Now that she moves so much, I think about how neat it is to have her in there, alive and active, yet so quiet and low maintenance. I am enjoying the peacefulness and ease of it all, as I know that will be changing soon.

Last week Chuck teased me that at the next ultrasound (or at birth), they might tell me she's really a he. I suppose that's not outside the realm of possibility, but really... the sonogram tech said she was 120% sure!

And incase you're wondering, my fingernails are longer, stronger, and thicker than ever before.

New Orleans

While Bianca & I may not have been able to join the LAF staff in NOLA, it seems we certainly were there in spirit... and cut-out form!! Check out and all the fun things we did (and my hot little preggo bod):

We also just scheduled the baby showers! Invites are going out soon, and they're going to be great!!! The work shower will be February 29th, and I'm also having a home shower on March 8th. Thank you thank you thank you Daniela, Teresa, and Candace for planning everything :)

February... Already!?

Wow, time goes by so fast when you're counting weeks! We had an OB appointment today, which included peeing in a cup, getting a heartbeat from baby, measuring the tummy, and getting a Rhogam shot in my hip. I asked my doctor about pre-registering at the hospital, and she informed me that they officially changed which hospital they deliver at! That came as a surprise. We won't be delivering at Seton downtown, we'll be delivering at St. David's South Austin Hospital. It's a convenient location... our only issue is that their maternity tours are only offered on the third Sunday of each month at 1pm. The third Sunday of this month we have our prepared childbirth class, and the third Sunday of next month we have our prenatal for partners class at Yoga Yoga. If only I'd known this LAST month! We'll just have to see if we can schedule a private tour.

Now we start seeing Dr. Belt every 2-weeks. Our next appointment will actually be on Valentine's Day. How romantic.

After today's appointment, we went to the First Friday Film Fest at Seton, where we had popcorn and watched 3 videos. The first was specifically about breastfeeding, the second was about bringing baby home, and the third was all about fatherhood (narrated by Ray Romano). Not bad!

I thought I'd post another photo for you. It's a better angle and outfit to really show off the belly...

15 pounds

Okay, so I got this idea when my mother-in-law told me she still doesn't think I look "very pregnant" in my photos. I thought to myself... do you remember what I looked like before!? Well, I guess this isn't quite as drastic a difference as I expected it to be (this outfit must be slimming), but I'm definitely wider; my chest is way bigger, my tummy's bigger, my clothes are bigger, and my hair's even longer (I haven't cut it since then). I've actually gained about 15 lbs so far, and I still have 2-1/2 months to go. This tummy does have lots of growing left to do!

That's Kim Barnett next to me. She's going to be fixing up the jogger stroller Pam gave us - putting new tubes in the tires and stuff. Yay!

My main "working from home" activity for the day is getting (over-due) oil changes on both cars, gas and maybe a car wash. That, plus yesterday alone I had over 30 emails in my LAF inbox, so I'm working! Emailing, planning, blogging, shopping, cooking... it's all good.

Daycare Centers

This morning we looked at daycare centers. I had already narrowed it down to two, based on location and cost, and boy were they different!

The first was Westlake Childcare Center, which was a little house, pretty close to where I (currently) work. The staff were all very young - mostly college students majoring in early childhood education, and it was a little overwhelming seeing all the babies crying. The crib set up was kind of like a kennel, but other than that it was like being in a grubby little house with lots of babysitters. One plus is that they have webcams in every room, and we could log on anytime and see exactly what's happening.

Next was the Children's Center of Austin. This is just a couple miles from our house, has great hill country views, and feels more like a school. The staff were mostly Hispanic women who really had those babies under control! The whole time we were there, I only heard one baby cry, and she was picked up immediately and soothed.

There was one room of little babies all just chilling, one room of 6-12 month olds napping in cute little cribs, and another room of 12-18 month olds being fed rice and beans with tortillas. They include snacks (bananas and cheerios for younger babies) and lunch with tuition, and they have vegetarian options, so we wouldn't have to pack food once she's eating solids - just make sure they have enough diapers, wipes, and milk. They also had music playing, which was very soothing. And they have a swimming pool, dance classes and activities for children 2 and up.

Both centers thought we were fine on time, and could actually wait to reserve until after she's born and we're more certain about what date we'd want to start. Both had ratios of 2 teachers to 8 babies, and both were flexible as far as drop-off and pick-up times.

But the Children's Center was a clear winner. It's so close to home that Chuck could drop her off and pick her up easily - even if she was sick and needed to be picked up mid-day. It's far enough away from my work that it would be hard for me to visit during lunch, but that's okay.

This Week

Instead of just kicking and wriggling, I've been feeling the baby move around in my tummy in a much more distinctive way. When I lay on my side and she's sleeping, I can feel her whole body move to that side - and I can feel more clearly when a knee or elbow (or something) is moving across me. It's like there's a real person in there all the sudden!

This is the week when many women opt to get the 4D ultrasound, but at $300 (not covered by insurance), we decided it wasn't necessary... we'll see her when she comes out, and until then we can just assume that she'll have Chuck's nose, my eyes, and perfect little fingers and toes ;) We'll have another regular sonogram in 4-6 weeks.

This week I started researching breast pumps and daycares. I had lunch with the other mom's at work, and they informed me that I need to get on waiting lists for daycare centers now, and shared some websites and suggestions for what to look for and questions to ask. Since I'm not going to New Orleans next week with the rest of the LAF, I'll spend some of that time touring nearby facilities and hopefully finding one that's good enough.

I'm thinking we'll have her in daycare 3-days/week for the first 3-months after maternity leave, and Chuck and I will each take half days from work on the other two. That's the initial plan, but it's always subject to change...

Third Trimester Symptoms and Complaints

Happy MLK Day! I've had a weekend full of strange new happenings in my body. This blog is about some of those things, followed by exerpts from the chapter in my Essential Guide to Pregnancy and Birth book entitled Third Trimester Symptoms and Complaints. I didn't read it until last night, and suddenly feel like my (poor aching) body is right on track:

What happened: Yesterday morning I woke up so sore and said to Chuck, "I feel like I slept with a ton of bricks on me."
What the book says: "Around this time, you may start feeling a hard-to-pin-down full-body discomfort. For most women, this hits in the morning..."

What happened: I made a frozen lasagna and dropped it while taking it out of the oven! Chuck thought it was hillarious and took pictures. Those pictures do not need to be posted here.
What the book says: "Let's face it, grace and dexterity aren't part of the late-pregnancy package. In fact, feeling like a klutz is par for the course, especially as you enter these final, fumbling months."

What happened: This weekend I felt the baby hiccup for the first time!
What the book says (in a different section dealing with my exact week of pregnancy): "Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may feel to a case of hiccups, which may be common from now on."

I'm also finding myself peeing more often, continuing to get heartburn, and having Braxton Hicks contractions most days... all things the book says will begin or become more frequent in the third trimester. Perfect!

Actually, I feel great today and am heading off to prenatal yoga as soon as I post this. See ya later!

Goodbye 2nd Trimester

That's right folks, as of this morning, we seem to have entered the 3rd trimester. I think I just had a growth spurt in the last 2 days. It's scary to think of how much bigger I'll get in the next 3 months!

Recently I've been experiencing pain in my lower right groin area. At first I had no idea what this could be; a sharp, almost pinching pain that might be slightly alleviated after a trip to the bathroom or resting awhile. At first I thought maybe it was my urinarty tract, bladder or bowels being squished. But yesterday I had a busy day at work, and it just got worse as I powered through it. By the time I got home, it was bad. So I googled it, and if it is what I think it is, it seems to be pretty common.

Round ligament pain. Basically, the ligaments that support my uterus are being way stretched, which can result in pain on one or both sides of my lower abdomen. Other women have described it exactly like what I've been feeling. And it makes sense... but that doesn't make it go away!! When I told Kim Barnett, she said "Well, at least you didn't have morning sickness and all that!" Then totally separately Chuck said "It's about time you experience discomfort during this pregnancy!" Fine - I get it - you have all been secretly waiting for something to cause me pain. Enjoy.

I have no idea how women got through pregnancy before the internet. I guess they'd buy a book or just call the doctor. But it's so easy to be able to google something and find information from medical sites, blogs and interactive forums that answer my questions and put my mind at ease.

PS: Happy Birthday Mom!!