My husband got to feel the baby kick last night for the first time. He
could probably have felt it earlier, but the timing was never quite right.
And one time I told him that the baby was kicking if he wanted to feel and
he actually said, "is it important that I feel that?"
We've had four Bradley Method classes so far. I really like the focus on
relaxation, nutrition and exercise to prep for labor, and I appreciate that
they don't try to "sell" you on a bunch of gimmicks. Everything they teach
in the method is proven and fairly common sense-ical.
The cat was sitting on my lap the other night and a loud noise freaked him
out and he clawed me. I thought he might have gotten me on the stomach, but
I couldn't see the underside of it, so I asked my husband if I had a scratch
and he said, "no, just some stretch marks". I completely didn't know they
were there! Oh well. I'd rather have more stretch marks than killer
heartburn, and so far that has been fairly mild.
We went camping for Memorial Day and the heat really got to me. My feet
plumped up pretty big, so I spent most of my time in the camper in the air
conditioning. I kept meaning to get in the pool, but never got around to
it.
I meant to post when my little countdown ticker said I had 100 days left to
go, but never did because really, due dates are so inaccurate.
****
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Scheduling
Ugh, I just realized that, in addition to have a Bradley class every Tuesday, I'm going to have to start having a prenatal appointment with my midwives every two weeks now. I do my glucose test the first week of June and I'll be 28 weeks, then, so they'll start having me come in more often. My appointments are usually super boring, and I hope they stay that way!
New Couch Blues
The book slings for the baby's room are done. I've sewn the first and middle names we've chosen onto them, so they're official. We can't change them now!
I'm getting so bored with the BabyCenter birth board I've been visiting. It's just a bunch of women whining about their awful symptoms, and most of the time it's things like peeing when you sneeze that are completely unnecessary if they'd only be bothered to do some Kegels. They're installing new carpet at work and have kicked up a bunch of dust and I've been sneezing like crazy, but I don't pee myself for Pete's sake. I do my Kegels and that eliminates any incontinence issues I might have otherwise have. And there's always someone posting about on the board wanting sympathy for their peeing problems, and I just have no use for that.
I mean, I know I've been extraordinarily lucky to have had a really easy pregnancy so far...but I just don't think it's all luck. A lot of it is work. I read up and change my bad habits if they could cause any issues. Even the bit of back pain I was having has been remedied by doing pelvic rock exercises. I was making plans with a friend for this weekend and she was hesitant to ask me to go out and do anything because she worried I might swell up in the heat. Uhm...I'm fine, thanks. My feet get a little puffy if I've been on my feet all day, and I tend to lose energy after about 8pm, but other than that, I'm good to go. I haven't changed my daily routine and if anything I try to be a bit more active than I normally would be inclined to be. Maybe I'm just lucky, or maybe I'm just not a wimp. It's hard to say.
Also, I left the final decision to circumcise or not up to my husband, and he's decided not to. Don't know if I'd mentioned that before or not. I'm totally okay with either way. There are advantages and drawbacks to both, but I'm a lot more comfortable with not doing it than I am with doing it, so I totally support his decision.
Our old couch was a hand-me-down huge old sectional. The sections don't stick together anymore and it's all broken down from being moved. Like, seriously, if the arm weren't propped against the wall, it would straight up fall off. And one of the recliners is jacked up and a metal bar sticks out of it. We decided it would be hazardous to a baby, so we ordered a new couch. We have specific space constraints, so we are having it custom made in Tennessee (yay made in the USA!) and it should be here in a couple of weeks. My husband keeps threatening to have the old couch picked up by the city trash disposal to make me sit on the floor for the next two weeks. Our Bradley class exercises say I should be sitting Indian style as often as possible, and I don't do it. Anyway, here I was thinking that having a new couch would be so much better for the baby, and then I get to listening to "Fresh Air" on NPR today which was an interview with author Florence Williams about her new book "Breasts: a Natural and Unnatural History" where I learned that stuff like the fire retardants that they put on new furniture gets into your body and aggregates in breast tissue, passing into your breast milk. That stuff is a serious carcinogen! So now I'm freaked out about the new couch. My husband e-mailed the manufacturer today to ask what kinds of chemicals they use and what we can do to mitigate our exposure. Sigh.
I signed up for a breastfeeding class close to the due date. I would have gone to the one at the hospital I'm using, but they charge $20 for it and the one at the hospital nearest my workplace offers theirs for free and they have monthly La Leche League meetings that are free and open to the public, too. I also signed up for a baby CPR class in August. They do charge a little bit for that, but it's only $10, so how can you go wrong?
I also ordered the invitations for the baby shower today. I'm a graphic designer and am super picky about the invitations I send out for things, so I nearly always have to design things myself and send them to a printer to be done on good paperstock. I also picked out the games and sent my mom a list of foods to make for the shower. Am I a bit of a control freak? Yes. Have I planned about a gillion bridal and baby showers? Yes. So, the way I look at is is that it's a lot easier for me to come up with ideas and send them over to mom than for her to grope around in the dark trying to read my mind. In any event, my good friend has taken over decoration, which was a big load off of my mind because my mom has an odd sense of aesthetics, to put it mildly. She likes tacky things.
There are a couple of parenting books that I've thought about buying, but I would just go nuts if I started trying to do things "by the book" or started quoting to people "well the book says not to do that". I don't know if I'd find the books reassuring or if they would just stress me out more by trying to follow all of the advice instead of just finding my way. But maybe I'll pick up Mayim Bialik's "Beyond the Sling" and Pamela Druckerman's "Bringing Up Bebe" anyway.
I'm getting so bored with the BabyCenter birth board I've been visiting. It's just a bunch of women whining about their awful symptoms, and most of the time it's things like peeing when you sneeze that are completely unnecessary if they'd only be bothered to do some Kegels. They're installing new carpet at work and have kicked up a bunch of dust and I've been sneezing like crazy, but I don't pee myself for Pete's sake. I do my Kegels and that eliminates any incontinence issues I might have otherwise have. And there's always someone posting about on the board wanting sympathy for their peeing problems, and I just have no use for that.
I mean, I know I've been extraordinarily lucky to have had a really easy pregnancy so far...but I just don't think it's all luck. A lot of it is work. I read up and change my bad habits if they could cause any issues. Even the bit of back pain I was having has been remedied by doing pelvic rock exercises. I was making plans with a friend for this weekend and she was hesitant to ask me to go out and do anything because she worried I might swell up in the heat. Uhm...I'm fine, thanks. My feet get a little puffy if I've been on my feet all day, and I tend to lose energy after about 8pm, but other than that, I'm good to go. I haven't changed my daily routine and if anything I try to be a bit more active than I normally would be inclined to be. Maybe I'm just lucky, or maybe I'm just not a wimp. It's hard to say.
Also, I left the final decision to circumcise or not up to my husband, and he's decided not to. Don't know if I'd mentioned that before or not. I'm totally okay with either way. There are advantages and drawbacks to both, but I'm a lot more comfortable with not doing it than I am with doing it, so I totally support his decision.
Our old couch was a hand-me-down huge old sectional. The sections don't stick together anymore and it's all broken down from being moved. Like, seriously, if the arm weren't propped against the wall, it would straight up fall off. And one of the recliners is jacked up and a metal bar sticks out of it. We decided it would be hazardous to a baby, so we ordered a new couch. We have specific space constraints, so we are having it custom made in Tennessee (yay made in the USA!) and it should be here in a couple of weeks. My husband keeps threatening to have the old couch picked up by the city trash disposal to make me sit on the floor for the next two weeks. Our Bradley class exercises say I should be sitting Indian style as often as possible, and I don't do it. Anyway, here I was thinking that having a new couch would be so much better for the baby, and then I get to listening to "Fresh Air" on NPR today which was an interview with author Florence Williams about her new book "Breasts: a Natural and Unnatural History" where I learned that stuff like the fire retardants that they put on new furniture gets into your body and aggregates in breast tissue, passing into your breast milk. That stuff is a serious carcinogen! So now I'm freaked out about the new couch. My husband e-mailed the manufacturer today to ask what kinds of chemicals they use and what we can do to mitigate our exposure. Sigh.
I signed up for a breastfeeding class close to the due date. I would have gone to the one at the hospital I'm using, but they charge $20 for it and the one at the hospital nearest my workplace offers theirs for free and they have monthly La Leche League meetings that are free and open to the public, too. I also signed up for a baby CPR class in August. They do charge a little bit for that, but it's only $10, so how can you go wrong?
I also ordered the invitations for the baby shower today. I'm a graphic designer and am super picky about the invitations I send out for things, so I nearly always have to design things myself and send them to a printer to be done on good paperstock. I also picked out the games and sent my mom a list of foods to make for the shower. Am I a bit of a control freak? Yes. Have I planned about a gillion bridal and baby showers? Yes. So, the way I look at is is that it's a lot easier for me to come up with ideas and send them over to mom than for her to grope around in the dark trying to read my mind. In any event, my good friend has taken over decoration, which was a big load off of my mind because my mom has an odd sense of aesthetics, to put it mildly. She likes tacky things.
There are a couple of parenting books that I've thought about buying, but I would just go nuts if I started trying to do things "by the book" or started quoting to people "well the book says not to do that". I don't know if I'd find the books reassuring or if they would just stress me out more by trying to follow all of the advice instead of just finding my way. But maybe I'll pick up Mayim Bialik's "Beyond the Sling" and Pamela Druckerman's "Bringing Up Bebe" anyway.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Diapers and Onesies on sale!
At the cloth diapering meeting on Monday night, I got a lot of good
information and played with a ton of different diapering systems and covers.
I liked the Thirsties covers, especially the velcro closures and the double
gusset around the legs, but they come in different sizes for infants and
toddlers whereas the Flips are one size with adjustable snaps that "grow"
with the baby. I thought they only came in snap closures, but they also
make them with velcro now, so I was sold! Especially since The Diaper Fairy
herself recommends them and is going to start offering them for rental this
summer. She says the gussets in the front and back perfectly accommodate
standard pre-fold diapers and keep them from slipping up out of the back of
the cover.
I found a buy 2 get one free sale online with free shipping and even found a
coupon code for an additional 5% off, so I ended up getting six Flip covers
(4 velcro and 2 snaps) for $8.84 apiece. I'm stoked! Target lists them as
$16.95 apiece and doesn't even carry the velcro ones so I can put them on my
registry. I did put some disposable liners on the registry, though. And I
ordered a wet bag for on-the-go changes. Now all I need is some Snappis and
I'm all set!
The diaper laundering service I'm going to contract with rents the prefolds
with a bin and washable bin liner and costs $80 a month for weekly drop off
and pick up. Sweet! I could order my own stash of prefolds and wash them
myself or pay around $25 for laundering, but eh. We're not really laundry
people!
I've ordered a selection of yellow and greens and blues. Some bright, some
more muted. They're going to be awesome!
In other news, I have a ton of sewing projects going on for the baby. I am
going to make a taggie blanket out of minky and flannel, a door muff out of
flannel and ribbon, a book sling in bright primary colors, a ribbon valance,
a height chart, a terry cloth hanging caddy for the changing area, and about
50 washable wipes. Shew! And here I thought that once I got the nursery
done, I'd be able to relax. But once I got the paint and furniture in, I
realized how bare it was and how much more there was to do.
Also, a friend of mine recommended the Disney brand of onesies because the
"Grow an inch" snaps along the bottom provide a good fit and she says
they're well-made and hold up to washing. I found some on a good deal the
other day and snapped up 6 of them in newborn and 3-6 sizes. With shipping,
I ended up paying $3.83 apiece for them!!
I knew I'd end up not being able to prevent myself from buying every baby
thing in sight before the shower. I'm a sucker for a good deal and am so
excited about the baby that I can't help myself!
I met the second of the three midwives in the practice yesterday. She was
warm, and nice, and not in a rush. I'll meet the third midwife on the 5th
when they do the big glucose test. I've got a Bradley class that afternoon
as well, so I've gone ahead and asked the day off work. Perhaps, I can get
some of my sewing done.
****
information and played with a ton of different diapering systems and covers.
I liked the Thirsties covers, especially the velcro closures and the double
gusset around the legs, but they come in different sizes for infants and
toddlers whereas the Flips are one size with adjustable snaps that "grow"
with the baby. I thought they only came in snap closures, but they also
make them with velcro now, so I was sold! Especially since The Diaper Fairy
herself recommends them and is going to start offering them for rental this
summer. She says the gussets in the front and back perfectly accommodate
standard pre-fold diapers and keep them from slipping up out of the back of
the cover.
I found a buy 2 get one free sale online with free shipping and even found a
coupon code for an additional 5% off, so I ended up getting six Flip covers
(4 velcro and 2 snaps) for $8.84 apiece. I'm stoked! Target lists them as
$16.95 apiece and doesn't even carry the velcro ones so I can put them on my
registry. I did put some disposable liners on the registry, though. And I
ordered a wet bag for on-the-go changes. Now all I need is some Snappis and
I'm all set!
The diaper laundering service I'm going to contract with rents the prefolds
with a bin and washable bin liner and costs $80 a month for weekly drop off
and pick up. Sweet! I could order my own stash of prefolds and wash them
myself or pay around $25 for laundering, but eh. We're not really laundry
people!
I've ordered a selection of yellow and greens and blues. Some bright, some
more muted. They're going to be awesome!
In other news, I have a ton of sewing projects going on for the baby. I am
going to make a taggie blanket out of minky and flannel, a door muff out of
flannel and ribbon, a book sling in bright primary colors, a ribbon valance,
a height chart, a terry cloth hanging caddy for the changing area, and about
50 washable wipes. Shew! And here I thought that once I got the nursery
done, I'd be able to relax. But once I got the paint and furniture in, I
realized how bare it was and how much more there was to do.
Also, a friend of mine recommended the Disney brand of onesies because the
"Grow an inch" snaps along the bottom provide a good fit and she says
they're well-made and hold up to washing. I found some on a good deal the
other day and snapped up 6 of them in newborn and 3-6 sizes. With shipping,
I ended up paying $3.83 apiece for them!!
I knew I'd end up not being able to prevent myself from buying every baby
thing in sight before the shower. I'm a sucker for a good deal and am so
excited about the baby that I can't help myself!
I met the second of the three midwives in the practice yesterday. She was
warm, and nice, and not in a rush. I'll meet the third midwife on the 5th
when they do the big glucose test. I've got a Bradley class that afternoon
as well, so I've gone ahead and asked the day off work. Perhaps, I can get
some of my sewing done.
****
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Lots happening!
Well, all has been going well. We have been working ourselves to death the last couple of weekends and have finished painting the nursery and setting up the baby's furniture. I ordered a rocking cradle because I wanted to have it in our room right by the bed for convenience, and when we assembled it, it turned out to be HUGE, so I'm going to have to stash my bedside table somewhere else while the cradle is on my side of the bed.
One weekend when we were working on the room, I got super worn out and a little light headed and my heart was hammering. I'd forgotten to take my prenatal vitamin the night before, which rarely happens, so I think maybe my iron got really low. I go in for my next visit tomorrow morning, so they're going to test it. And I was a little worried about being tired all the time and tested my blood pressure on those sit-down supermarket machines and it was 140/70. I e-mailed my midwife and she said it wasn't anything to worry about since I'd been walking around the shopping center for an hour, and they don't get concerned until the bottom number gets high. So that was a big relief.
I went to a cloth diapering class on Monday night and met up with The Diaper Fairy, a lady who runs a diaper laundering service in our town. She gave us the run down on what to buy and how the laundering service works, and also how to launder at home if we choose. Super helpful. She also had a ton of diaper covers and diapering systems to show us, so we got to play with all the different types. I like the Flips the best.
Today was our first Bradley Method class. It was fun to meet the other couples. One of them is due the same day as me and is using the same midwife practice and hospital. She seemed nice. The teacher gave us a bunch of exercises to learn, so I need to start doing them. And also walking more. For real.
One weekend when we were working on the room, I got super worn out and a little light headed and my heart was hammering. I'd forgotten to take my prenatal vitamin the night before, which rarely happens, so I think maybe my iron got really low. I go in for my next visit tomorrow morning, so they're going to test it. And I was a little worried about being tired all the time and tested my blood pressure on those sit-down supermarket machines and it was 140/70. I e-mailed my midwife and she said it wasn't anything to worry about since I'd been walking around the shopping center for an hour, and they don't get concerned until the bottom number gets high. So that was a big relief.
I went to a cloth diapering class on Monday night and met up with The Diaper Fairy, a lady who runs a diaper laundering service in our town. She gave us the run down on what to buy and how the laundering service works, and also how to launder at home if we choose. Super helpful. She also had a ton of diaper covers and diapering systems to show us, so we got to play with all the different types. I like the Flips the best.
Today was our first Bradley Method class. It was fun to meet the other couples. One of them is due the same day as me and is using the same midwife practice and hospital. She seemed nice. The teacher gave us a bunch of exercises to learn, so I need to start doing them. And also walking more. For real.
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