My due date is exactly two months from today! Holy Crap! Granted the odds of him coming on his own on his actual due date aren't very high but it's still amazing to me that in approximately 60 days or so I'm going to have a little person to take care of. I just hope that this little guy isn't impatient like his father and decide to be born two months early ---Kristian was supposed to be a Dec. baby but decided he liked the month of October better for his birthday.
The first 20 weeks seemed to drag, dealing with the all day nausea of the first trimester than not-so-patiently waiting to find out the gender. But every since then time has been flying by at warp speed and the weekends are over before they even start.
My nesting instinct has kicked into full gear. Even though we plan to keep the baby in our room at first I have this overwhelming desire to get his nursery done NOW. After all once he's here we won't have the time or energy to work on the nursery so I'd rather have it set and ready to go. Kristian doesn't seem to understand this urgency I have and why I get annoyed when he won't help me with something the second I ask for his help.
Unfortunately I do need his help with a lot of things, it's getting harder and harder everyday to complete even the smallest tasks. I have this growing to-do list but lack the energy to actually do anything on the list. And this constant backache makes any kind of extended physical activity nearly impossible.
As excited as I am to meet and snuggle this little dude I plan on enjoying these last two months or so of this pregnancy as best I can, after all who knows if or when I'll get to do this again.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Best Face in the World
The 4D ultrasound on Saturday was amazing. I'm so so happy that I splurged to get one and it was a nice treat for Kristian to see his little boy on his birthday.
We also were able to re-confirm that we are in fact having a little boy. That was the first thing the tech checked for us, which was a huge relief or I would have spent my weekend returning a LOT of clothes!
We got a CD of 230 pictures and a DVD of the entire ultrasound which are such amazing keepsakes to have. We got to see him smile, open and close his eyes and mouth and move around, it was so cool. He's no longer a little blob or skeletor he actually looks like a real baby. Very surreal.
Below are just a few of the pictures of my son. We can see that he already has some dark hair and big hands and feet like his daddy. He also has his daddy's lips and I think my nose and chin. In my totally
unbiased opinion of course, I think he's the cutest baby ever!
We also were able to re-confirm that we are in fact having a little boy. That was the first thing the tech checked for us, which was a huge relief or I would have spent my weekend returning a LOT of clothes!
We got a CD of 230 pictures and a DVD of the entire ultrasound which are such amazing keepsakes to have. We got to see him smile, open and close his eyes and mouth and move around, it was so cool. He's no longer a little blob or skeletor he actually looks like a real baby. Very surreal.
Below are just a few of the pictures of my son. We can see that he already has some dark hair and big hands and feet like his daddy. He also has his daddy's lips and I think my nose and chin. In my totally
unbiased opinion of course, I think he's the cutest baby ever!
*I labeled some of the pictures to give a better of idea of what we're looking at*
*We got a couple little smirks out of him. Towards the end though he started to look pissed, I think he was over the whole viewing party and wanted to sleep in peace.*
*Love his little pointer finger*
*I think he has really big feet, just like his daddy. Hopefully that means he'll be tall like his daddy as well*
*The little braided looking thing he's cuddling is the umbilical cord. Kristian looks similar when he sleeps*
*He was all scrunched up, looks like a tight fit in there, poor guy*
*Yep I'm in love*
Friday, October 21, 2011
That explains a lot
Yesterday I had my now once every two weeks appointment with my doctor. First let me say I really like my doctor, actually the practice I go to has 3 OB's each of whom I've met and liked though the one I saw yesterday is probably my favorite.
Anyways, after doing the standard measuring of my belly we discovered I'm measuring two weeks ahead! For those that don't know, once you get to a certain point your doc will measure your belly each visit from top to bottom vertically, ideally the measurement in centimeters should match the number of weeks you are ex: 28 weeks = 28 cm. Well I'm 30 weeks measuring 32cm. The doctor is not concerned, he said 2 weeks in either direction is fine, if it's more than 2 then they will usually do an ultrasound to see what's going on.
So it's not like I will deliver 2 weeks early or that the baby is really big, necessarily. It could just be that I have a lot of fluid in there right now, or the way he's positioned could be making my belly stick out more. But at least it was confirmation that I am in fact a bit bigger than I really should be, which I already suspected. But as the doc pointed out, I'm petite, not much room for the baby to spread out in there so I'm bound to look a bit bigger.
I also learned that what I thought was the baby just poking his head or tush out a bit is really a braxton hicks contraction. For a while now I've been getting these two hard spots on my belly throughout the day, one on the leftside of my belly button which I thought might be his head or shoulder and one on the right side under my ribs which I thought might be his butt.
While measuring my tummy I noticed the hard spots and asked my doc if he could determine what body parts they were. He confirmed the one on my right was probably in fact his butt but that the baby's head is already head down where it should be and the other hard spot isn't his head but in fact my uterus having a braxton hick contraction, he could literally feel the contraction happening. He said that since they aren't painful I don't need to be concerned. If they start to get painful and happen more than 6 times in an hour I need to call them. So for weeks now I've been having these contractions and not even knowing it!
Everything else at the appointment went really well and when I go back in two weeks I'll be getting a Flu shot (which I normally don't do) and the Pertussis vaccine which will help protect the baby since he won't be able to get one himself until he's a bit older, but the antibodies he gets from me should protect him until that point which is good because that can be very deadly for newborns. Sidenote- my mom remembers having Pertussis (aka whooping cough) as a child and said it was horrible and she can't imagine a newborn having it. Ah the joys of having a baby during the winter when everyone gets sick.
Anyways, after doing the standard measuring of my belly we discovered I'm measuring two weeks ahead! For those that don't know, once you get to a certain point your doc will measure your belly each visit from top to bottom vertically, ideally the measurement in centimeters should match the number of weeks you are ex: 28 weeks = 28 cm. Well I'm 30 weeks measuring 32cm. The doctor is not concerned, he said 2 weeks in either direction is fine, if it's more than 2 then they will usually do an ultrasound to see what's going on.
So it's not like I will deliver 2 weeks early or that the baby is really big, necessarily. It could just be that I have a lot of fluid in there right now, or the way he's positioned could be making my belly stick out more. But at least it was confirmation that I am in fact a bit bigger than I really should be, which I already suspected. But as the doc pointed out, I'm petite, not much room for the baby to spread out in there so I'm bound to look a bit bigger.
I also learned that what I thought was the baby just poking his head or tush out a bit is really a braxton hicks contraction. For a while now I've been getting these two hard spots on my belly throughout the day, one on the leftside of my belly button which I thought might be his head or shoulder and one on the right side under my ribs which I thought might be his butt.
While measuring my tummy I noticed the hard spots and asked my doc if he could determine what body parts they were. He confirmed the one on my right was probably in fact his butt but that the baby's head is already head down where it should be and the other hard spot isn't his head but in fact my uterus having a braxton hick contraction, he could literally feel the contraction happening. He said that since they aren't painful I don't need to be concerned. If they start to get painful and happen more than 6 times in an hour I need to call them. So for weeks now I've been having these contractions and not even knowing it!
Everything else at the appointment went really well and when I go back in two weeks I'll be getting a Flu shot (which I normally don't do) and the Pertussis vaccine which will help protect the baby since he won't be able to get one himself until he's a bit older, but the antibodies he gets from me should protect him until that point which is good because that can be very deadly for newborns. Sidenote- my mom remembers having Pertussis (aka whooping cough) as a child and said it was horrible and she can't imagine a newborn having it. Ah the joys of having a baby during the winter when everyone gets sick.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
30 Weeks
Pregnancy Highlights
How Far Along: 30 weeks
Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of a head of cabbage.
Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means he can only make out objects a few inches from his face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)
Total Weight Gain/Loss: +20-22 pounds approximately. I'm still hoping I don't gain more than 30 pounds just because it's getting harder and harder for me to carry around all this extra weight I'm not use to.
Maternity Clothes: A mix but more maternity than regular just because they are more comfortable. I'm starting to worry I may outgrow even a few maternity tops, hopefully I don't need to do another round of shopping before he arrives.
Gender: Baby Boy!
Movement: Yep, it seems there is a constant dance party happening in my uterus and his movements are getting stronger and stronger. This is the one part I'm really going to miss once he's here, I've gotten so use to his movements it will be weird not having them anymore.
What I miss: not having my back hurt constantly
Sleep: Okay, not great, still getting up a lot to pee
Symptoms: Lots of backaches and basic discomfort. I've been trying to do my prenatal yoga DVD more but so far it hasn't helped much.
Cravings: Nothing in particular.
Best Moment this week: Hitting the 30's! Only about 10 weeks left which is amazing to me. Also, we may have finally decided on a name, though I'm still not telling just in case we decide to change it at the last minute.
What I am looking forward to: Doing the 3D/4D ultrasound on Saturday, I can't wait to see little man's face! Hopefully it will look less skeletor than it did at 20 weeks!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Guessing Game
When it comes to gift giving, especially in regards to my husband, I have the hardest time keeping whatever the gift is a secret. I get so excited and just want to give it to them or tell them about it immediately. Kristian is much the same way, which is why he ended up proposing sooner than he initially planned.
Well this Saturday is Kristian's birthday and after a moment of inspiration a month ago when I figured out the perfect gift for him I've been dying to let him know what it is. I kept asking him if I could just tell him and he said that he wanted to be surprised. Well yesterday while on the phone at work he started asking for clues as to what his present is. It's his birthday week so close enough.
He already knew that his present involved us going someplace and some of his guesses were pretty humorous for example he guessed Skydiving...umm why would I want him jumping out of a plane to his potential death right before giving birth (he was relieved this wasn't it). He also guessed painting pottery! Umm what?! Again very happy that wasn't it. He then guessed that I was going to take him the gun range to shoot a bunch of really cool guns for the day. I told him that wasn't it but that's a cool idea and maybe I'll do it next year.
One of the best clues I gave him was that it was something that I could probably only give him this year for his birthday. That really got the wheels turning but he still couldn't figure it out. Finally I told him I had one last clue that would most likely give it away and asked him if he wanted it or if he wanted to wait until Saturday and be surprised. He asked for the last clue which was "it involves the baby" and immediately he knew what it was and got very excited.
Any ideas what his present is?
Well this Saturday for his birthday I'm taking him with me to get an elective 3D/4D ultrasound of the baby so that we can hopefully get a good peek at what our son looks like. Since we most likely won't be getting one through my doctor's office I found a few places online that offer this service for a fee and signed us up. We get a 20 minute session including a CD of photos and a DVD of the ultrasound. **Note- these places only offer ultrasounds for gender determination and 3D/4D ultrasounds for fun, they will not diagnose any potential problems with the baby and reinforce that you need to still get ultrasounds through your doctors office.
I decided to do this as his gift for a few reasons:
1. When he found out that our Anatomy scan ultrasound would only be 2D and they only do 3D ultrasounds if there is a problem, he was a bit disappointed and mentioned how cool he thought the 3D ones were.
2. As I told him, this is probably the only time I'll be able to do this for his birthday, even if we have another kid who knows if I'll be pregnant or far enough along during his birthday to do a 3D ultrasound.
3. What better gift for his birthday than getting to take a peek at his son's little face? I can buy him hunting and fishing shit anytime.
4. I'm not gonna lie I REALLY wanted to do this too so it's kind of a joint gift :)
Needless to say we're both really excited and I just hope baby boy cooperates so that we can get some good photos of his face. Assuming we do I will of course be posting them next week. And who knows maybe seeing his face will help inspire us to finally pick a name for him!
Well this Saturday is Kristian's birthday and after a moment of inspiration a month ago when I figured out the perfect gift for him I've been dying to let him know what it is. I kept asking him if I could just tell him and he said that he wanted to be surprised. Well yesterday while on the phone at work he started asking for clues as to what his present is. It's his birthday week so close enough.
He already knew that his present involved us going someplace and some of his guesses were pretty humorous for example he guessed Skydiving...umm why would I want him jumping out of a plane to his potential death right before giving birth (he was relieved this wasn't it). He also guessed painting pottery! Umm what?! Again very happy that wasn't it. He then guessed that I was going to take him the gun range to shoot a bunch of really cool guns for the day. I told him that wasn't it but that's a cool idea and maybe I'll do it next year.
One of the best clues I gave him was that it was something that I could probably only give him this year for his birthday. That really got the wheels turning but he still couldn't figure it out. Finally I told him I had one last clue that would most likely give it away and asked him if he wanted it or if he wanted to wait until Saturday and be surprised. He asked for the last clue which was "it involves the baby" and immediately he knew what it was and got very excited.
Any ideas what his present is?
Well this Saturday for his birthday I'm taking him with me to get an elective 3D/4D ultrasound of the baby so that we can hopefully get a good peek at what our son looks like. Since we most likely won't be getting one through my doctor's office I found a few places online that offer this service for a fee and signed us up. We get a 20 minute session including a CD of photos and a DVD of the ultrasound. **Note- these places only offer ultrasounds for gender determination and 3D/4D ultrasounds for fun, they will not diagnose any potential problems with the baby and reinforce that you need to still get ultrasounds through your doctors office.
I decided to do this as his gift for a few reasons:
1. When he found out that our Anatomy scan ultrasound would only be 2D and they only do 3D ultrasounds if there is a problem, he was a bit disappointed and mentioned how cool he thought the 3D ones were.
2. As I told him, this is probably the only time I'll be able to do this for his birthday, even if we have another kid who knows if I'll be pregnant or far enough along during his birthday to do a 3D ultrasound.
3. What better gift for his birthday than getting to take a peek at his son's little face? I can buy him hunting and fishing shit anytime.
4. I'm not gonna lie I REALLY wanted to do this too so it's kind of a joint gift :)
Needless to say we're both really excited and I just hope baby boy cooperates so that we can get some good photos of his face. Assuming we do I will of course be posting them next week. And who knows maybe seeing his face will help inspire us to finally pick a name for him!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Baby School
The hospital I'm planning to deliver at offers several classes for expectant parents through their Wellness Center and last week Kristian and I took two of their classes.
On Wednesday night we went to the 2 1/2 hour Baby Care Basics class which is taught by a registered nurse. As the name implies the class teaches you the basics of how to care for a newborn baby including diapering, feeding, bathing, dressing etc. Since the class is only 2 1/2 hours long there isn't time to go into too much detail but it's a nice overview for first time parents. Most of the stuff she went over I had read about or heard about but I did learn a few new things. For instance- with breast milk the babies will poop more but the poop doesn't really smell, with formula they poop less but it stinks more. So even though I am hoping to breastfeed we got into a debate about which would be worse, more poop that doesn't smell or less poop that does. What do you think?
We also had the chance to practice diapering and swaddling a baby doll. The teacher actually complimented me on my swaddling technique. Kristian told her we had been practicing on our cat (true story) and the teacher thought that was awesome and couldn't stop laughing. Hey whatever works right? We were both very pleased with the class and definitely walked away more knowledgeable.
This past weekend we took the Childbirth Prep Class which many people know as Lamaze class. We had the option of spreading this out over 5 weeks- one night a week or knock it out in a weekend- 5 hours each day. We went with the weekend option and even though it sucks to give up a weekend I'm glad we did it all at once.
This class teaches you all about childbirth including labor, birth, breathing, relaxation, medication, C-sections and post partum. This is also taught by a registered nurse who had worked in Labor and Delivery for 25 years and had 4 kids herself (two naturally and unmedicated and two C-sections) so she knew her shit.
The first day was more of a general overview and introduction of things and we learned a few breathing techniques. The second day got into more specific, nitty gritty stuff and we got to watch several videos including one where we watched a birth- from the end you usually don't want to see it from. We ended the class with more relaxation and breathing techniques and your partner learns different coaching techniques to help you with.
Overall we really enjoyed the class despite having to miss the Redskins game yesterday (they lost so it was probably better we missed it). We learned a LOT of information and I really liked how the nurse talked about so many different birth options, not just one, so that we are fully informed of our options and what we can/should ask for. I think the class did alleviate a lot of my fear and uncertainty about the labor process and I feel much more prepared for labor/birth regardless of which option I go with.
Most of all I think Kristian really benefited from these classes. I've been reading a LOT online and in books about this stuff and even though he knows quite a bit already I know he learned so much more and now feels confident that he can help coach me through this. He was a great student and asked both teachers lots of good questions and was a very active participant. He's going to be such a good dad, he's so excited about meeting his son.
I highly recommend taking any classes you can prior to having a baby that you think may be helpful, for me it has helped ease some of my anxiety and increased my confidence level. It will also help you make informed decisions about yours and your babies care which is priceless.
Share time- did/will you take any classes before having a baby?
On Wednesday night we went to the 2 1/2 hour Baby Care Basics class which is taught by a registered nurse. As the name implies the class teaches you the basics of how to care for a newborn baby including diapering, feeding, bathing, dressing etc. Since the class is only 2 1/2 hours long there isn't time to go into too much detail but it's a nice overview for first time parents. Most of the stuff she went over I had read about or heard about but I did learn a few new things. For instance- with breast milk the babies will poop more but the poop doesn't really smell, with formula they poop less but it stinks more. So even though I am hoping to breastfeed we got into a debate about which would be worse, more poop that doesn't smell or less poop that does. What do you think?
We also had the chance to practice diapering and swaddling a baby doll. The teacher actually complimented me on my swaddling technique. Kristian told her we had been practicing on our cat (true story) and the teacher thought that was awesome and couldn't stop laughing. Hey whatever works right? We were both very pleased with the class and definitely walked away more knowledgeable.
This past weekend we took the Childbirth Prep Class which many people know as Lamaze class. We had the option of spreading this out over 5 weeks- one night a week or knock it out in a weekend- 5 hours each day. We went with the weekend option and even though it sucks to give up a weekend I'm glad we did it all at once.
This class teaches you all about childbirth including labor, birth, breathing, relaxation, medication, C-sections and post partum. This is also taught by a registered nurse who had worked in Labor and Delivery for 25 years and had 4 kids herself (two naturally and unmedicated and two C-sections) so she knew her shit.
The first day was more of a general overview and introduction of things and we learned a few breathing techniques. The second day got into more specific, nitty gritty stuff and we got to watch several videos including one where we watched a birth- from the end you usually don't want to see it from. We ended the class with more relaxation and breathing techniques and your partner learns different coaching techniques to help you with.
Overall we really enjoyed the class despite having to miss the Redskins game yesterday (they lost so it was probably better we missed it). We learned a LOT of information and I really liked how the nurse talked about so many different birth options, not just one, so that we are fully informed of our options and what we can/should ask for. I think the class did alleviate a lot of my fear and uncertainty about the labor process and I feel much more prepared for labor/birth regardless of which option I go with.
Most of all I think Kristian really benefited from these classes. I've been reading a LOT online and in books about this stuff and even though he knows quite a bit already I know he learned so much more and now feels confident that he can help coach me through this. He was a great student and asked both teachers lots of good questions and was a very active participant. He's going to be such a good dad, he's so excited about meeting his son.
I highly recommend taking any classes you can prior to having a baby that you think may be helpful, for me it has helped ease some of my anxiety and increased my confidence level. It will also help you make informed decisions about yours and your babies care which is priceless.
Share time- did/will you take any classes before having a baby?
Friday, October 14, 2011
Pumpkin Patch
Last Sunday after a quick stop at my in-laws we decided to take advantage of the beautiful fall day and stop by a pumpkin patch that is close to our house. We plan to actually carve a pumpkin or two this year since we finally live someplace where we can expect a good number of trick-or-treaters. Moxie was with us so we had to get a couple pictures of her first trip to the pumpkin patch.
She was a bit too excited to sit still.
Shorts and t-shirts in Oct. gotta love warm fall weather.
It looks like I'm trying to smuggle a pumpkin out under my shirt.
I think my belly is bigger than the pumpkin I'm holding.
We didn't stay very long since we had the dog with us but it was a nice little trip and I'm excited to carve some pumpkins this year and get a bit more into the Halloween spirit.
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