Category Archives: Pregnancy

Nursery Pics! (32w3d)

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Sorry it took so long to get these pics sorted (good heavens between Paul and his dad, there were a lot to go through) but there’s finally a gallery of pictures to show the transformation of our house into a house with a nursery!

We (mostly Paul) cleared out our office/storage room so that it could be painted. We did the yellow and green painting in one weekend. The next weekend was carpet for the whole house, which basically meant we had to move out for the weekend. Paul and I busted our butts to pack up and clear everything out that week, but again – it was Paul who was up until 4:30am in advance of the carpet installer’s 8:00am arrival. The next two weeks (starting that afternoon) were a whirlwind of activity as Paul’s parents helped us immensely with putting our house back together and building a bunch of new furniture to make a nursery and to economize the storage space we have available to us now. The Guest Room is now Paul’s office/ManCave complete with an awesome new desk. He’s got room for projects and video editing now, which really makes me happy. (He’ll be spending a fair amount of time in there editing videos from the amazing camcorder Tom & Jeanne got us!) The guest beds are a lovely set of trundle beds from Nonny, which Oin and Cynthia have pronounced as extremely comfy.

The nursery is painted in shades of Honey Beige and Mother Nature. (No, I don’t know who makes this stuff up.) The switch plate and outlet covers alternate with the wall colors. The main decorations are a watercolor alphabet sampler that Paul’s Uncle Howie and Aunt Chris gave us as a wedding present, and a set of ten 1-2-3 mixed-media art prints I found on one of my deal-a-day websites. We weren’t really thinking about how things would go together when we picked out our layette, but everything ended up with a A-B-C, 1-2-3 motif. We’re thrilled with how everything looks. The distressed black crib (thanks again, Aunt Nita) looks good with the black-brown IKEA dressers and side table. The rocking chair doesn’t really match, but it’s something we’ve hauled around with us for 10 years now with the expectation of using it in a nursery. And if nothing else, it’s nice to have somewhere to sit in there – and Laurel seems to like it. The dressers will also serve as the changing table – as soon as I order the changing table pad thingie and install it. (It’s got straps that screw into the back of the dresser to keep it from coming off.)

We’re busy now, stocking the nursery with everything our little man will need. Diapers need washing, clothing needs sorting, diaper changing station needs to be set up. But there’s time, and all of this is something to be savored. Every step we take brings us one step closer to meeting our son (who has been kicking the crap out of my laptop the entire time I’ve been writing this!)

So. Stupidly. Happy.

Busy Week Ahead! (32w2d)

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This week is gonna be a busy one, but I’m excited for it all!

Last week was our final “Prepared Childbirth” class. I think we both learned a lot about exactly what to expect at the hospital. I know I feel a lot more empowered about some things (like my right to refuse *any* intervention I don’t want used on the baby – like the vacuum or forceps) and more alarmed about other things (like how much of a crapshoot it will be as to whether I can prevent the hospital from giving my son a bottle of formula, or whether I’ll be able to have him and breastfeed immediately after birth.) I think Paul learned A LOT about what really goes on before, during and after labor. His comment to me after class last week (which focused on delivery and aftercare) was “There really is no way that this isn’t going to suck for you, is there?” Nice to know I have his full support and understanding. Ha!

Edited to add: The formula/BF thing is mostly a factor of whether I end up with a C-section. It’s just not possible for them to let me have the gooey baby on my chest try to BF when my lower half is still open to the world. The formula part (which honestly is what I’m most worried about) is a diabetic thing. They’ll test his blood sugar once he comes out and if they don’t like it, he’ll get a bottle. I was under the impression that maybe they’d give him a bottle of glucose water, but apparently St. Rose Hospitals doesn’t do glucose water – only formula. I’m very concerned about this because of the whole “Open Gut” thing, but there doesn’t appear to be much I can do about it. Not much I can do to control the baby’s blood sugar during the rigors of labor, but Paul and I will make sure that everyone on my delivery team knows that I want to avoid giving our son formula (or any other nipple but the ones attached to me) at ALL COSTS. We’ll just pray that I don’t end up with a C-section and hope for the best.

So tonight is our hospital tour and registration. We’ll tour the labor and delivery ward, hopefully seeing an unused room and meeting some of the nurses. (Actually, our Prepared Childbirth class was taught by 3 different nurses from our hospital, so here’s hoping that we might get one of them when the time comes!) I don’t know what the registration process entails, I’m assuming just sitting there and filling out a bunch of paperwork and letting them photocopy my entire wallet. I’m HUGELY looking forward to it though. Knowing exactly *where* to go and where I’ll be helps me visualize things better and makes it a lot easier for me to be calm about how the event will shake out – whenever it happens.

Wednesday is a big day too. I have my first weekly appointment with Dr. Schwartz for fetal monitoring. Non-Stress tests start this week – so I’ve gotta get used to longer appointments based on how cooperative the little man feels like being. Dr. Schwartz has been up front about these appointments, so while I’m concerned (as usual) about using too much paid leave to go to them – I knew they were coming, which helps in being prepared. I’m hoping we can keep these appointments down to once a week, but they might move to twice a week as I get further along. We’ll see. So that fetal monitoring appointment is as 2:30.

Then at 6:00 on Wednesday is our “Baby Basics” class, wherein we learn (refresher for me, 1st time for Paul) how to take care of our little bundle of joy. Feeding, diapering, dressing, washing… I assume this will all be covered. Honestly, I don’t know. It’s a 3 hour, one-time class. I think it will be a good place to start at least. Paul is convinced that the knowledge will just come to him when he’s presented with the baby. I’d like him to have at least a little instruction to build on. :) (Fortunately, there’s a lot of YouTube videos on how to properly apply a cloth diaper – complete with the various folds used. So that will be a help.)

In between all of these classes, there’s lots to do at home in the nursery with washing and sorting baby clothes. I need to get over to Paul’s parent’s house with the unwashed stack of diapers to borrow Jeanne’s sewing machine. I want to run a zig-zag stitch of color down the serged edges of the diapers to make the sizes easier to tell apart at a glance. And I figure this will be easier to do while they’re still very flat, before washing & drying them multiple times quilts them up nicely.

Work is busy this week too. My Executive Director is in the office this week, so that’s always exciting. But the official meeting to discuss my maternity leave duties while I’m gone will happen this week at some point. That’s a little stressful, just to have it all laid out. My boss and I have talked at length about it, and we’re both comfortable with what we’ve concluded about the work that I’ll do while I’m out. (My key duties are best continued by me so an outside person doesn’t need to be brought in, and I can not burn as much paid leave since I’ll be doing Accounts Payable and Payroll twice a month each while I’m out. Telecommuting is a beautiful thing.) I’m glad to be able to work somewhere that is as flexible as my agency is. They don’t have to be – FMLA doesn’t apply here because we’re so small. So I’m appreciative that management is willing to work with me to find an acceptable solution for both sides.

OK, lunchtime is over so I should wrap this up! I PROMISE that sorting through pictures and building a Nursery gallery is very very high on my priorities list. I’ll have it done before the end of the week, I promise – but I’ll aim for sooner than that. Your patience is appreciated. :)

Talking Me Down (32w2d)

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When we decided to start this blog, it was with the intention of keeping friends and family informed about the pregnancy, to keep a record of this journey for ourselves, and to have a place for it all that wouldn’t force anyone to read it who didn’t want to.

I never thought it would become such a welcome source of support and advice.

Thanks for talking me down, everyone. I know last night I just got myself all wound up a little too tight about all the options for everything. I knew I was getting to a bad place when I started crying over whether my baby would fit better in Carter’s brand onesies (which seem to be rather slim-fitting) or Circo brand onesies from Target. I feel calmer today, am confident that I can make good choices and the rest can go hang. :)

For the record, I think we’re going to go with the Bright Starts InGenunity Automatic Bouncer for the little guy. A little more pricey than some, but I think it looks more secure and comfy than models that are $10 less.

Good Enough? (32w1d)

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I’m beginning to stress a bit. The need to get everything bought and ready for when the baby gets here is getting a little overwhelming.

YES, I know that technically NOTHING has to be purchased and/or ready except a laundry basket and some towels for a makeshift bassinet. (And a properly-installed car seat.) But that answer doesn’t really cut it. It’s not like it’s going to be so much easier to go out and purchase stuff after the baby gets here. So please don’t tell me that I’m concerned for no reason.

I want to find the perfect bouncer and washcloths and diaper pad and wipes and wetbags and baby socks and onesies….. But there’s so many dang options for everything. I’m getting all wound up, and I know that this has to be pregnancy hormones talking – but it’s upsetting.

I just want to do right by my son. I have no way of knowing if he’ll hate a bouncer until we put him in it. Also, I would really love a clue as to how big he’ll be when he finally gets here because I don’t know what size onesies to buy him. (We’re totally set for rompers and outfits, but the undies part of the equation – the onesie – we’re seriously lacking in.)

Gah. How the hell do you ever know if you’re good enough?

Fetal Echocardiogram (31w4d)

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Today was a good appointment, if sightly underwhelming from what I was expecting.

I’m up three pounds over the last three weeks – continuing my steady single-pound-a-week trend. Dr. Schwartz is very happy with this.

Blood pressure was 131/83 when he nurse finally did as I said and took it on my bicep. She did it at first on my forearm (which I appreciate because it doesn’t hurt as much) and came up with 161/89. Nothing doing, says I. I know I can do better.

The fetal echocardiogram was basically a detailed ultrasound watched by the cardiologist and Dr. Schwartz, but mostly the cardiologist. The nurse worked hard to get weird angles – we didn’t recognize most of what was on the screen. Apparently they were getting a good look at various organs. Cool views of our little man’s heart, with all four chambers doing their thing. The cardiologist said that everything looks good at this point, no thickening of the muscle, and all the parts seem to be in the right place and hooked up correctly. They couldn’t get all the angles necessary to rule out a VSD (ventricular septal defect – the condition I was born with) but he said that’s very hard to do before birth anyway. The fact that our baby has had an echocardiogram now means that he’ll have one before we leave the hospital after he’s born: standard procedure.

After the echo, the nurse did a regular ultrasound, taking measurements of random stuff and trying to get measurements of the pockets of amniotic fluid. I wasn’t able to pay attention to the screen as much as I’d like because Dr. Schwartz was talking to me – but what I did see looked good. Our little guy is weighing in at 4 pounds exactly and is measuring 4-5 days ahead, which Dr. Schwartz says is just fine considering how tall Paul and I are. We didn’t get any pictures or anything, the nurse said he wasn’t cooperating at all and she never saw his face.

The pains I’ve been feeling along the bikini line are apparently my pelvic bones opening up and widening in preparation for labor. It’s the ligaments that hold those bones together stretching – which explains why things tighten up down there and then stretch out again. All normal parts of pregnancy. As are the pains I’ve been feeling at my waistline with hardly any exertion. I’m relieved to hear that it’s all normal – makes it easier to put up with for the next 4-6 weeks. And that’s how I look at all this – just stuff to get through for the next little while. And there’s really nothing I can’t put up with for that long.

It was funny how Dr. Schwartz asked about my swelling – he said “I can see by your new footwear that the swelling is continuing.” I’ve switched to Crocs sandals and flip flops, mostly because my hot feet are even hotter now. The swelling is as bad as it has been, but no worse. Again, Dr. Schwartz isn’t worried and neither am I.

Next week starts fetal monitoring and weekly visits. I’m hoping to keep the appointments at weekly, but I know they’ll go to twice-weekly fairly quickly. We’ll see how things go. We’re at the first of several milestones now: 32 weeks. It feels really good to have gotten this far. If the little guy came today, he’d have nearly the same chances as a 40-week baby. We’re hoping that things stay calm for the next four weeks – 36 weeks is our main goal. Anything past that is just gravy!