Mother of a Miracle

David's Birth Story

2007-08-06T14:34:00.001-04:00

Our birth story begins well before David’s actual arrival.

At 36 weeks, my OB performed an internal exam for the first time. We were delighted to hear that I was already 2 cm dilated! We had been feeling that our baby would arrive early, so we were pleased by this news.

At 37 weeks, my internal exam revealed that I was 3 cm dilated! My boss decided to hire a temp to cover my maternity leave beginning that week and I started to train her in case I delivered early.

At 38 weeks, I was 4 cm dilated. At this point, my OB recommended that we take our hospital bags to work with us each day, just in case.

At 39 weeks, I was 5 cm dilated. My OB gave Chris instructions for emergency delivery, just in case we couldn’t make it to the hospital in time. He thought she was joking, but she wasn’t.

At 40 weeks, I skipped the internal exam because I didn’t want to endure another night of Braxton-Hicks contractions for no reason. We saw our OB on a Friday and she told us that we would schedule an induction for Monday morning, but she was very confident that we would go into labor over the weekend.

At 41 weeks, we scheduled the induction for Monday morning at 6:00am.

We spent the weekend grocery shopping, cleaning and sleeping. We went on one last date again for the fourth time in a month. Sunday night we went to bed at 8:00pm so we could wake up at 4:00am to get ready to go to the hospital. I slept like a baby but Chris was a wreck. Even though we woke up on time, we were still late getting to the hospital. We checked in at 6:20am. We didn’t get a room until 7:00am, and we got the last room available in L&D that day. As soon as we got settled, a nurse hooked me up to the electronic fetal monitor (EFM) and another nurse tried to give me an IV. I explained to the nurse that I didn’t plan to have an IV because we would have a natural birth. She laughed at me and proceeded to get the IV ready. I started to panic at this point because I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to have a natural delivery if I had to fight every nurse and doctor every step of the way, but I told the nurse that I would NOT have an IV. I reasoned that accident victims don’t have IVs ready when an ambulance arrives and that doesn’t stop them from receiving treatment, so how long could it possibly take the nurse to put in an IV if I became dehydrated? I compromised and got a Heparin Drip instead. The nurse seemed agitated with me, but luckily, it was the end of her shift and I was the last person she harassed before she left for the day.

Our doula, Nancy, arrived soon after the IV battle and we were happy to see her. Our OB came in a short while later and got the show started. When she checked me, I was 5 cm dilated and 90% effaced. She used an amnio hook to break my water. I really didn’t feel anything other than the internal exam. The nurse gave me a gigantic diaper to wear in my fancy hospital-issued mesh panties and then everyone left. Nothing happened right away and my water was only trickling, so Nancy suggested that we take a walk through the halls. It was a nice diversion to walk around and watch all the other pregnant ladies wandering through the halls and checking-in at the front desk. There wasn’t much space to walk since there were only a couple of halls on the floor and we couldn’t leave the floor. My contractions started about 30 minutes after my water broke and they were 90 seconds apart. I was very comfortable at this point and figured this would be a piece of cake. As we walked the halls, I remember hearing a woman screaming in agony. This was the first time that I ever felt scared about what lay ahead. A few minutes later, we heard a baby crying, and that was the moment when I realized that the next time I got on the elevator, I would be holding my baby. I started to cry.

We walked around for about 30 minutes, but then I started to feel a little less comfortable, so I asked to go back to the room. Nancy got me some white grape juice, which I drank throughout labor. At this point, I began having back labor. During every contraction, I would stop walking or speaking and lean on Chris. I would bury my face in his shoulder and totally relax my body. During each contraction, he gently reminded me, “breathe through your tummy.” I remember thinking that “tummy” was a childish sounding word to be using because my stomach was the size of a watermelon, but his encouragement helped me to focus on my breathing and took my mind off the pain. During every contraction, Nancy applied counter pressure on my back. Throughout labor, my back pain hurt more than the actual contractions.

I was able to avoid electronic fetal monitor during labor. My nurse came in periodically, listened to my belly with the stethoscope, told me that the baby sounded wonderful, cheerfully exclaimed that I was doing a great job, and left. Although our nurse was a great cheerleader, I’m glad we didn’t rely on her for labor support, because she wasn’t around very much.

Throughout labor, I sat up in bed, walked around the room, and stood in the shower. I also spent some time laboring on my hands and knees to relieve some of the pressure on my back, but I found it very hard to relax while supporting all of my weight on my hands and knees. When I was pregnant, I loved my exercise ball and I planned to use a birth ball during labor. I was surprised to find that I didn’t like sitting on it during labor because balancing required too much concentration and I couldn’t relax and keep myself on the ball at the same time.

At one point during labor, I was sitting up in bed and my contractions were 45 seconds apart. I was so relaxed that I fell asleep between contractions and I was actually snoring!! After my nap, I decided to take a shower because the back pain was getting more intense. My contractions were about 30 seconds apart at this point. I wasn’t able to use the shower bench because the seat was broken, but it was much more relaxing to lean against the shower wall and let the water pound my back. Chris stayed with me just outside the shower stall the entire time.

After the shower, I didn’t even bother to get dressed, I just wrapped myself up in a warm, fuzzy blanket. I had heard that most women lose their sense of modesty at some point in labor, but never thought it would happen to me! My doula noticed this and guessed that I might be close to transition, but she didn’t mention it aloud to me. I used the toilet one last time and went back to bed. My OB came in and checked me. I was 10 cm dilated and just had a slight lip of cervix that kept me from being ready to push. She instructed me to lie on my right side for the next 15 minutes and resist the urge to push so I could become completely dilated.

That was the longest 15 minutes of my life! After the internal exam, the urge to push came immediately and it took control of my entire body. I could NOT resist the urge to push and it felt like it was completely out of my control. I grabbed Chris’ shirt and clung to him. His soothing words were the only thing that kept me focused during this difficult time. I will always remember that 15 minutes as the most painful part of my birth experience.

After what felt like an eternity, my OB came in and told me that we were ready to have a baby. I was so excited to push! I started pushing with the very next contraction. I remember a lot of commotion around me suddenly as the nurses and interns crowded into the room. My OB suggested that I use a squat bar to push. We had requested this option in our birth plan, but I was very hesitant to move out of the position I was in and it took coaxing from Chris and Nancy and the nurses to get me to try it. Once I pulled myself up to that squat bar, I felt like there was no stopping me. I pushed with every single contraction and felt a surge of energy. At one point, my OB forced me to lay back between contractions and I was later told that my legs had turned purple from squatting for so long. Chris sat behind me and I leaned my entire weight on him as I rested between contractions.

It was amazing to feel the baby’s head descending. At one point, Nancy asked if I could touch the baby’s head and my OB helped me find it and feel it. It was not at all what I expected and it felt soft, warm, and wet. That didn’t inspire me as much as feeling the baby’s head move down with each contraction.

After I pushed for a while, I felt the “ring of fire,” but it was not painful. Descriptions I had read made it sound agonizing, but it really was only a small discomfort. Once the baby’s head was born, I felt relieved. The baby’s body came out in one large push and all pain was instantly gone. My OB put the baby on my stomach and said, “Congratulations, you have a son.” I was in such a state of shock and disbelief that I asked everyone if that meant that the baby was a boy. I always thought I would cry tears of joy upon first seeing my baby, but I was so overwhelmed with joy that I just smiled and stared at my little man.

David was very alert immediately following his birth. He lifted his head to look at me and Chris when we talked to him. Chris was able to cut David’s umbilical cord and they let us bond with the baby before they cleaned him up. David was 8 pounds exactly and 19 ½ inches long. His Apgar scores were 8 and 9.

I had a second-degree tear that needed stitches and I had some difficulty delivering the placenta. My OB gave me pitocin to aid in the delivery of the afterbirth, and I didn’t care at this point because my baby was already safe and sound. I barely felt anything that was done to me after my son was born because I felt so astonishingly good. I felt so energetic that I could have jumped out of bed and ran a marathon. I remember being very hungry afterward and I couldn’t wait to eat.

I was in labor for 5 hours and pushed for 25 minutes. David was born at 2:24pm on Monday, March 5, 2007.

It was a fantastic experience!

Squirt Is Finally Here!

2007-04-04T10:08:00.000-04:00

It's a

BOY!

David Gabriel

March 5, 2007

2:24 PM

8 Pounds

19 1/2 Inches

Baby Report

2007-02-23T19:21:00.000-05:00

Current Stats:

5 cm dialated

80% effaced

Pelvic Station is zero

Chris might get to catch this baby after all...

What is Squirt waiting for?

Bursting At The Seams

2007-02-17T13:04:00.000-05:00

I tried on two pairs of pants and four shirts before I found an outfit that matches AND fits.

Squirt, it is time to come out.

Mommy's clothes don't fit anymore.

A Valentine to Remember

2007-02-14T15:32:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Squirt missed our February 13th deadline.

It is now February 14th and it’s the perfect day NOT to be having a baby.

First of all, Chris is not thrilled with the idea of having a Valentine’s Day baby.

It wouldn’t be a bad birthday for a girl. There would always be a celebration at school and she could always expect to receive a very romantic birthday gift from her husband as an adult. We could bake pink cupcakes for school and her middle name could be Valentine or Love.

It would be a horrible birthday for a boy. There would always be a valentine party at school and his mother would embarrass him by baking pink cupcakes. As an adult, his significant other would expect a romantic gift FROM him on his own birthday. It just doesn’t seem fair.

Another good reason not to have this baby today would be the weather. There was a winter storm warning last night, but we didn’t take it seriously because they issue a storm warning every time they see a snowflake in the sky.

Last night, we got home from work and Chris’ cargo van got stuck in the end of our driveway. He had to leave it there and use the snow blower to plow the entire driveway before we could park.

This morning, the driveway was buried again in snow that is over one foot deep. We have snow drifts in our backyard that reach the top of our four-foot tall fence.

We briefly considered taking a vacation day and staying home from work. Then, we realized that we could be stuck in the house when I go into labor. As much as we didn’t want to work today, we also don’t want to have the baby in our living room. Since we also work IN a hospital and work is only one mile away from the hospital where we plan to deliver, we decided that it was a good idea to go to work.

We realized what a horrible idea this was by the time we reached the end of the driveway. One of our neighbors had pulled out of their driveway and their car was stuck in the street. Our van slid all over the road while Chris tried to drive fast enough to keep us from getting stuck, too. I was a little hysterical and wanted to go back home.

We stopped for gas just to make sure that we had a full tank before our adventure began. I still really wanted to go back home.

We made it to the freeway only to find that the road was nearly empty. The snow was coming down hard, but the freeway had been cleared at some point and the snow was not nearly as deep as it had been in our neighborhood. Since there was no threat of hitting a tree or fire hydrant or passing car, I was able to calm down for the rest of the ride.

We got to work only one hour late and found that most people had stayed home today. Of course, only the managers in my office came to work today and they were all surprised that the one employee that came into work is the 9-month pregnant lady. I hope they remember to mention that during my annual review…

So, I’m sitting here this afternoon wondering if the lower back pain and cramping I’ve been feeling all day is just false labor or if today is THE day. I have a feeling that Squirt won’t decide until we get home tonight.

Snow Day

2007-02-14T15:20:00.000-05:00

This may be my last day at work before Squirt arrives.

I sure picked one heck of a day to come into the office…

Frozen in Time

2007-02-13T18:40:00.000-05:00

Today is the day we expected Squirt to make a grand entrance into this world.

The conditions are perfect...

The house is clean.

The refrigerator is full.

The taxes are filed.

The household budget is ready for baby expenses.

I've trained the temp that will be doing my work while I am on maternity leave.

Squirt's godmother is on a plane on her way to San Francisco.

There is a winter storm warning for the entire state for the next 24 hours. We've already gotten so much snow that it took us an hour to drive home from work (a 15 minute drive).

Chris is outside plowing the driveway right now because the snow is so deep that we can't drive the cargo van over it.

There is also a snow drift blocking the garage door.

What is Squirt waiting for?

Squirt Update

2007-02-11T18:29:00.000-05:00

The Update:

We've been waiting for Squirt all weekend, but the baby hasn't arrived YET!

We had a doctor appointment on Friday afternoon and I was 4 cm and 70% effaced. My doctor was shocked that I am still walking around at this point, so we assumed that Squirt would be arriving any minute.

We're still waiting.

Kayla and Erica are disappointed because they were hoping that the baby would come while they were over this weekend.

BUT...

Kayla is excited because she bet money on Valentine's Day, Feb 14. She still has a chance if Squirt can wait just a couple more days.

Dad is betting on Feb 13.

I would be happy with any day, and the sooner the better. I can't breathe and put on my shoes at the same time and I'm really sick of going to work everyday!

Hurry up, Squirt!!!!

Thirty Seven Weeks

2007-02-09T08:03:00.000-05:00

What Baby is Doing:

Measuring up
"Gaining a little weight every day helps me get ready for the big day." It's likely that your baby is more than 19 inches long and weighs between 6 and 6.5 pounds, nearing her final birth weight. These last few weeks are important, though; she's still gaining half an ounce of fat per day. This fat helps her body regulate her temperature and keep an even blood-sugar level. The brain, and the skull that houses it, continue to grow.

Ease on down
Is your baby sitting lower these days? You may feel as if she's dropped down into your pelvis—and perhaps she has. This dropping, called lightening or engagement, can occur a few weeks before your baby is born. The new, lower position may take some pressure off your squished lungs and diaphragm, making breathing easier for you.

What Mommy is Doing:

Bag it!
Have you packed a bag for the hospital yet? Only 5 percent of babies are born on their actual due date, so it's handy to have a packed bag waiting by the door in case your little one comes early.

Close scrutiny
Your health care provider may start performing pelvic exams at your weekly prenatal visits around now. She will check to see if your cervix is dilated (opening up) or effaced (thinning) and will look for any signs of labor. Many women start to dilate or efface weeks before actually going into labor, while some don't show any signs of labor until it's time to go to the hospital.

Waiting Game

2007-02-08T16:15:00.000-05:00

Everyone keeps reminding me that Squirt could be here any day now, but I just can’t seem to believe it.

Am I in denial?

I’m reading childcare books and breastfeeding books and sleep training books.

I try to imagine myself with a deflated belly and a baby in a sling.

I try to imagine Chris holding Sqirt in another room.

I try to imagine not being at work on a Tuesday morning.

It just doesn’t seem real to me.

Will I ever be ready?

How long will we wait to find out?

Between a Rock and a Gallstone

2007-02-06T16:35:00.000-05:00

Chris had a doctor appointment this morning and we learned that the pain he has been having is either a result of acid reflux or gallstones.

Of course, we have fixated on the possibility that he could have gallstones, which would require outpatient surgery. This normally wouldn’t be such an ordeal, except for the fact that we are having a baby at any minute and Chris has had adverse reactions to general anesthesia in the past.

It’s amazing how having a baby suddenly makes you acutely aware of your own mortality.

Personally, I feel empowered in knowing that I can finally support Chris as he has done for me during the past nine months of this pregnancy. He always assumes the role of provider and protector and I like to have an opportunity to show him every once in a while that I’m willing to take care of him, too. Maybe just to reassure him that he doesn’t have to carry the weight of the entire world on his shoulders because I am here to share that burden with him.

Although that probably won’t make Chris feel any better because he will be faced with possible complications of surgery, recovery time, time off of work, and allowing me to take care of him.

In all honesty, this is the most ideal time for Chris to have surgery if he needs it. I will be home from work on maternity leave and will be able to take care of him and keep him company while he recovers. I suppose God already thought of that…

Let’s just pray that it’s acid reflux.

Snow Baby

2007-02-05T10:44:00.000-05:00

Our mild winter is over.

It is officially zero degrees with a -23 degree windchill.

Over 645 schools in Northeast Ohio are closed today.

And Squirt has been practicing for birth!

I’ve been having Braxton Hicks contractions all weekend and I’m slowly losing my mucous plug.

Chris is so excited that he can’t even sleep. He was sure that the cramps and back pain that I was feeling last night were the first signs of labor. He was really hoping to stay home from work today and have a baby.

Hurry up, Squirt, Daddy is waiting for you!

Thirty Six Weeks

2007-02-02T11:53:00.000-05:00

What Baby is Doing:

How sweet the sound
Your baby loves hearing you read or sing. In fact, studies show that newborns prefer the sound of their mother's voice over other voices. Research has also found that newborns show a preference for a song that was played to them repeatedly while they were in the womb.

The incredible, shapable skull
Your baby's head is specially designed to travel through your cervix and pelvis. The bones in his skull aren't fused together yet; this loose construction makes his head very shapable so it can squeeze through the birth canal without harming him or you. These bones will gradually fuse over the first year of life.

Measuring up
Your little one weighs between 5.5 and 6 pounds this week and measures nearly 19 inches.

What Mommy is Doing:

Living large
Your uterus is now a thousand times its original volume. (Since it's up under your ribs, making breathing more and more difficult, this fact may not come as a surprise to you!) You've probably put on 25 to 30 pounds by now. Over the next four weeks, it's likely you'll gain only a few more pounds. Many women gain nothing at all in their last month of pregnancy.

What our Family is Doing:

Daddy is still anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little one.

Kayla and Erica are hoping to get the call while they are at school so they can tell all of their friends that we are in labor!

What our Friends are Doing:

Mommy’s co-workers had a surprise baby shower yesterday at work! Squirt received gift cards and cash that will be used to buy diapers for Squirt and maybe some pink or blue clothing!

The End is Near

2007-01-31T13:46:00.000-05:00

3 CENTIMETERS AND 50% EFFACED!

Hurray!

We had a doctor appointment yesterday afternoon and the obstetrician checked our progress for the first time.

I was a little nervous because I have been feeling so spectacular lately. I expected to hear that nothing was going on yet and I've been preparing myself for labor to start after our due date. Chris has been reassuring me that this baby is coming early, but I've had my doubts.

The doctor confirmed that we are 3 centimeters dilated, 50% effaced, Squirt is head down and has dropped!

There is absolutely no way to predict when labor will begin or when this baby will be born, but we are so excited!

We WILL have a February baby!

The Official Birth Plan

2007-01-29T15:32:00.000-05:00

We are thrilled to share the birth of our child with you. We hope to have a natural, un-medicated birth, unless health risks to the mother or child are determined by our obstetrician. We would like to avoid medical interventions as much as possible. Please help us to have a satisfying and memorable birth experience.

Labor:

Health Management
*Prefer to keep vaginal exams to a minimum
*Prefer to avoid shaving and use of enema
*Prefer to have a heparin lock inserted for emergency use
*Prefer to avoid an IV unless recommended by our obstetrician due to health risks to the mother or baby
*Prefer intermittent monitoring using Doppler or fetoscope
*Prefer NOT to have continuous fetal monitoring using EFM, unless required by the condition of our baby
*Prefer NOT to have internal monitoring unless our baby has shown signs of distress and internal monitoring is recommended by our obstetrician

Induction
*Prefer natural methods of induction (walking, massage, nipple stimulation, etc.)
*Prefer to avoid artificial rupture of the amniotic membrane (unless required for internal monitoring)
*Prefer to avoid Pitocin or other labor-inducing medications

We would prefer to avoid induction due to “failure to progress.” We understand that induction may be necessary for medical reasons. If the bag of waters is intact, we would consent to medical induction for:
*no signs of labor two weeks past due date
*fetal distress
*recommendation of obstetrician based on medical condition

Pain Management
*Maintain mobility and allow frequent position changes (walking, rocking, use toilet)
*Eat and drink to comfort
*Use of water (shower or tub) for relaxation and pain management (no water birth)
*Please do not offer pain medications. We will request them if needed.
*Prefer staff to maintain quiet environment as much as possible to aid relaxation

Delivery:

Pushing
*Prefer to choose the position for birth, including squatting, if possible.
*If fully dilated and no signs of fetal distress, would prefer to wait for urge to push
*Once pushing, would prefer “directed” or “guided” pushing to allow perineum to stretch and avoid tearing
*Prefer NOT to have an episiotomy
*Prefer a tear to an episiotomy
*Prefer staff to maintain quiet environment as much as possible to aid relaxation

Delivery
*Mother would like the opportunity to touch the baby’s head when it crowns
*Prefer to avoid use of forceps or vacuum extraction
*Father would like to assist in the delivery and catch the baby, with assistance from the obstetrician, if possible

After Delivery
*Prefer to have baby placed on mother’s abdomen and chest immediately following delivery, unless there is a medical emergency
*Father would like to cut the umbilical cord
*Prefer to delay cutting the cord as long as possible to allow the cord to stop pulsing
*Prefer natural expulsion of placenta
*Prefer to avoid pitocin, abdominal massage, or pulling of cord to deliver placenta
*Prefer local anesthetic to repair a tear or episiotomy
*Prefer to donate cord blood

Cesarean Section:
*Prefer to avoid cesarean section unless absolutely necessary and recommended by obstetrician due to fetal distress or significant health risk to mother
*If a cesarean section is required, the parents would like to be fully-informed and involved in the decision making process
*Prefer local anesthetic, if possible
*We understand that general anesthesia may be necessary in an emergency
*Prefer father to be present for birth
*If baby is not in distress, prefer father to hold baby immediately after birth
*Prefer skin-to-skin contact with parents as soon as possible after birth for bonding

Post-Partum Child Care

Bonding
*Prefer to have baby remain on mother’s abdomen as long as possible following birth
*Prefer warming by skin-to-skin contact
*Prefer to delay testing and evaluation as long as possible
*Prefer to initiate breastfeeding as soon as possible following birth
*Prefer to have baby cleaned while on mother

Testing and Evaluation
*Prefer to have testing performed with baby on mother, as much as possible
*Prefer to be informed regarding testing and treatments PRIOR to administration
*We request that the Hepatitis Series not be administered during the hospital stay. We have made arrangements for this treatment to be administered by our pediatrician upon discharge from the hospital.
*We request that the PKU Test not be performed during the hospital stay. We have made arrangements for this test to be performed by our pediatrician upon discharge from the hospital.
Feeding
*Prefer exclusive breastfeeding
*Prefer NO use of pacifiers, bottles, glucose water, or formula
*Parents prefer not to be separated from baby at any time, unless required for health reasons
*Prefer “rooming-in” to allow bonding between parents and baby

Circumcision
*Prefer circumcision of a male child prior to discharge from hospital
*Parents would prefer to be present during procedure
*Prefer local anesthetic for procedure

Sick Baby

Should the baby be in a situation that requires non-routine medical care:

*Parents request “kangaroo care”, allowing for as much skin contact as possible
*Prefer to breastfeed as soon as possible following medical interventions
*Prefer to provide breastmilk via exclusive pumping if breastfeeding is not possible
*Parents request unlimited visitation during treatment
*If baby is moved to another facility, parents would like to be moved as soon as possible and have one parent with the baby at all times.

Birth Planning

2007-01-29T15:25:00.000-05:00

We are officially one step closer to Birth Day.

Chris and I spent the weekend drafting our birth plan. I must admit that I am impressed and touched by how involved Chris has been in this process. He really took charge in writing our plan and I'm impressed that he is so knowledgeable and concerned. He has been a tremendous support to us (me and baby) throughout this pregnancy.

Although our birth experience will be filled with unexpected events, I know that I will be able to manage it simply because Chris will be by my side.

I can't imagine sharing this experience with anyone else!

Thirty Five Weeks

2007-01-26T13:12:00.000-05:00

What Baby is Doing:

Got iron?
It's very important to eat lots of iron-rich food in the third trimester. Your baby absorbs this crucial mineral from your body to build up iron stores in her own body, mostly in the form of red blood cells. The majority of the absorption takes place in the final months before delivery.
Heads or tails.

"Should my head be up or down?"
The head-down, or vertex, position is the ideal position for birth. Labor goes more smoothly when the baby's head, the largest body part, comes through the birth canal first. About 3 to 4 percent of babies haven't flipped to this position by 35 weeks. If something other than the head appears first, the delivery is called a breech birth. Amazingly, despite the tight quarters in your uterus, your little acrobat may turn several more times before she's born.

Measuring up
Your baby's arms and legs are getting chubbier as she continues to gain weight. By the end of this week, she may weigh up to 5.5 pounds and measure around 16.8 to 18.5 inches long.

What Mommy is Doing:

What you should know about Cesareans
No matter how much thought and preparation you put into it, childbirth (like parenthood) can be unpredictable. There's always a chance your doctor will decide that there is some risk to you or your baby and, as a result, will deliver your baby by Cesarean section. A Cesarean birth is one in which the baby is delivered through a surgical incision in the mother's uterus.

Nearly one quarter of the births in the United States are Cesarean births. So even though the odds are that you won't have the procedure, learn about it now so you'll know what to expect if it's needed. Ask your doctor which circumstances he or she believes call for a Cesarean: Would he perform one if your baby were in a breech position, for example, or if your labor had stalled? Also ask your doctor to describe how he performs a Cesarean—the procedure can vary slightly from doctor to doctor.

The ABCs of GBS
Sometime between now and 37 weeks, your health care provider may test you for the Group B streptococcus (GBS) bacterium. About one third of pregnant women carry the bacterium, which is harmless to you but can cause an infection in your baby if he contracts it during delivery. The test is simple: Your doctor will take a swab from your vagina or rectum or will perform some tests on a urine sample. If you test positive for the GBS bacterium, you may receive antibiotics intravenously (through a vein in your arm) during labor and delivery.

While We Are Waiting:

Mommy and Daddy are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our baby.

When will it be?

What will the weather be like?

Will it be at night?

Will labor begin at work or at home?

Will it happen on the weekend?

Will the baby be early or late?

We hate waiting!

The Draining Hourglass

2007-01-25T09:46:00.000-05:00

Today is Thursday, January 25, 2007.

We have exactly one month until our due date!

Get ready for Squirt!

Baby Chores

2007-01-24T15:47:00.000-05:00

It might seem like the baby is the last thing on my mind lately since I haven’t written anything in so long, but I can honestly say that the baby is exactly why I haven’t had a chance to write!

Chris and I have been busy every minute of the day trying to get ready for this baby before the big day.

We took our tour of Labor and Delivery at our hospital last weekend. The tour was too long and not very informative, but I was so grateful to actually see where we would be in labor and where we would spend the first few days of our baby’s life outside of me. I’ve been having difficulty imagining our labor and delivery, but now it feels more like an impending reality to me. Just one step closer to being ready for baby.

I’m trying harder now to exercise and practice my relaxation techniques everyday. It’s really not hard to do, it’s just hard to find time and energy at the end of the day. I’ve been experimenting with different labor positions to learn what is comfortable now that I’m large enough to eclipse the sun, which is very different from what was comfortable when I was only six months pregnant.

Chris and I still make time to marvel at the wonders that transpire in my belly everyday. Just this morning, Chris mentioned that my belly isn’t round anymore. My belly is lumpy. And the lumps move. We are perpetually trying to guess which Squirt part is sticking out. I’d also like to say that it is fun trying to guess which Squirt part is smashing my lungs or banging my ribs or giving me heartburn, but that part is not as much fun. I keep hoping this baby will drop soon, but I’m sure I’ll regret that, too. I’ve heard that I’ll be tinkling more (is that possible?) and I won’t be able to sit or walk comfortably. BUT, I will be able to breathe. Seems like a reasonable compromise.

Chris recently received very important advice from a co-worker regarding how to know when the baby will arrive. Once you feel like you simply can’t stand being pregnant anymore, you still have one month left before the baby will be born. So, Chris has been asking me everyday, “Do you feel like you just can’t take it anymore?” So far, my answer has been “no,” which is very frustrating to Chris! He is ready to meet his baby!

In the meantime, we’ve been busy with lots of other chores. Chris finished building a bench for our kitchen and reorganized all of the cupboards. We need to file our taxes. We need to write our birth plan. We need to pack for the hospital.

At least we’re making some progress. I went shopping last night to buy a snow suit just in case we need to take Squirt outside without his car-seat (which has a winter cover). I returned home to find an almost identical snowsuit already hanging in Squirt’s closet. I forgot I already bought one a couple of months ago.

Hopefully, the rest of our preparations will be done with more efficiency.

Thirty Four Weeks

2007-01-19T11:05:00.000-05:00

What Baby is Doing:

Making the drop
If your baby is a boy, his testicles are now descending from his abdomen into his scrotum. Occasionally, one or both testicles fail to move into position before birth. In this case, your baby's testicles will probably drop before his first birthday. If your infant's scrotum seems large right after birth, don't worry: The swelling is due to extra fluid and will go away in a week or so.

No vacancy
Your baby is moving around less frequently, mostly because of the cramped quarters. Of course, it may not seem as if he's settled down—now that he's so big (about 4.7 to 5 pounds and 15.5 to 16 inches long), you can feel even the slightest movement. In fact, since your baby is right up against the wall of the uterus, you're probably getting good at guessing which body part (foot? elbow? arm?) is protruding.

Baby blues
"Guess what color my eyes are now?" Regardless of the eye color your baby will end up with, right now his eyes are blue. The pigmentation process in his iris won't be complete until his eyes have been exposed to light for several weeks after birth. His final eye color may not be evident for years.

What Mommy is Doing:

Is it show time?
With only a few weeks to go, it's a good idea to know the signs of labor. Labor is different for every woman, but the most common symptoms are regular contractions that occur at increasingly short intervals, lower-back pain accompanied by menstrual-like cramps, a broken bag of waters (rupturing of the amniotic sac), or a blood-tinged mucous discharge, which may indicate that your cervix has started dilating.

Be aware that the presence of any of these symptoms doesn't necessarily mean that you're in labor. You may have signs of labor days or even weeks before you actually give birth. Let your health care provider be the judge; if you have any of these symptoms, call him or her immediately.

What Daddy is Doing:

Chris loves to antagonize the baby to see if he can feel Squirt kicking around in there. The other day, Daddy was blowing raspberries on my tummy and Squirt kicked him in the mouth!

I can’t wait until they meet each other face to face!

Baby Shower

2007-01-16T14:23:00.000-05:00

Our baby shower was held on Saturday, January 13 at Shore Haven Lutheran Church.

The hostesses were:

Dawn Marie
Christy
Joy
Laura

Some VIP attendees included:

Oma
Aunt Becca
Lots of church friends
Some work friends

Mike deserves an honorable mention for supplying most of the yummy food.
Our gracious hostesses provided the desserts.

The games included:

Baby Word Search
The Ice Cube Game
(each guest is given a pacifier frozen in an ice cube. First person to melt their cube, wins)
Mystery Baby Food Game

Kayla refused to eat the baby food, so Dad, Mom and Erica competed against each other. We couldn’t even guess most of the flavors, so you can only imagine how hideous baby food tastes!

Some cool gifts for Squirt included:

Exersaurcer from Missy

Learning Playground from Christy and Patti

Classic Pooh Sleeper from Christy and Patti

“Daddy’s Little Tax Deduction” outfit from Aunt Sandy

“Heartbreaker” Outfit from Pam

Hand-made blanket from Dawn Marie

“Baby 411” baby instruction manual from Joy

“Clean Shopper” grocery cart and restaurant high chair cover from Laura so Squirt can go to Sunday Brunch

There were so many gifts that I can’t possibly list them all here!

We are now ready for Squirt.

Almost…

Thirty Three Weeks

2007-01-11T15:08:00.000-05:00

What Baby is Doing:

Quick study
"All of my senses are working now!" Your baby's brain is still developing rapidly as her five senses get ready for the world outside the womb. At this point, she can see the liquid world around her; feel sensation when she grabs a toe or sucks on a finger; taste the amniotic fluid she's swallowing; and hear your heartbeat, your voice, and the grumble of your stomach. Of course, there's no air in the amniotic sac to carry scent, but if there were, she could also smell her environment.

Head most
Because of tremendous brain growth, your baby's head circumference has increased by nearly half an inch just this week.

What Mommy is Doing:

Scaling up
You should be gaining weight too—about a pound a week. You'll continue to put on pounds until just before delivery. Don't try to slow your weight gain even if you weigh more than you'd hoped. Your baby needs the extra pounds right now. There's plenty of time to lose weight after he's born.

Dawn’s Notes:

LEG CRAMPS!
I awoke to an excruciating leg cramp last night and was unsuccessful in hiding my pain from Chris. He was frantic at first and I can only imagine what his thoughts were when he realized that I was in pain. He massaged my leg and helped me limp to the toilet, so he is my hero.

Feel the Burn

2007-01-10T13:59:00.000-05:00

I must admit, as much as I will miss being pregnant, I have found two pregnancy symptoms that I will not miss:

1. Heartburn

2. Hot Flashes

I really shouldn’t complain about the heartburn since it’s usually only a problem when I don’t eat often enough. Eating always seems to solve the problem, so it’s not so bad.

I really can complain about the hot flashes, though. I am ordinarily a freeze baby, but I am burning up lately. Do you know how hard it is to be graceful at work when you have sweat dripping off your face? Thank goodness it is the middle of winter.

I also find myself ripping my clothes off in the middle of the night. I’d do it during the day, too, but it’s not socially acceptable in our culture.

I was starting to get worried, so I asked my doctor if it was normal during our last prenatal visit. Fortunately, I started having a hot flash at that very moment and my doctor had a good laugh because my entire body turned bright red. Chris didn’t believe it until he felt the sweat dripping down my back.

It will be nice to sleep with my socks on again.

Countdown

2007-01-08T16:08:00.000-05:00

I have so many feelings regarding the impending birth of our Baby Squirt.

I’m really going to miss having my baby growing inside of me. I’ve loved being pregnant. Every day is a miracle and the sensation of feeling your baby move inside of you is indescribable.

I’m so happy for Chris because he will finally get to hold this baby all by himself. Chris and Squirt have secret meetings in the middle of the night while I am asleep. I’ve woken several times in the middle of the night to find Chris exploring my belly and Baby Squirt bouncing around for Daddy. For some reason, Squirt settles down whenever Daddy rubs my belly during the day, but the baby likes to entertain Daddy at night.

I can’t wait for the hotflashes to be over!

I can’t wait to use all of our adorable baby clothes!

I can’t wait to start taking pictures!

I’m intimidated by the thought of caring for a baby and working a full-time job and keeping our house organized and preparing my Sunday school lessons and volunteering at church and grocery shopping and finding time to talk to my husband. It must be possible!

I’m looking forward to breastfeeding. Although it’s intimidating, I’m glad I’ll still have one way to keep my little baby close to me.

Those are all of my thoughts for today!

Thirty Two Weeks

2007-01-05T09:28:00.000-05:00

What Baby Is Doing:

Ups and downs
Your acrobat may be standing on his head now: Most babies settle in the head-down, or vertex, position by this week. Ideally, he'll stay put until you give birth. But remember, your little one has a mind of his own—he might decide to change positions several times before he's born. You might feel him jostling into place as he flips, especially if he does so late in your pregnancy.

As full as it gets
The amount of amniotic fluid in your uterus right now—about two pints—makes it fairly easy for your baby to switch from head up to head down. Over the next eight weeks, the amount of fluid will decrease as the amount of baby increases.

Measuring up
Your baby weighs between 3.5 and 4 pounds and measures about 17 to 18 inches stretched out.

What Mommy is Doing:

Let the ribbing begin
Ouch! As it gets more crowded in your belly, you may feel your baby's toes or elbows poking you in the ribs. It's not as fun to play "guess the body part" when said part is wedged up under your rib cage. Try lying on your side or changing positions to coax her into moving.

Double up the checkups
When you reach 32 weeks, most health care providers will want to start seeing you every two weeks instead of just once a month. Among other things, your provider will be on the lookout for signs of infection, preterm labor, or preeclampsia, a complication of pregnancy.

Our next appointment is today at 1:15pm!

Delivery drill
If you haven't already, sign up for a tour of the hospital where you'll be delivering. The tour will typically take you through the labor and postpartum rooms and acquaint you with registration and intake procedures and paperwork. Knowing where to go and what to do ahead of time will prevent a last-minute scramble when you're in labor.

Our tour is scheduled on Sunday, January 22. We should have this done already!

What Daddy is Doing:

Daddy and Squirt have been spending some quality time alone together at night. Squirt’s tumbling and bouncing don’t wake me up at night, but Daddy can feel the baby moving when I cuddle up to him in my sleep!

Vacation Countdown

2007-01-02T16:00:00.000-05:00

The holidays are over.

No more days off work until May.

Lucky for me, I'll be on "vacation" very soon!

Just eight more weeks, maybe less...

Rambling Thoughts

2006-12-29T14:20:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder what rattles around in a pregnant woman’s brain during the day?

Here is a sample of my miscellaneous thoughts, just to satisfy your curiosity.

*We’re hungry.

*Ouch. Why is Squirt rolling around so much?

*Did we already schedule a tour of Labor & Delivery? We should do that.

*I can’t wait to go on maternity leave because my boss is getting on my last darned nerve.

*What should we take to the potluck party on New Year’s Eve?

*Should we donate our cord blood?

*What was I working on today?

*Is it too early for lunch?

*Ouch. Why is Squirt rolling around so much?

*Only 58 days until Squirt arrives. I can’t wait to meet this baby, but I am so terrified at the same time! How will I know what to do? I’ll miss being pregnant. I’ll miss sleeping.

*I should do some work. What do I feel like doing? I’m so glad it’s Friday.

*My reminder to practice relaxation just popped up on my computer screen. What was I thinking? Relaxing is just not something that I do.

*Potty time.

*My boss just came in and told me that I can leave early since it’s a holiday weekend. Hurray!

*I just told Chris that I’m leaving work early, so now I have to stop at the grocery store and pick up Erica from her friend’s house before we go to church for church cleaning tonight. Oh, poop!

Happy New Year!

Thirty One Weeks

2006-12-28T11:28:00.000-05:00

What Baby is Doing:

Counting to 10
Many health care providers recommend that their patients monitor their baby's movements once they're well into the third trimester. Here's the drill: At roughly the same time each day (if possible, the time when your baby is most active), lie down and keep track of how long it takes to feel 10 kicks, rolls, or flutters—any type of movement. Ideally, this should be less than an hour. Many women find it takes only a few minutes, depending on the time of day. If an hour passes without any movement, eat a light snack, lie back down, and try again. If you still don't feel anything, call your health care provider.

Slow down
"It's pretty crowded in here." Don't worry, however, if your baby seems less active as the weeks progress. In fact, less-frequent movement now means she's right on track (assuming you are counting 10 movements in an hour each day). Her movements are simply becoming less erratic and more organized; also, there's not as much room in your uterus as there was just a few weeks ago.

Measuring up
Your baby is about 11.2 inches long from crown to rump (17 inches stretched out) and weighs about 3.3 pounds. She's been in the fetal position, with her legs tucked, for a few weeks now. She still has lots of growing to do—she won't get much taller, but she'll put on another 2 pounds this month. In nine more weeks, she'll be ready to greet you!

What Mommy is Doing:

Out of breath
You may have begun to feel breathless a few months ago; now you're probably having a tougher time getting enough air. That's because your ever-expanding uterus is pushing your diaphragm into your lungs. If you're carrying low, consider yourself lucky—women who carry high have an even harder time breathing. If you find yourself huffing and puffing, slow down and take a few deep breaths (as deep as you can). Toward the end of your pregnancy (around week 37 or 38), you may get a break as your baby drops down into your pelvis, easing up on your diaphragm and lungs.

Dawn’s Notes:

There are plenty of opinions regarding whether I am carrying high or low, but no consensus. I tend to think that I am carrying low because I have not had much trouble breathing at all!

Overall, I’m still feeling great, but I’ve noticed a few small discomforts as Squirt continues to grow.

My back hurts when I sleep, which makes it difficult to roll over or get out of bed for a potty break. It’s also difficult to get undressed in the morning to take a shower. Once I’m up and about, the pain and stiffness melt away.

I still can’t complain!

Movie Star

2006-12-26T15:00:00.000-05:00

It's official: Squirt will be a movie star!

Chris bought me a digital camcorder for Christmas this year.

I'll be able to make home movies of all the kids and send DVDs to our out-of-town relatives.

This will be a great excuse for me to stalk our baby with a camera.

I'm excited and I know that the grandparents will be happy, too. My Dad is in Florida and is very disappointed that he'll only be able to visit a couple of times a year. Chris' Dad lives in Austria, so he only visits about once a decade. This will be a great opportunity for him to "get to know" all of the kids.

I am so excited!

I can't wait to start filming!

The Last Christmas

2006-12-22T11:35:00.000-05:00

Without our baby!

Christmas is always an exciting time of year, but it is especially exciting this holiday season as we anxiously await the arrival of God’s most precious gift to us.

This is what baby is missing this year:

Tropical Weather
We’ve had snow this season, but not for the past two weeks. It is actually so warm here that it’s difficult to decide which coat to wear. We’ve been enjoying warm days with temperatures in the mid-50s during the day. The weather has been fantastic compared to normal winter days in Cleveland, but we are all disappointed that it won’t be snowing on Christmas Day this year. We are hoping this is a sign of a mild winter to come, which would reduce the likelihood that we will go into labor during a snowstorm.

Church Celebration
The Sunday School is presenting a program for the Christmas Eve morning service this year. Mommy is helping by narrating part of the nativity story. Specifically, I was volunteered to tell the kids about the journey to Bethlehem. The other Sunday school teachers thought I would be the best person to demonstrate the penguin-waddle walk that Mary most likely used to cross the desert.

Deck the Halls
Our Christmas tree is looking better this year, since we finally got rid of the pink ribbons and replaced it with red ribbon. The pink ribbon was a tradition started by Kayla and Erica and they were very sad to see it go. The tree was designed to resemble the tree from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Christmas. Dad and I were very happy with the change. Finally!

Also, Squirt’s first gift to Daddy this year is a Snow Man ornament that reads “Most Loved Daddy.”

Tradition!
We’ve started talking about new traditions that we would like to start for Squirt’s first Christmas next year. Starting in 2007, Santa will visit on Christmas Eve. We will celebrate the next day with the Austrian tradition of receiving gifts from the Christkinde, or Christ Child, on Christmas Day. We will bake cupcakes instead of cookies in celebration of Christ’s birthday. We’ll read the story of the first Chrismas. We’ll have a nativity set, but baby Jesus won’t arrive until Christmas morning.

It’s exciting to dream about Christmas seasons to come, but we are very thankful for this Christmas season that we have spent anticipating the arrival of God’s greatest gift!

Thirty Weeks

2006-12-22T11:27:00.000-05:00

What Baby is Doing:

Making headway
Your baby's brain continues its amazing development. Up until now, its surface has been smooth. This week, the brain begins to take on its distinctly wrinkled appearance. These wrinkles are called convolutions, and they allow the brain to hold more brain cells.

As some things develop, others disappear, like lanugo, the ultrafine hair that covered your baby's body. He may still have patches of it on his back and shoulders, however.

A Shared Meal
Eating well is tremendously important in the third trimester because your baby is taking nutrients directly from you to build up his internal stores and to gain weight. The calcium from the milk you drink goes directly to building his bones, and the iron in your prenatal vitamins and iron-rich foods boosts his iron supply, which will last until he's 6 to 9 months old. Protein is also crucial in these last few months, because it supports healthy cell growth throughout your baby's body.

Measuring up
Your baby weighs about 3 pounds this week and is a little more than 10.8 inches from crown to rump. His total length, including his legs, is about 17 inches.

Dawn's Notes:

Squirt is such a good little baby! I'm incredibly comfortable, despite my size. I haven't suffered from many of the common complaints of pregnancy, for which I am truly grateful. I'm still sleeping well, I'm not any more tired than I would have been about this time a year ago, and I'm still running around like nothing has changed.

I am starting to become increasingly excited with every passing day. Sometimes, I can't imagine that our baby will be with us so soon, and other times, I don't think I can possibly wait any longer!

Baby Moon

2006-12-20T15:10:00.000-05:00

We had our 30 week prenatal appointment yesterday.

The doctor said that Squirt is already head down!

She showed me where baby’s head, butt and back are situated. Now I know what parts are poking me when Squirt rolls around in there and I can spank that little butt! Can’t wait to see it!

Squirt has been mooning me all this time.

Chris and I are both predicting an early birth. Hopefully, our baby is just as anxious to meet us as we are to meet him!

Only a couple more weeks!

Twenty Nine Weeks

2006-12-14T14:28:00.000-05:00

What Baby is Doing:

Temperature control
"How does it stay so warm in here?" This week marks an important milestone in your baby's brain development: The brain has matured to the point where it can help regulate body temperature. Of course, your little one isn't ready to do it all on her own yet; she still needs the warmth of your body to keep her toasty until birth. She also continues to develop nerve cells in her brain. By the time she's born, she'll have hundreds of billions of them. That seems like a lot, but she needs to stock up, since she won't produce any more after birth.

Puttin' on padding
Your baby is looking more like a full-term baby, too. She's plumping up nicely; the surface of her skin is smoother and paler because of the fat she's starting to gain. This fat will be an important factor in her ability to keep warm. Your baby also has eyelashes; she may be batting them at you right now!

Measuring up
Despite the increase in fat, your little one is still pretty thin—only about 2 to 3 percent of her 2.7 pounds is made up of fat. Crown to rump, she measures 10.4 inches, but if you stretched her out, she'd be more than 16 inches long.

Going for the Glow
The baby will move toward a soft light shown through the mom’s abdominal wall. He’ll startle when he hears loud sounds but turn toward soft ones.

What Mom is Doing:

Weighty matters
You're in the home stretch now—11 more weeks to go! Your baby will be putting on most of his weight over the next three months, and so will you. You can probably expect to add about 11 pounds in the last trimester, about a pound a week.

Third-trimester complaint
Are you waking up suddenly with cramps in your calves? Leg cramps are a common complaint during pregnancy, though not every woman gets them. Experts aren't sure exactly what causes them; some say it's the added weight on your legs, while others think the pain may signal a calcium or potassium shortage. They may also be the result of the pressure of your uterus on the nerves running to the legs.

Dawn’s Notes:

Time is flying by so fast!

Slow down, baby!

Cloud Nine

2006-12-14T14:06:00.000-05:00

We found a daycare center that we love!

Chris and I toured a couple daycare centers yesterday, and the first visit was the best.

Naturally, I was a little depressed when I was hit with the realization that someday we will take our baby to a daycare center and LEAVE. It was an agonizing revelation, but I am comforted in knowing that our baby will be comfortable and safe.

The center we have chosen is everything that I could have asked for. It is close to home via the freeway. The center is on the campus of a catholic seminary and is next door to a catholic elementary school. The campus is easily accessible from a main road, but still feels secluded and peaceful. There is plenty of open space for playing outdoors, and the daycare center uses a courtyard as a playground. There are no fences because the courtyard is surrounded by buildings on all sides. No dangerous parking lots and no strangers wandering in.

The center is opening a new, larger infant room on the second floor in January. Every baby has their own crib and eating space and the play area has new equipment. The room is filled with windows to let in the sunlight and provides a beautiful, peaceful view of the campus and the courtyard.

Chris and I are making plans to go back and meet the director and the morning infant teacher sometime soon. Gotta get Squirt on the waiting list!

We also visited another center last night, but that place was so depressing that I wanted to cry! I won’t even share the details here, because it’s too upsetting to me to even imagine leaving our little Squirt there.

Anyway, I’m relieved to know that we have a safe place for Squirt to go.

We’re almost ready for baby!

Question of the Day

2006-12-13T15:40:00.000-05:00

What are you going to miss most about pregnancy?

*Never being alone

*Talking to myself without looking like an idiot

*Having someone kick me everytime I get worked up over something that is not important in the grand scheme of life. I'm sure the baby has no clue that he/she is reminding me of my priorities, but I like the subtle reminders throughout the day.

*Being able to eat and drink where ever I want, regardless of what the signs on the door say.

*Skipping to the front of the line in the restroom and at the grocery store.

*Having an excuse to sit down and relax.

*Being appreciated for everything that I can accomplish, regardless of my condition.

*Having an excuse for being forgetful.

*Looking great and being fat at the same time!

*Chris rubbing my tummy in the middle of the night.

*Always knowing where my baby is.

*Sleeping while my baby is awake.

There are so many more...I just love being pregnant!

Mommy's Baby Belly at 29 Weeks

2006-12-13T08:23:00.000-05:00

It's been too long since I've taken baby belly photos, so this is an update.

Chris wasn't home last night and I'm notorious for my impatience, so I took these pictures myself. I had lots of great poses, but most of them were blurry and I was too tired to try it again.

These are better than nothing!

Getting Ready

2006-12-12T13:08:00.000-05:00

Being the anal, uber-organized individual that I am, I have been in a panic recently about the items on our baby to-do list that remain unaddressed, and here we are just eleven short weeks until our due date.

I am feeling a sense of relief today as Chris and I move a little bit closer toward being ready for this baby.

We learned last night that our childbirth instructor will most likely be available to attend our birth as a doula. Hurray!

I called a couple of daycare centers today and learned that our top two picks do still have openings for an infant in early spring, which is a huge relief. I called a couple of months ago, but I was worried that someone else might have beaten us onto the waiting list. Chris and I plan to visit the centers today and tomorrow after work, and I’m really hoping that we will find a place near home that we love. It’s hard to imagine any place that I really want to leave our baby, so this might be more of a challenge than it needs to be.

I’m also on the brink of scheduling the last of the baby preparation classes. We still need to attend Breastfeeding Basics, Infant CPR, and Baby Care Basics. I’m waiting on one hospital to mail us a schedule of classes because their website is useless.

Lastly, my body is still doing what it needs to do to get ready, too. Imagine my shock and surprise yesterday morning when I realized that my breasts were leaking for the first time. OH MY GOD! I know I shouldn’t be surprised because I’ve read that it is completely normal, but I couldn’t help but panic. They’ve never done that before!

Even if I don’t know what I’m doing, it’s comforting to know that my body does!

Surrender

2006-12-11T10:48:00.000-05:00

I’ve met my match.

Baby Gear triumphs.

I had some spare time last night, which is a luxury in my world, so I thought I would be productive and spend a few moments preparing for the imminent arrival of Squirt.

I’ve been told that this child will need space to sit, lie, swing, and be transported. Hence, we have a plethora of bouncy seats, infant swings, strollers, and car seats. Being the thrifty mama that I am, I have been collecting these items over the past couple years in the anticipation that we would one day have a tiny baby butt that would need all of this gear. I also get a thrill out of buying a $200 travel system for $15 at a garage sale.

Although the bargain is out of this world, I now realize that I need to clean all of this infant gear before it can touch our precious angel. After all, it has been sitting in storage collecting dust for ages. It must be sanitized!

So, my plan was to gather all the baby gear in the basement. I would remove the covers, launder them, wipe down all the plastic pieces, and reassemble the gear like new.

There were a few obstacles that I didn’t anticipate:

*The baby gear was in storage. I had to move all of our luggage, seasonal clothing, baby gates, toddler car seats, income tax files, and Halloween decorations to unbury the baby gear. Then, I had to move all of that stuff back.

*The baby gear was in storage on the second floor. Our basement is under the house. Down one flight of stairs, over one tortoise gate, around the tight corner by the kitchen stove and side door, past the landing where the entire family stores their shoes, and down one more flight of stairs.

*My belly is the size of a watermelon and the travel system weighs more than me.
Hauling myself up and down the stairs alone is an Olympic event. Adding baby equipment to that equation is a recipe for disaster.

That was only the beginning. Once I hauled all that crap down to the basement, I encountered even more obstacles:

*The cover on the car seat slips off easily…except for the harness straps that are threaded through it. How do you get the harness straps off? I didn’t realize that I would need a screwdriver…

*The cover on the bouncy seat should slip right off…but it doesn’t. The bouncy seat evidently folds, but I didn’t know it because the hinges were hidden by the seat cover.

*The baby swing was a piece of cake. This piece of equipment is by far my favorite. The seat cover was easily removed. This is a sign that Squirt will either have no interest in the swing or will never, ever puke or poop while using it. The clean-up would just be too easy.

*The travel system. I saved this item for last. The entire contraption is such a maze of snaps and screws and screws and screws that I have no clue how I got all of the pieces off or how they fit back together. It took me no less than an hour to remove all of the covers and pouches and baskets and canopies. Now I understand why my neighbor sold it for $15 at her garage sale rather than just taking a few moments to clean it.

The seat covers are now in the dryer, sparkling clean and fresh.

All I need to do now is put them back on…

Twenty Eight Weeks

2006-12-07T10:23:00.000-05:00

What Baby is Doing:

Loud and clear
Your little one's sight isn't the only sense that's working. His brain wave patterns indicate that he's responding to sounds in the environment. What's he able to pick up? The sound of your voice, the growl of your stomach when you're hungry, even noises outside your body. His brain waves are also starting to show differences during sleep. These sleep cycles will become clearer and more distinct as he gets closer to his due date.

Breathe easy
This is a vital stage in your baby's lung development. Blood vessels are forming throughout both lungs. When he takes his first breath of air, his lungs will absorb the oxygen, then send it into these vessels, which will circulate the oxygenated blood throughout his body. Your little one is also just starting to manufacture a substance, called a surfactant, which keeps the air sacs in his lungs from sticking together. The surfactant will allow him to breathe properly after birth. The bronchial tubes are also maturing, dividing into smaller and smaller branches.

Measuring up
Your baby is gaining weight rapidly now—he may weigh about 2.3 pounds. Crown to rump, he measures 10 inches, but if you were to stretch him out he might be around 15 inches long.

Mommy’s Commentary:

Pregnancy still isn’t as hard as I thought it would be, even after all these weeks! I hope caring for a newborn will also be easier than I expect. I’m terrified at the thought of being solely responsible for a little person, but I can’t wait to see Squirt. I feel confident knowing that Chris will be there to help and support both of us. I can’t wait to meet our baby!

A new pregnancy development that just started last night: My ribs ache. Chris says the cartilage in my ribs is expanding to make more room for Squirt.

Hey, Baby, don’t forget to leave some room for Mom! I was here first!

Twenty Seven Weeks

2006-12-01T11:44:00.000-05:00

What Baby is Doing:

Just looking
"What are all those lights and shadows?"
After being fused shut for more than four months, your baby's eyelids can open again. This, combined with the facts that the visual part of her brain is active and most eye structures are complete, means your little one can see the world around her, limited though it may be. She can't make out objects yet, but she sees light and shadows.

Rock-a-bye baby
By paying attention to her movements inside you, you can get a good idea of how your baby spends her days...and nights. Just like babies in their mothers' arms, your little one gets lulled to sleep by rocking. Your daily activities may not feel like rocking to you, but the amniotic fluid provides such a cushion that all your baby feels is gentle swaying. So she's likely to sleep more during the day. It may be a different story at night, once you lie down to get some rest. Suddenly, she's awake and ready to party!

Measuring up
Your little one will gain about 1 pound over the next month. This week, she's up to 13 inches, crown to rump, and weighs about 2 pounds. Though she's growing quickly, her brain and lungs are still immature. Luckily, she's got 13 more weeks to get ready for the outside world.

Mommy’s Commentary:

Although sometimes I really wish Squirt would settle down and stop hurting me, the best part of being pregnant is feeling my baby move inside me. Those soft little tickles of early pregnancy have now become belly rattling kicks and punches! I’m amazed that Squirt is so strong and I love to watch my belly jump around.

Work It, Mama!

2006-11-30T14:01:00.000-05:00

Chris finally called me onto the carpet last night.

When am I going to start exercising?

YIKES!

We’ve been taking Bradley Method classes and an important preparation for natural childbirth is exercise. Labor and birth requires flexibility, strength and endurance.

Of course, that sounds logical.

And I really do have good intentions.

But I also have three huge obstacles:

1. lack of time

2. pregnancy-induced exhaustion

3. pregnancy brain

The lack of time just proves that my priorities are wrong. A good mother would be focused on the arrival of her new baby.

Strike one for me.

The pregnancy-induced exhaustion is entirely my fault. First of all, I would have more energy if I would simply make time to exercise. Is this a Catch-22? I could also make more time to sleep if I would simply turn off the TV at night rather than propping my eyelids open with toothpicks just to find out who the killer is on CSI.

Strike two for me.

The pregnancy brain makes me forget that I need to exercise. I know it’s hormonal and I need to take control. No problem. I have a love of charts and checklists. Chris fondly refers to me as an anal, uber-organized planner. I assure you that these traits do not offend him when his dinner arrives on the table or he has clean underwear in his dresser drawer.

One point for me.

So, now that Chris has fulfilled his obligation as my Bradley coach and I am drowning in guilt, I have committed to start exercising as I should.

Wish me luck!

The Epidural Obsession

2006-11-29T14:12:00.000-05:00

Now that I am really huge, my belly solicits unwanted advice at every turn.

The hot topic recently has been the Epidural.

Every woman I meet will tell me that I will need one.

Don’t even think of passing up the opportunity to get pain medication.

Request it, scream for it, beg for it.

Women don’t get medals for natural childbirth.

You get the same baby in the end.

Why suffer if you don’t need to?

How strange our society is that religion and politics are taboo subjects, but intimate moments of your life, like childbirth, are regarded as subjects that should be discussed and debated in public forums.

The epidural debate is the hottest topic among the ladies in my office lately.

The 23 year old never-been-kissed-virgin assures me that the epidural is the only way to go. Her mom told her so. She also assures me that my husband must owe me big time because I’m letting him use my uterus free-of-charge. I suppose I could tell her that I wanted this baby as much, if not more, than he did, but what’s the harm in letting her feel sorry for me?

The old-enough-to-be-my-mother in the cubicle next door emphasizes that almost NOBODY goes natural anymore. Why feel pain if you don’t have to? Also, childbirth classes are a waste of time because the baby is coming whether you are prepared are not. Don’t worry, the doctors know what to do.

The sweet-as-pie fundraiser mom has had three children. She had two natural births and one epidural. She assumed that she had suffered enough with the first two births and at her age, she deserved a break. Sounds logical…except she went on to say that the epidural made her vomit for the duration of her labor. Sounds like fun to me.

So, the ladies in my office are trying so very hard to help me by influencing my decisions with their fierce debates. It must be incredibly frustrating to them that I am unwilling to share my birth plan with them. They are dying to know my intentions. And I’m not sharing.

P.S. we’re NOT getting the epidural.

Twenty Six Weeks

2006-11-24T21:34:00.000-05:00

Practice breaths
This week, your baby's nostrils are starting to open up, which gives him the chance to practice breathing using his muscles and lungs. There's no air to take in, of course, so instead he "inhales" and "exhales" amniotic fluid. By the time he's born, he'll be a pro.

What a sucker!
Your baby is also flexing some of his feeding muscles— his lips and mouth. His sucking reflex is so strong that if his hand floats by his face, he'll suck on his thumb or fingers. Ultrasounds often show babies in utero sucking their thumbs. In fact, some babies are born with sucking blisters on their fingers, thumbs, lips, or hands. Sucking is just one of the 70-plus reflexes your baby will have when he's born.

Up for grabs
"Grasping something—like my umbilical cord—is my newest trick." Grasping is another of those many reflexes. If you hold out your finger to a newborn, you'll be amazed by the strength of his clutch. Your baby is practicing his killer grip right now. His favorite pull toy is his umbilical cord, which he likes to yank and tug. Don't worry; the cord is up to the challenge.

Measuring up
Your baby is about 13 inches long and weighs around 1.75 pounds.

Squirt's Nursery

2006-11-24T21:23:00.000-05:00

Squirt's Crib

Squirt's Dresser

Squirt's Library

The Squirt Show

2006-11-17T13:41:00.000-05:00

Erica’s favorite new hobby is feeling Squirt kick my belly.

She felt it for the first time last week. It must have been an amazing experience for her because her face lit up like a Christmas Tree.

Last night, Erica and I were lying on my bed studying her spelling words. She took a break to let Squirt kick her. Squirt obliged a couple of times and she was very excited.

I started to tell Erica that Chris had SEEN Squirt kick me just the day before. We were lying in bed and my belly bounced. I didn’t get to see it, but Daddy did.

Just as I was telling her the story, Squirt kicked me again and we both SAW it!

The show continued as Squirt kicked me several more times.

We all have a new hobby now.

Twenty Five Weeks

2006-11-17T13:37:00.000-05:00

What Baby is Doing:

In the round
"My body fills out a little every day." Your baby measures 12 to 13 inches and weighs about 1.5 pounds. Her skin is still thin, wrinkled, and pale, but she gets a bit plumper every day, thanks to the fat and muscle she's continually adding. Right now tiny blood vessels called capillaries are starting to develop below your little one's skin, and these will give it a pink hue. And she's still swallowing amniotic fluid. Too bad it doesn't come in different flavors!

Brain gain
The brain's cortex is developing into layers. Most of the action is still controlled by other brain areas that developed much earlier. The human cerebral cortex is the most elaborate brain structure in all the animal kingdom, giving us the ability to think, plan, and feel in complex ways.

What Mom is Doing:

Soccer mom
Does it seem as if your organs are starting to get squished? No wonder—your uterus is now about the size of a soccer ball. It measures from your pubic bone upward to a point that's halfway between your belly button and your sternum (the bone where your ribs come together), about 25 centimeters in diameter.

Diabetes check
It's time for your glucose screening test, a procedure that's performed between 24 and 28 weeks. This test looks for signs of gestational diabetes, a high-blood-sugar condition that usually goes away after birth. It affects 2 to 5 percent of pregnant women. If earlier tests detected sugar in your urine, or if you have a history of this problem, you may have been checked for gestational diabetes already.

The glucose screen is a simple test. First, you drink a sugary solution. A short time later, your provider or a lab technician draws your blood and tests its sugar level. If your blood sugar is too high, a more lengthy blood glucose test is performed to determine whether you have gestational diabetes. Treatment involves a special diet and, in a few cases, medication.

You go, girl
The need to urinate constantly may be one of pregnancy's most annoying challenges. As soon as you come back from the bathroom and get settled, you have to go again! As inconvenient as it may be sometimes, be sure that you empty your bladder as soon as you feel the need. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are very common during pregnancy, and they may be caused or aggravated by not urinating promptly or completely.

Dawn's Notes:

Ditto. My belly is huge because I am hosting Squirt's own personal disco party in there.

I tinkle all the time. I wonder if my boss realizes how much she pays me every day to pee?

We get to take our glucose test sometime in the next two weeks. Yummy.

Happy Anniversary

2006-11-15T15:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Anniversary

Chris and I went to Niagara Falls last weekend to celebrate our seventh wedding anniversary on November 13.

Some highlights that are appropriate for this blog:

(there are some things that no one else needs to know about)

*The drive that usually takes 3 hours took 4 hours on the way there and 4 ½ hours on the way home. Not to say that Squirt is to blame, but I’ve never needed to make so many rest stops on a roadtrip before…I’ll let you draw your own conclusion about why it took so long.

*Squirt is our lucky charm. We went to the casino and won enough money on nickel slots that our vacation was completely free. I have NEVER won money at the casino before. We still need to check the lottery tickets that we bought with Squirt while we were in Canada…

*We stayed in a beautiful hotel room in a great location and enjoyed a spectacular view, but it was surprisingly cheap. We were very scared when we saw the hotel lobby, parking garage, and elevator, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that our room had been remodeled only two years ago and everything was spotlessly clean. The hotel was right next to the Skylon Tower and across the street from the new casino, and the parking was free! We’ll be returning to that hotel with the kids sometime, so Squirt will actually be able to see it someday!

*Squirt does not like Chinese food or Indian food. Great learning experience for me.

*We visited the Niagara Parks greenhouse again, just like we did for our honeymoon, and we spent at least two hours there taking pictures.

*There was a holiday light display in the Niagara Parks.

*I was incredibly happy just to be alone with Chris and the weekend was over too quickly.

Twenty Four Weeks

2006-11-09T16:23:00.000-05:00

Energizer baby
Jumping and diving, rolling and kicking—your little one is having a great time training for the Baby Olympics. Just as you settle in for a good night's sleep, he starts his workout. Does it seem as if he's moving more than ever? He is: Babies are most active between 24 and 28 weeks. After that, there won't be enough room for him to perform the acrobatics he's so adept at now.

Thin skinned
If your baby could look down at his chest, he'd get his first anatomy lesson. Because his skin is still thin and transparent, it's possible to see the blood vessels, bones, and organs beneath it. His skin will continue to thicken as the months pass, until it's opaque like yours.

Eye spy
Even though your baby's eyes are still fused shut, all the parts of his eyes are present, including the retina, which completes its development over the next month. The iris, the colored part of the eye, still doesn't have any pigmentation. Your little one's eye color will fill in over the next few months, though their final shade won't be settled until after he's born.

Measuring up
Your little gymnast weighs up to 1.3 pounds this week and measures 10 to 11 inches.

Dawn’s Notes:
We went to the hospital this week because I had a dizzy spell that lasted several hours. (Later learned that it was caused by insufficient salt in my diet)

The nurse connected us to a fetal monitor, and Squirt didn’t like it at all! Chris and I had fun listening to him kick the monitor all night long. He must not have liked it, because he was very persistent and his kicking was not random. Just one more good reason not to wear the monitor during labor!

Boy Scout Motto: Be Prepared

2006-11-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

I’m so excited about our Bradley Method classes, that I’m finally finding time to write in my blog again!

Chris and I attended our first Bradley class last night. We originally signed-up for a 12-week series of classes that was scheduled to start on November 1. We weren’t so thrilled that the only class available before our due date is 30 miles away from home, but we were thrilled to find a class that started AND ended before our due date. Imagine my devastation when we received a call from our instructor last week telling us that the class series was cancelled! Evidently, 4 of the 5 couples decided not to take the class at the last minute. AGH!!! The agony! I was so discouraged and wondered if we could ever achieve an un-medicated birth without this training and preparation. I was feeling very blue.

Our instructor realized that she was our only option, so she offered to let us join her other class that is currently in session. We’ve already missed 5 of the 12 classes, but we figured it was better than nothing. Our instructor also offered to meet with us alone to review what we missed in the previous classes. I was relieved to learn that we’ve mostly missed Nutrition, Exercise, and Relaxation. I’m really anxious to review the relaxation techniques (can you tell that I need it?), but I think the nutrition and exercise will be a piece of cake. I’m so relieved that we were able to find a class!

After attending our first class, it even seems that Chris might be convinced that we could do this. I know he only agreed to take the classes because he would do ANYTHING to make me happy, but now he seems to be more supportive of the idea and seems to better understand my motivations. It means the world to me to have his genuine support, so I am overjoyed. I feel like I could do ANYTHING as long as I had his encouragement.

We’ve also decided to hire a doula to help us both through labor. I think this will take some pressure off of Chris by giving someone else the responsibility to be an advocate for us at the hospital. I want him to be free to cope with and enjoy the emotional aspects of labor and delivery, and let someone else worry about arguing with the doctors and nurses.

I feel so much more confident about our ability to labor and birth that I’m actually excited and can’t wait to meet our baby!

Name Game

2006-11-07T10:52:00.000-05:00

Since we won’t learn the baby’s gender until birth, we have been calling the kid “Baby” all these months. I found it hard to connect with the baby without having a name for him/her, so we began the hunt for a suitable nickname.

I liked Pumpkin.

Chris thought that was a sissy name.

I liked Monkey.

Erica loves monkeys, so she wanted that nickname for herself.

Kayla liked Peanut, but that was her nickname as a baby, so we considered that name as already taken.

I suggested Sugar Dumpling just to aggravate Chris, but it was too long to say repeatedly.

Erica finally suggested the name that stuck:

SQUIRT

The baby has been named after the baby turtle in Finding Nemo.

Twenty Three Weeks

2006-11-03T16:24:00.000-05:00

Story time
"My favorite sound is my mother's voice when she sings or talks to me." Now that bones in her ears have hardened, your baby can hear you and prefers your voice to any other sound. Give her a daily treat by reading, talking, or singing to her. If you feel silly reading to your belly, remember that the more your baby hears your voice, the more familiar it will be to her when she's born.

Super sac
The amniotic fluid that surrounds your baby is the perfect place for her to grow into a healthy newborn. The salty fluid keeps her warm, protects her from infections, and is buoyant enough for her to exercise her developing body. Right now the amniotic sac contains about a pint of fluid, which is refreshed every three to four hours.

Measuring up
Your baby looks like a tiny, thin newborn. She now weighs close to 1 pound and measures 9 to 10 inches, about the length of a Barbie doll.

Twenty Two Weeks

2006-10-31T14:09:00.000-05:00

Mommy started a new job during Week 22, so this update is a little late.
This is what baby was doing while Mommy was busy working:

Brow know-how
As if concentrating on a tricky math problem, your clever baby can furrow his brow. And now he's actually getting eyebrows to do it with! These fine hairs, like the hair on his scalp, don't contain any pigment yet—they're pure white. His eyelids are completely developed too, though they're fused shut until about 28 weeks.

Womb workout
"Waving my arms and legs is fun!" Jumping jacks may be your baby's favorite activity these days. Now that his arms and legs have reached their final proportions (but not their final size), he's exercising them vigorously—kicking, flexing, and clasping his hands. Speaking of his hands, fingernails now completely cover his fingertips, just as yours do. And they keep growing. In fact, you may need to trim your baby's nails right after he's born so he doesn't scratch himself.

Prepare for padding
Even though your baby measures more than 9.5 inches now, he still doesn't weigh much—about 13 ounces. At this point, he has only 1 percent body fat. But from here on out, he'll be adding layers of fat, which will help him to produce and retain body heat. Your little one's fat is a lot like the kind you're putting on during pregnancy. It's called brown fat and is readily turned into energy to keep both of you on an even keel.

What Has Mom Been Doing?

Welcome respite
Despite the occasional aches and pains, this stage of pregnancy is fun! Your belly has grown enough for you to really "feel" pregnant, and the rest of the world knows it too. But you're not so big yet that you have trouble getting out of a chair or tying your shoes. Your morning sickness has probably ended, and your appetite's back, perhaps with a vengeance. Enjoy this time.

Dawn’s Notes:
We’ve only gained 13 pounds so far.
Hurray!

Twenty One Weeks

2006-10-19T14:20:00.000-04:00

Heart throb
"What's that noise—the one that sounds like galloping horses?" Your baby's heartbeat gets stronger and louder every day. Up until a few weeks ago, your doctor needed a special device called a Doppler to hear it. Now all that's needed is a stethoscope.

If you want to hear your baby's heartbeat at home, buy a simple stethoscope at the drugstore. (Dad, siblings, and grandparents may enjoy the chance to listen, too.) Your little one's beat can be difficult to distinguish from your own. Listen for the faster rhythm—a baby's heartbeat is 120 to 160 beats per minute, about twice as fast as your own. Many women think it sounds like galloping horses.

Snooze news
Your baby is already starting to sleep and wake in subtle cycles. Ultrasounds show that unborn babies may even settle into a favorite sleeping position. Yours might tuck her chin into her chest, clasp her hands under her chin, or tilt her head back.

Measuring up
Your baby weighs between 10 and 13 ounces and is around 9 inches long, the length and weight of a banana.

Dawn's Notes:
Chris can feel the baby kick now, and I can't wait to let everyone try the stethoscope!

Kick Me!

2006-10-19T13:13:00.000-04:00

Chris felt the baby move last night!!

We were sitting on the couch watching our favorite TV show, Lost, and I felt the baby kicking HARD. I told Chris that I was curious to know if anyone else could feel how much stronger the kicks were becoming or if it was just me? He put his hand on my belly for a couple of minutes, and then the babe starting tapping out Morse code on my belly button. Chris could feel it!

I don't know if it's fair to imply that I'm more excited about this new development than Chris is, but it is honestly exhilarating to be sharing this experience with someone (besides the baby). Sometimes I feel like a little island, isolated by the knowledge that no one around me quite understands what I'm feeling as well as I do.

I've been saddened by the realization that Chris will never know what it feels like to have our little baby that we made living inside him. It's almost like I'm being selfish in keeping that feeling all to myself. I wish he could feel what I feel, but I'm glad that he can at least share this experience with me in this way.

It's also an indescribable feeling to feel my husband's hand outside of my belly and my baby's hand on the inside of my belly. I feel like I am the connecting force between them, and it's a very spiritual experience.

Mommy's Baby Belly at 20 Weeks

2006-10-13T16:57:00.000-04:00

Twenty Weeks

2006-10-12T16:04:00.000-04:00

Making sense
Your baby is truly starting to experience the world around him, limited though it may be. His brain has been working overtime developing the nerve centers dedicated to his senses, and they're coming alive. He's more responsive to the changes in the world around him: your activity, sounds in the environment, and even the taste of the amniotic fluid.

Pick up a hiccup
You've probably felt your baby rolling, diving, and kicking inside your belly. Now you might also feel a rhythmic jerking. No, he's not tapping out a tune; he's hiccupping. Most babies get the hiccups in utero, possibly due to an immature diaphragm having spasms. There's nothing you can do to stop the hiccups, but there's no need to—they won't harm your baby now or after he's born.

Sprouting a top
After establishing a scalp hair pattern several weeks ago, your baby is moving to the next step: growing hair. And this isn't lanugo; it's the real deal. But don't get visions of a lustrous mane just yet. Most of this hair will start to fall out two weeks after birth. Don't worry—your little one will gradually grow permanent hair, which will probably be lighter in color than the hair he has at birth.

Elsewhere in your baby's head, the bones of the inner ear are now fully formed, and the nose is beginning to develop into its recognizable shape.

Measuring up
Your baby weighs about 7.5 to 9 ounces and measures approximately 8.5 inches. You could cup the little guy in the palm of your hand.

What’s Happening to Mom:

Hump week
Congratulations—you're halfway through your pregnancy! You've come a long way in four and a half months. Your uterus has grown to three times its original height. When your health care provider measures it, he or she probably will find that the top is now even with your belly button. From here on out, your uterus will grow approximately one centimeter each week until you deliver.

Dawn’s Notes:
I can’t believe we’re halfway there already! It doesn’t feel like I’ve been pregnant very long, and I can’t imagine our baby actually living with us. It’s all happening so fast!!

Ultrasound on Friday, Oct 6

2006-10-12T16:02:00.000-04:00

We had our second ultrasound on Friday, October 6.

Kayla and Erica joined us and got to meet the baby for the first time!

Erica thought the equipment was very cool and she was very interested in the ultrasound technician's job.

Kayla thought it was too gross to watch the heartbeat on the ultrasound screen and she closed her eyes!

The baby was wide awake and the ultrasound technician struggled to get some good pictures because the babe was moving around so much! We saw the baby kicking, swinging it's arms, and sucking it's thumb!

Nineteen Weeks

2006-10-05T15:34:00.000-04:00

Second skin
"What's this creamy stuff all over my body?"
Around this time, the skin starts to produce a creamy substance called vernix caseosa, which is made of oils secreted by the skin, dead cells, and lanugo, the fine hair that covers the body. This waxy coating protects your little one's skin from the effects of floating in amniotic fluid. Most of the vernix will disappear before birth, unless your baby arrives early. Preterm babies are often born still covered with a lot of vernix. Even full-term infants will have a bit of vernix in the creases of their skin.

Measuring up
Your little one measures about 7 inches and weighs anywhere from 6.5 to 8 ounces. There's a definite upswing on the fetal growth chart now, so expect some big gains in the coming weeks.

Extra eggs
You probably don't know the gender yet, but if you're carrying a girl, the reproductive system is already well established. The vagina, uterus, and fallopian tubes are in place, and the ovaries contain more than 6 million primitive egg cells. When your baby is born, that number will have shrunk to about 1 million, which is all the eggs she'll ever have. Isn't it fascinating to know that the egg that became your baby is as old as you are, that it was just waiting to be released while you were growing up?

You've got male
If you're having a boy, things are also moving along. The male reproductive system is nearly fully developed. Testicles have formed and have been secreting testosterone since about week 10 of your pregnancy. The external genitalia, which became male in the first trimester, are continuing to grow: A scrotal sac is usually evident by now.

Let's Mambo, Mama
Is this little one practicing some Latin dance moves? The fetus's activity now occurs in clusters, separate "dance numbers" alternating with twilight sleep periods.

Dawn’s Notes:
I’m feeling blessed that I’m not experiencing many of the pregnancy discomforts that are normal for this stage of pregnancy.

I do have occasional back pain when I try to get out of bed in the morning, especially if I was very active the day before.

I’m starting to notice new stretch marks as my belly continues to grow, but they are very light and white in color. No angry red stretch marks for me (YET).

I do feel like the baby is doing the Mambo in there! The baby is rolling around right this very moment. Instead of the popcorn popping feeling that I originally had, it is now a marbles rolling around in my stomach feeling. The baby is either becoming more active, or I am just feeling his movements more as he gets bigger.

The doctor says that the baby can hear now, so he can start getting to know our family and decide whether or not he wants to come out.

What's Up, Doc?

2006-10-04T11:52:00.000-04:00

We had our monthly OB appointment yesterday.
I’ve been feeling the baby move for about two weeks, but I’m very anxious for Chris to share this sensation with me, too.

He can’t feel the baby moving yet, but he did hear the baby kick me yesterday when the doc was listening to the heartbeat! Feisty little jumping bean in there!

This pregnancy is progressing normally so far, which is always a huge relief to hear. I just love to go to these appointments to listen to the heartbeat and get out of work early!

We had a quad screen yesterday to test for Down’s Syndrome, Neural Tube Defects, and Trisomy 18. We almost decided to skip the test with the assumption that a positive result would mean we could terminate the pregnancy, which we would never do. After talking to the doctor, we learned that a positive result would affect the baby’s care immediately after birth. So, as much as I hate these tests that leave us in suspense for weeks awaiting the results, we both realized that it would be best for the baby that we are prepared for anything that could be wrong.

Luckily, I am in a pregnancy-induced euphoria where I can’t possibly imagine anything being wrong with our baby or anything going wrong during delivery. There must be a magic pregnancy hormone that I have that keeps me from worrying, because that is definitely not one of my normal personality traits.

We also talked to the doctor about considering birth without pain medication. I’m reluctant to get an epidural simply because I hate the feeling of being incapacitated and I think I would handle labor better if I could move around and help the process. I would rather be an active participant than a passive bystander.

Chris is surprisingly supportive of the idea, which is just one more thing that I love about him. Of course, the natural childbirth class is 12 weeks long, compared to the Lamaze childbirth class, which is only 6 weeks. Might as well give up our normal lives now…

Eighteen Weeks

2006-09-29T08:50:00.000-04:00

One of a kind
This week, your little one is developing one of the characteristics that will make her unique: fingerprints. Pads of fat accumulating on the fingertips and toes will turn into distinguishing swirling lines.

Prepping the plumbing
"What happens when this stuff goes down into my stomach?" The large intestine has been tacked down to the back of the abdominal wall, and many digestive glands are forming. This developing digestive system has been going through its paces for several weeks already: The fetus is swallowing amniotic fluid, which then makes its way through the stomach and intestines. Now, that fluid combines with dead cells and secretions in the intestines to form meconium. Meconium is the black, tarry substance that will eventually make up your baby's first messy diaper.

Measuring up
The fetus weighs up to 7 ounces and is about 6.5 to 7 inches, top to bottom.

What’s Happening to Mom:

Help for the lightheaded
Do you feel dizzy sometimes? It's no wonder: Your heart is working 40 to 50 percent harder than it did before you were pregnant. This industry, combined with the pressure of your growing uterus on blood vessels, can occasionally leave you feeling faint, particularly when you get up quickly. Be sure to rest frequently. Lie down on your left side for a few minutes several times a day to increase your circulation. Low blood sugar can also lead to wooziness. Eating a piece of fruit is a great way to keep you on your feet and stave off the munchies.

Mini moves
Are those gas bubbles or tiny feet kicking against your belly? Most women first feel the fetus's movements between 16 and 20 weeks. Because your little one is still so small, what you feel probably won't be a forceful kick but a gentle fluttering, as if you've got a case of the butterflies.

Dawn’s Notes:
I feel the baby move everyday now! It’s seems like he/she is most active in the morning, between the hours of 7:00am and noon.

Knock, Knock. Is Anybody Home?

2006-09-26T10:53:00.000-04:00

I think I felt the baby move today!

It’s the strangest feeling, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s actually the baby or just a little muscle twitch.

It feels like someone is tapping on my belly, but from the inside.

I’ve heard it described as a butterfly in your stomach or marbles rolling around. If I am actually feeling the baby moving, it feels like ticking or tapping from inside my stomach.

It’s a very weak sensation, and I probably wouldn’t even notice it at all if I was busy. I’ve had this feeling a couple of times in the last week or so, but I wasn’t sure if it was the baby or just more round ligament pain.

It’s such a unique sensation, now I understand why it is so difficult to put into words.

I’ll let you know if this is it!

Seventeen Weeks

2006-09-21T14:37:00.000-04:00

How your baby's growing:
Your baby weighs about 5 ounces now, and he's around 5 inches long — about the size of a large onion. He can move his joints, and his skeleton — until now rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden to bone. His sense of hearing is also developing. The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker.

How your life's changing:
With more weight up high and out in front of your body, you may feel a bit off-balance as you walk around. Store away your high heels and wear low-heeled shoes to reduce your risk of taking a tumble. You're likely to feel protective of your tummy, and that's good. Trauma to your abdomen could be harmful to your baby and dangerous to you, so be sure to buckle up when you're driving. Keep the lap portion of the seat belt under your belly and very snug across your hips for maximum protection.

Dawn’s Notes:
I love maternity clothes!

Cravings

2006-09-20T09:27:00.000-04:00

I’m proud to say that my cravings have not included any strange combinations of foods, but some of the foods I can’t live without lately are:

Nacho cheese, melted gooey cheese!

Ramen Noodles

Stuffing
(cornbread flavor is the best!)

Look at Me! 16 Weeks

2006-09-17T20:08:00.000-04:00

Sixteen Weeks

2006-09-14T16:50:00.000-04:00

How your baby's growing
At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, she'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling her weight and adding inches to her length. Her lower limbs are much more developed now. Her head is more erect than it has been, and her eyes have moved toward the front of her head. Your baby's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of her more advanced body systems are working, including her circulatory system and urinary tract. Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating her total blood volume through her body many times. (By the end of your pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts.) The patterning of her scalp has begun, though her hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, her eyes are moving (slowly), and she's even started growing toenails.

How your life's changing
Have people been telling you how good you look? The "glow of pregnancy" is real, thanks to increased blood flow to the skin. You may be enjoying yourself more, too, now that your hormones have stabilized and nausea has eased up. You're also probably less anxious about something happening to your baby (the risk of miscarriage drops dramatically after the 14th week) which likely adds to your overall sense of well-being.

Soon you'll experience one of the most wonderful moments of pregnancy — feeling your baby move. While some women notice "quickening" as early as 16 weeks, most don't until about 18 weeks or more. If this is your first baby, don't be too anxious — you may not be aware of your baby's movements until 20 weeks or so. The earliest movements may feel like little flutters, gas bubbles, or even like popcorn popping. Over the following weeks they'll start to feel unmistakably like kicks.

Dawn’s Notes

When did I get so FAT?????

Hot Mama

2006-09-11T11:55:00.000-04:00

I look like crap.

My hair is now brown. I have sacrificed the identity that the entire world has known since my adolescence. I am plain Jane. No longer the red-head that could easily be picked out of a line-up.

I suppose it was my choice, but how much choice did I have? The effects of hair color on an unborn fetus are unknown, but scientific studies have proven that the chemicals are absorbed through the mother’s scalp. UGH! What kind of mother would I be if I exposed my baby to unnecessary chemicals every 2-3 weeks just for the sake of vanity?

I suppose I didn’t have to go brown. I could have gone for the red hair with dark brown roots a mile long look. But I do have some pride.

As if the hair is not bad enough, I am destined to spend the next several weeks living in elastic pants.

And the flat shoes I ordered have arrived.

So I am plain, fat, and short.

Every girl’s nightmare….

But ironically, my dream come true.

Fifteen Weeks

2006-09-08T12:31:00.000-04:00

How your baby's growing:

At around 4 inches long, crown to rump, your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 ounces. He's busy inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, which will help develop the air sacs in his lungs. His legs are growing longer than his arms now, and he can move all his joints and limbs. That means his hands are more functional, too. Sweat glands are appearing, and although his eyelids are fused shut, he can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, he's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but his taste buds are beginning to form. And if you have an ultrasound, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or girl! (Don't be disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down the gender depends somewhat on how clear the picture is and the position of your baby during the ultrasound; he may be curled or turned in such a way as to keep you in suspense.)

How your life's changing:

You've probably gained about 5 pounds by now. If it's a little more or less, don't worry too much. Every woman gains weight at a different rate.

While you're well into the swing of being pregnant, you may still be surprised by an unexpected symptom now and then. If your nose is stuffed up, for example, you can probably chalk it up to your pregnancy. That's because increased estrogen can cause swelling in the mucous membranes and possibly the production of more mucus. Your blood volume is increasing, too, which causes your blood vessels to expand, including those in your nose. (You may get occasional nosebleeds as a result.) And because pregnancy alters your immune system and makes you more susceptible to certain infections, it might just be that you have a cold or allergies. In any case, make sure you stay away from irritants, like cigarette smoke, aerosols, and alcohol. To soothe your nostrils, use a humidifier or vaporizer at night, and drink plenty of fluids. You can also try over-the-counter saline drops or a buffered saline nasal spray. (If you're truly miserable, ask your doctor or midwife if it's okay to take decongestant medication.)

Dawn’s Notes:

It doesn’t seem like much is going on lately, so it’s easy to forget at times that life has changed.

I’m still waiting to look pregnant, because right now I only feel fat. I can feel my abdomen getting firmer near my pelvic bone, which is very exciting!

Waiting

2006-09-05T15:10:00.000-04:00

It’s been a long time since I’ve recorded my thoughts, so it’s about time for an update.

Obesity as a way of life
I’m feeling a little awkward as I’ve only gained five pounds so far, but it’s all in my waist. My jeans are too tight and my work pants finally fit just right. I have maternity clothes, but they’re still a little huge right now. I’ve finally reached the stage where only people that know me understand that I’m pregnant, and the rest of the world (which is a lot of people) assume that I’m just fat. The baby’s godmother, Laura, has nicknamed me “Chubby” and Chris is calling me “Fluffy Butt.”

I finally understand why women complain about the weight gain. Yes, it’s natural and healthy, but we are taught all our lives to watch our weight and admire thin women. Abandoning those societal values is more difficult than I thought it would be.

Dreaming
I spend a lot of time daydreaming about what our baby will be like. I imagine a little curly-haired boy running along after Chris at the annual Labor Day Air Show. Or, I imagine a fair-haired girl with long braids insisting that Daddy carry her everywhere they go. I imagine Chris and baby spending hours in the garage building the best playhouse ever. I imagine Kayla snuggling with the baby or Erica playing peek-a-boo.

Secrets
I have finally acknowledged that I must tell my mother that I’m pregnant. I’m really dreading the conversation, but as a new mother, I simply can’t imagine how painful it must be to be so detached from your child’s life. I don’t know if we can repair our relationship, but I at least need a clear conscience. I need to do this.

I’m looking forward to telling my co-workers this week. It’s amazing that I’ve been able to keep the secret this long! As I continue to get fatter and fatter, this pregnancy will be harder and harder to conceal. I might as well tell them since most of them will only be excited for me. Except for my nemesis, and nobody really cares how she feels anyway.

Obsessions
I’ve been researching children’s books online. I’m obsessed with having a brilliant baby and I’m convinced that a childhood filled with reading and deprived of television exposure will lead us to the nirvana I seek.

I want to buy something. Anything. I’ve updated our baby registry in an effort to curb the urge to spend. I’m trying…

Fourteen Weeks

2006-08-31T16:41:00.000-04:00

How your baby's growing:

Head to bottom, your baby's 3 1/2 inches long — about the length of a lemon — and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. Her body's growing faster than her head, which now sits upon a more well-defined neck. By the end of this week, her arms will have lengthened and will be in proportion to the rest of her body. (Her legs still have some growing to do, though.) She's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair all over her body (called lanugo). Her liver starts secreting bile this week, a sign that it's already functioning properly, and her spleen starts contributing to the production of red blood cells. She's also producing and discharging urine into the amniotic fluid, a normal process that she'll keep up until birth.

You still can't feel your baby's movements, but her hands and feet (which are now half an inch long) are more flexible and active. Thanks to brain impulses, her little facial muscles are getting a workout as she squints, frowns, and grimaces. She can grasp now, too, and she may be able to suck her thumb.

How your life's changing:

As early discomforts (nausea, fatigue, breast tenderness) begin to fade, you may start to regain some energy and feel more comfortable with how your body's changing. (Although the top of your uterus is only a bit above your pelvic bone, that growth may be enough to push your tummy out a bit.) Starting to show is an exciting pregnancy milestone and it will likely give you and your partner the visible evidence of a baby that you've been waiting for. Take some time to plan, daydream, and enjoy this amazing time. It's normal to worry a bit now and then, but you can also breathe a little sigh of relief knowing that with the start of this trimester your risk of miscarriage has dropped significantly. Now try to focus on taking care of yourself and your baby and having faith that you're well equipped for what's ahead.

Dawn's Notes:

I can't wait for my tummy to pop out!

Did I Really Say That??

2006-08-25T16:38:00.000-04:00

I feel like I am out of control.

I cry.

I rage.

I cry.

I bite Chris’ head off for no apparent reason.

I am irritated.

I cry.

I just don’t like all these feelings that seem to be out of my control.

Yes, I can be sad or angry on a normal day. But pregnancy seems to amplify those emotions to the point that I can’t make myself not cry or I can’t keep myself from sounding irritated. When I get angry, it seems like it takes me forever to get over it.

I’m driving Chris crazy, but I don’t know how to stop it.

Thirteen Weeks

2006-08-23T15:51:00.000-04:00

How your baby's growing:

Your belly may soon be big enough to announce to the world that you're expecting, but your baby is still tiny. In fact, he's only about 3 inches long crown to rump — roughly the size of a jumbo shrimp — and weighs just about an ounce. Despite the small proportions, there's a fully formed baby inside your womb now. Much more proportional than it was a few weeks ago, his head is now only about a third the size of his body. His tiny, unique fingerprints are already in place. His kidneys and urinary tract are functional, and he's starting to urinate out the amniotic fluid he's been swallowing. As you start your second trimester, most of your baby's critical development will be completed, and your odds of miscarriage will drop considerably.

How your life's changing:

Time to celebrate! This is the last week of your first trimester. Next week you'll be in your second trimester. That's great news for two reasons: One, your risk of miscarriage drops dramatically, and two, many women see early pregnancy symptoms, such as morning sickness, subside.

Birth is still months away, but your breasts may have already started making colostrum, the nutrient-rich fluid that feeds your baby for the first few days after birth, before your milk starts to flow. Many couples also notice a distinct libido lift in the second trimester as nausea abates and energy returns.

Dawn’s Notes:

I think the second trimester is going to be great! I can eat again, and other than being tired too often, I almost feel normal.

I can’t wait to see my belly grow! I’m really looking forward to wearing maternity clothes and feeling the baby move for the first time.

All A Dream?

2006-08-22T13:26:00.000-04:00

13 weeks!

This is heaven!

All the annoying symptoms of the first trimester have vanished.

Not quite without a trace, but there are times that I actually forget that I’m pregnant.

This almost seems a little unfair that now, when I am finally able to explain to folks why I am sick and they could potentially pity me, I am no longer sick.

Not that I’m complaining…

So far, my weight gain is still fluctuating from week to week, but I should start packing on the pounds any day now.

I’m actually looking forward to watching my belly grow, because I need some kind of constant reminder that I am not alone.

First Ultrasound

2006-08-21T15:31:00.000-04:00

We had our first ultrasound on Friday, August 18.

I wasn’t prepared for the intensity of emotion upon seeing our baby for the very first time. I knew it would be a special day, and it certainly was.

The first pictures were breathtaking. We could see the profile of our baby, and he was waving his arm and sucking his thumb!

Chris grabbed my hand and tears starting spilling down my cheeks.

I’ve seen so many ultrasound pictures that have rarely resembled a human being, that I was amazed and awestruck by this experience.

After the initial ultrasound, a doctor came in to perform a more thorough ultrasound to confirm that the baby’s heart is developing properly. Our OB recommended us for an early ultrasound (12 weeks rather than the standard 16 weeks) because Chris’ brother was born with a congenital heart defect.

The doctor performed another ultrasound and the pictures were even more astounding. Since the doctor performed the ultrasound internally, we were able to see the baby in amazing detail.

We saw his spine, nasal cavity, and tooth buds. The most amazing moment was when we were actually able to SEE our baby’s heart beating.

It was also amusing to see the baby swing his fist and arch his back in response to the doctor’s prodding.

The baby is developing normally and I am left with a memory of our child that I will never forget.

On a humorous note, the doctor told us that he could determine the gender of the baby if we would like to know. I groaned in agony and explained that I would love to know, but Chris would like to be surprised. Since I could never keep a secret from him, we will both be surprised at the birth.

The doctor chuckled and told us that he wouldn't disclose the gender of the baby, but he would tell us that "the baby will strongly resemble one of the parents." He also told us that "this baby will most certainly be born naked, so we will know the gender immediately following the birth."

Chris eventually said that he would like to know the gender, but at that point I insisted that we wait because I didn't want him to forego his surprise just for my benefit. I also explained later that I had read a story of a woman that had six ultrasounds and she had been told the wrong gender five times! I'd rather be surprised...

I can’t wait to touch him!

Twelve Weeks

2006-08-17T12:44:00.000-04:00

Baby Ticker

Week Twelve

How your baby's growing: Your baby's hit the 2-inch mark (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce. Her face is beginning to look more human. Her eyes, which started out on the sides of her head, have moved closer together on her face, and her ears are near their final positions on the sides of her head. Your baby's intestines, which have grown so rapidly that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into her abdominal cavity about now. Her kidneys are secreting urine into her bladder. Her nerve cells have been multiplying rapidly, and synapses (neurological pathways in the brain) are forming. Your baby may have acquired more reflexes by now, including sucking, and she'll even squirm if you prod your abdomen, though you still won't be able to feel her movement for several weeks.

How your life's changing: Your uterus is rising above your pelvic bones, and your practitioner can now feel the top of it (the fundus) low in your abdomen. Though you probably won't need maternity clothes for several more weeks yet, you've no doubt noticed that your waist is thickening and that you're more comfortable in looser, less restrictive clothing.

Dawn’s Notes:

I’m a little worried that I’ve lost the few pounds that I’ve gained recently. Although I’ve read that it is normal to gain 2-6 pounds during the first trimester, I’ve also read that it is not uncommon for some women to experience no weight gain.

Since the morning sickness is starting to subside and I am now hungry all day long, I don’t think an inability to gain weight will be an issue for much longer.

SURPRISE!! Parents React

2006-08-11T10:27:00.000-04:00

SURPRISE!! Parents React

We just got home from our family vacation in Florida.

We planned to tell my parents by letting the girls wear their shirts on the first day of vacation. Since Dad was working on the day we arrived, Erica didn’t wear her shirt and changed her clothes just before dinner. We didn’t want anyone to have an unfair advantage. That was probably a great idea because one of Erica’s markers exploded on the plane all over the other shirt that she had been wearing. Luckily, it gave her a good excuse to change her clothes.

My parents immediately noticed that her shirt said “Big Sister”, but when she asked them what it meant, they were both stumped.

This wasn’t exactly fair because Dad asked me a couple of days earlier on the phone if Chris and I still planned to have a child or if we had changed our minds. He made me lie to him! I really, really wanted to tell them in person, so I just couldn’t tell him on the phone. So, even though Dad’s first thought was that I was pregnant, he wouldn’t say it out loud.

After five minutes of dropping hints, Erica just couldn’t stand the suspense any longer. She finally blurted out, “Dawn is pregnant!”

The look of shock on their faces was priceless!

We forgot to have the camera ready.

The announcement was greeted by hugs all around and they are very excited.

My own personal thoughts:

I was very reluctant to share the news, simply because I was enjoying sharing this secret with Chris and telling other people just highlights the reality of our situation.

I’m glad we’re finally able to tell our family and friends, because it is helping me to become less anxious about these changes and more excited.

SURPRISE!! Siblings React

2006-08-11T10:21:00.000-04:00

Kayla and Erica finally know the happy news.

We took the girls out to dinner at our favorite Chinese Restaurant, Hunan Garden.
We let them choose between Chinese or Mexican.
I wanted Mexican, but Kayla wanted Chinese, and she whines louder than I do.

After we ordered dinner, we told the girls that we had gifts for them for our upcoming vacation to Florida.

Kayla opened her gift first.
It was a black and red shirt that said “Big Sister”.
She wasn’t very thrilled, but that was understandable.
She doesn’t exactly run around bragging about being related to Erica.

Erica opened her gift next.
It was a blue shirt that said “Big Sister’.
She said she liked the color and she thought it was nice that we thought she was growing up.
She asked if we got it on sale or something.

Erica and Kayla argued with us for over five minutes that Erica is not actually a big sister and it’s just not possible.
The expression on Erica’s face when she finally figured out that I’m pregnant was just priceless.

Erica was immediately excited. She wants to read to the baby, learn how to change diapers, take babysitting classes, tour the hospital nursery, and go shopping.

Kayla was immediately devastated. Her first response was “I’m terrified.” She hopes the baby won’t cry at night or go into her bedroom. She then concluded that it doesn’t matter because she can’t wait to move out of the house when she grows up.

Note: Kayla has been much more positive about it now that she has had time to think about it.

Erica is now fondly referring to me as the VICTIM. The baby is the LIFE SUCKER.

Welcome to the family, kid!

Eleven Weeks

2006-08-11T09:53:00.000-04:00

Baby Ticker

11 Weeks

How your baby's growing: Your fig-sized baby is now fully formed — measuring 1 1/2 inches long and weighing in at a quarter of an ounce. His skin is still transparent, allowing many of his blood vessels to show through. Some of his bones are beginning to harden, and tiny toothbuds are starting to appear under his gums. His fingers and toes have separated, and he may soon be able to open and close his fists. He's already busy kicking and stretching, and his tiny movements are so fluid they look like water ballet. These movements will increase as his body grows and becomes more developed and functional. As his diaphragm develops, your tiny tenant may also start to get the hiccups. Because he's still so small, though, you won't feel any of his workouts or intrauterine gulps until sometime between weeks 16 and 20.

How your life's changing: Don't worry if nausea has made it impossible for you to eat a wide variety of healthy foods or if you haven't put on much weight yet (most women gain between 2 and 5 pounds during the first trimester). Your appetite will likely return soon and you'll start to gain about a pound a week.

Dawn’s Notes:

The nausea is not worse or better, but I’m comforted by the thought that it will end soon.

For anyone that may wonder, flying makes it MUCH worse.

Heartbeat

2006-08-01T16:15:00.000-04:00

We heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time on Friday, July 28, 2006.

Chris and I shared the miracle together.

The baby is real!!

STRESS!!!

2006-07-28T11:57:00.000-04:00

What a day!

I’ve been looking forward to this day for over a month, but it is not turning out to be as wonderful as I had hoped it would be.

Today is our first OB appointment.
We might get an ultrasound today.
I can’t wait to meet our baby!

I imagined that we would go to work, normal day, anguishing over how slowly time would pass as we wait for our 3:30pm appointment.
We would go get the ultrasound, meet our baby, share a tearful moment, and then spend the rest of the day immersed in love.
I was hoping for dinner at Hunan Garden to celebrate, maybe a movie, then lots of cuddling and groping.

What a wonderful imagination I have.

This is how the day is going so far. Please keep in mind, it is not yet noon.

Chris is on-call this week.
He got a service call last night and left the house at 5:30pm.
He got home at 9:30pm.
We got Chinese food for dinner at 10:00pm.
Chris got another service call at 1:00am.
He didn’t have to go.
Chris got another service call at 3:30am.
He did have to leave.

The service call was in Painesville.
We had torrential rain last night.
Euclid was flooded.
Eastlake was flooded.
Mentor was flooded.
Painesville was flooded.
Perry was flooded.
Madison was flooded.
The freeways were closed and many of the roads through Mentor were closed, too.
I have no idea how he got to Painesville.

The service call in Painesville was at a nursing home.
One of the nurses mentioned that her husband had just been evacuated from their house on Circle Drive because it was flooded.
Chris’ mother lives on Circle Drive.

Chris stopped at his mother’s house at 5:30am to make sure everyone was alright.
The entire circle was flooded, except for 10 houses on one end of the street.
Chris’ mom and family was fine.

Chris called me at 5:30am to tell me about the flooding.
Thanks, now I’m awake.
Again.

So the morning started a little earlier than I prefer.

Then, my boss invites me to a 9:00am staff meeting, and she has donuts.
As a rule of thumb, any Friday morning meeting that includes donuts means your boss is about to share some bad news.
And since I heard her on the phone yesterday tell a friend “I’m not sure that I still have a job”, you can only imagine how much I was looking forward to this meeting.

The news is this:

Our department is being reorganized.
We are currently part of a non-profit hospital.
Our department will be a for-profit subsidiary.
We have a new director, and he is bringing 6 employees with him from Florida.
Our current executive director and his secretary are being moved out of the executive administration offices.
Our current executive director will no longer report directly to the CEO.
The new director wants to see our resumes, so we need to have them ready by Tuesday of next week.
He wants to know where we all fit into the new organization.
If we do.

So, my boss reassures us at this point that we all have jobs.
Wonderful news.
BUT…
There is not enough space in our current building to add the new employees.
We will be moving to Independence at the end of the year.

That’s all fine and dandy, but there are several problems with that.
I currently have a 15 minute commute, and Chris and I carpool in his company van.
That means our current gas expenses for commuting are $0.
The new commute would have me driving our van 45 minutes each way every day, at $3 for a gallon of gas.
Not to mention, that I would need to leave the house at 7:00am and I wouldn’t get home until 6:00pm.
That’s assuming no traffic jams.
And I have to pass through Downtown Cleveland.
So, bet on traffic jams.

This is a problem.
Our babysitter only works 7:00am to 5:30pm.
We can’t let Chris pick up the baby from daycare because he only has two seats in his van, both of which have airbags.
If my baby’s head were severed by an airbag, I would not be able to forgive myself.
So, I need to pick up the baby in my van, but I won’t get there in time.

The commute schedule doesn’t work.
The commute expense doesn’t work.

My boss has offered to waive the 12 month waiting period to allow me to apply for other jobs internally. She is fantastic!

The dilemma is this:

Do I tell my manager about my pregnancy now?
Or do I wait until I find a new job?
If they know I need maternity leave in February, will it make it harder to find a job?
I only have about a month before I start showing, and I don’t know if I could find a job that quickly.

What should I do????

Nine Weeks

2006-07-26T10:28:00.000-04:00

Baby Ticker

Week Nine

How your baby's growing: Your new resident is nearly an inch long — barely the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce, but he's poised for rapid weight gain now that his basic physical structure is in place. He's also starting to look more and more human. His embryonic "tail" is now completely gone and his body parts — including organs, muscles, and nerves — are kicking into gear.

His eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. He has earlobes, and by week's end, the inner workings of his ears will be complete. His upper lip is fully formed, too, and his mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The tips of his fingers are slightly enlarged where his touch pads are developing. All major joints — his shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles — are working, enabling your baby to move his limbs. As for his heart, it has divided into four chambers now, and the valves have started to develop. External sex organs are there, but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks.

How your life's changing: You still may not look pregnant , but emotionally you may feel like you're on a roller coaster ride. Mood swings are common now; it's perfectly normal to feel alternately elated and terrified about becoming a parent. This feeling can persist throughout your pregnancy and well after your baby's born. Try to cut yourself some slack. Almost all expectant parents worry about how a new baby will change their lives, but the vast majority later say that becoming a parent was one of the best things they've ever done.

You may be feeling extra gassy or bloated now, too. That's primarily because the major doses of progesterone your body produces early in pregnancy relax smooth muscle tissue throughout your body, and that includes your gastrointestinal tract. This relaxation slows your digestive processes, which can cause more gas, bloating, burping, flatulence, and generally miserable sensations in your gut, especially after a big meal.

Dawn’s Notes:

Gas. Bloating.

Am I showing, or am I just constipated today?

How I've Changed... And How I Haven't

2006-07-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

As I journey towards motherhood, I’ve noticed some subtle changes in my own character.

I’m more likely to put my foot down and defend my opinion.
Especially with the ex-wife and my nemesis at work.
In-laws are next in line for this treatment.

I’m terrified of reckless drivers and I’m more likely to honk and scream obscenities at them.
Just for the record, the world is filled with reckless drivers.

I feel guilty for eating fast food.

I feel guilty for whining about my queasy stomach all the time.

I plan to exploit my condition at every opportunity.
I will skip to the front of the restroom line.
I will drink my soda in the department store that displays the sign that says
“No food or beverage”
I will eat the last peanut, fried dumpling, or cookie.

I’m sure there are many more changes to come.

Look out world, Motherhood is a monster!!

Dad, the Baby Expert

2006-07-21T12:13:00.000-04:00

We got our first copy of Baby Talk magazine in the mail last night.
Chris read it while I was cooking dinner.

I’m impressed.

First of all, I thought Chris probably knows everything he wants to know because he has done all of this before. Twice.

He is already an expert on all things related to baby care.
Although, when I say expert, I really mean that he knows a lot more about feeding, diapering, and soothing than I do.
At least, I hope he knows what he is doing.
Someone should.

So, as Chris is browsing through the baby magazine, eyes filled with wonder, I hear questions like:

“Why would you keep a baby’s cord blood?”

And

“Did you know that there are lots of different models of breast pumps out there?”

And

“Why is there an ad for birth control in a baby magazine? Isn’t it too late?”

As much as this man makes me smile, he makes my heart melt even more.

He’s such a fabulous Daddy!

Eight Weeks

2006-07-20T16:29:00.000-04:00

Baby Ticker

Week Eight

How your baby's growing: Your baby is now 5/8 of an inch long, about the size of a kidney bean. She's constantly moving and shifting, although you won't be able to feel these womb wiggles for several weeks yet. Her embryonic tail is disappearing, and her eyelids practically cover her eyes. Still slightly webbed, her fingers and toes are growing longer. Her arms have lengthened, too, and her hands are now flexed at the wrist and meet over her heart. Her knee joints have formed, and her feet may be long enough to meet in front of her body. With her trunk straightening out, her head is more erect. Breathing tubes extend from her throat to the branches of her developing lungs. The nerve cells in her brain are also branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. Though you may be daydreaming about your baby as one gender or another, the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl.

How Mom’s life is changing: You haven't gained much weight yet, but parts of you are certainly growing — like your breasts. You'll soon need bigger bras with better support than your old ones. You may notice your waistline expanding as well, forcing you to pack away your favorite jeans. Less obvious is the increase in your blood volume; by the end of your pregnancy, you'll have 40 to 50 percent more blood running through your veins to meet the demands of your baby. Your need for iron increases with your blood volume. Take your prenatal vitamins to make sure you're getting the extra iron you need so that you don't become anemic.

Dawn’s notes:

Don’t forget the nausea gets worse this week.
I finally learned that I could avoid the queasiness by eating small meals frequently.
Now, I am queasy whether I eat or not.

I am frequently exhausted, but exercise seems to help combat feelings of fatigue.
Chris has been taking me swimming, and it feels marvelous!

Still waking up to pee at all hours of the night and every 1-2 hours during the day.
It makes shopping difficult.

I Had A Dream….

2006-07-19T10:44:00.000-04:00

I had another dream last night.
I hope these are not prophecies of things to come.
I feel so sorry for this kid already.

I dreamt that we were at home with our baby.
The baby was a boy!
(Another boy! Does this mean anything?)

The baby was hungry, so he decided to latch on.

Great job!
I knew we could breastfeed!

My immediate reaction is “Oh, no! We need our Boppy!”
I put the baby down on the couch and go to his room to start unpacking boxes.
In real life, would I really let this baby be born before his boxes were unpacked?
I don’t think so.

Meanwhile, we are not in our house, but we are in our old apartment.
The baby is in the living room on our old blue Lazy Boy couches while I search through boxes looking for our Boppy.
(I left the baby alone on the couch?!!?)

The baby is screaming.

I finally find the Boppy and we resume feeding.

Until I notice that the baby has milk dribbling down his chin.
My immediate reaction is “Oh, no! We need a bib.”

I put the baby back down on the couch and go look for a bib.
I’m unpacking boxes looking for the blue bib with the turtle on it.

The baby is screaming.

I suddenly hear someone say,
“Hey, lady! Would you just give the kid a boob already?!!?”

Who said that?

Was it Chris?

Was it Baby?

I find the bib, put it on the baby, and give him the boob that he is waiting for.

I’m proud of myself because it’s actually working.

Then I wake up to pee and the dream is over.

**Just for the record, the baby has milky white skin, very light blonde hair, and blue eyes. His hair is just barely there, so it’s impossible to tell if it will be curly like his Dad.

And he likes boobs, just like his Dad.

Vivid Dreams

2006-07-18T11:44:00.000-04:00

I had my first vivid pregnancy dream this week.

I dreamed that our baby was born.
The baby was a boy.

I took the baby for a walk one day, and he started to talk to me.
He was only one month old, so I was very proud of him.
I was so excited that I wanted to show Chris right away.

I took the baby to an apartment building.
We walked up a few flights of stairs and entered a newly painted white apartment.
Chris was inside assembling a crib.

I asked Chris what he was doing in this apartment.
Chris told me that this was the baby’s new apartment.
The baby was moving out of our house.
Chris told me that the baby has to move out someday, why not now?

I told Chris about my dream as soon as I woke up and we died laughing.

Chris assured me that our baby can live in our house until he is at least 18 years old.

Prayers for Monica

2006-07-17T11:04:00.000-04:00

My friend, Monica, is 30 weeks pregnant and is currently faced with the possibility of premature labor.

She was hospitalized over the weekend with premature contractions and she is currently on bedrest.

There is a 30% chance that she will deliver before 34 weeks, and her OB feels that she will definitely deliver before 38 weeks.

Many prayers for Monica and her family.

Cheese, Glorious Cheese

2006-07-13T13:29:00.000-04:00

I recently read that soft cheeses, such as feta, brie, and mozzarella, can sometimes contain a bacteria called Listeria if they are not pasteurized.
Pregnant hostages, oops, I mean women, can’t eat soft cheeses because Listeria is bad. I don’t know how Listeria is bad, but it is.

I’m packing lunches this morning and I reach into the refrigerator looking for string cheese.

I realize that I didn’t buy any string cheese on the last grocery shopping expedition.

Because it's MOZZARELLA string cheese.

DAMN!

I LOVE CHEESE!

Chris tells me I’m being a little neurotic.

I think he just can’t listen to any more of my incessant whining about the eternally long list of dietary restrictions that I have imposed on myself in my campaign for a perfectly healthy baby.

So, we’ll compromise.

I’ll eat the mozzarella, but I’ll avoid the feta and brie so I can sleep peacefully at night.

Now, excuse me while I go eat my cold leftover pizza (smothered in mozzarella)…

Seven Weeks

2006-07-13T11:26:00.000-04:00

Baby Ticker

Week Seven

How your baby's growing: Your baby still appears to have a small tail (actually, it's an extension of his tailbone), which will disappear in the next few weeks. But that's the only thing getting smaller. Now almost half an inch long — roughly the size of a raspberry — he has elbow joints and distinct, slightly webbed fingers and toes. In his oversized head, both hemispheres of his brain are developing. His teeth and the inside of his mouth are forming, and his ears continue to develop. Eyelid folds partially cover his tiny peepers, which already have some color, and the tip of that nose you'll be tweaking someday is emerging. His skin is paper-thin and his veins are clearly visible.

Your little one also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. His liver is busy producing red blood cells, and a loop of your baby's growing intestines is bulging into his umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from his tiny body. You can't feel his gyrations yet, but your baby is like a little jumping bean, moving in fits and starts around his watery home.

Delusions of Empowerment

2006-07-12T11:55:00.000-04:00

Today I feel empowered.

It’s almost like I’m in charge!

I researched the Maternity Leave Policy at work.
I printed all of the applicable forms and will have my OB complete the medical certification form at our first appointment on July 28th.
My manager will be so impressed that I have all of the paperwork done, she won’t even have time to mourn her loss.
I think I’ll give her a chance to soak up the thought that I’ll be gone for three months on maternity leave before I tell her that I want a shorter work day when I return.

I’m planning to tell my boss sometime in August.
After the OB appointment.
After our Florida vacation.
After we tell the kids, and the kids tell the whole world.
Maybe the kids could tell my boss?
Maybe not.

I check out the lactation services at work.
I work at a hospital, so they have nursing centers with hospital grade pumps and lactation consultants and nursing support groups.
Fabulous!
The only problem is that the nearest lactation center is in another building on the other side of the campus, so I would only have to walk ten minutes to get there and ten minutes to get back.
Well, I’m not an expert yet, but I’m thinking I might have to pump milk a couple of times a day.
That means a lot of time walking back and forth.
I’m thinking my boss might let me use that empty office with the big, soft leather chair instead of making me hike to the cow-milking center.
Heavenly…

I also started looking at prenatal classes at the hospital.
I thought it would be great to get started early so we wouldn’t have to take all of the classes at one time.
Looks like they are all designed for the third trimester.
Doesn’t anyone else on this planet believe in advanced preparation?

And the list of classes is endless.
Childbirth Preparation
Breastfeeding Basics
Baby Care
New Dad Boot Camp
Infant and Baby CPR
Car Seat Safety
Happy Baby (why do you need a class for that??!!??)

I wonder how Chris will feel about spending every weekend of our third trimester in a prenatal class?
Doesn’t that sound like fun?

I’m excited about the classes that are available for Kayla and Erica.
I want to sign them up for Sitter Safety.
It’s a babysitting class about baby care and what to do in an emergency.
I think it will be a great learning experience and will give them the confidence to be very involved with their sibling from the very beginning.
And I want them to be very involved.
I plan to exploit their services so I can shower daily.
I know I’m selfish, but I have no shame.

I’d also like to sign them up for the New Sister/New Brother class.
I think it’s intended for younger kids, but I think they’ll enjoy the tour of the hospital nursery.
Maybe I can sneak into the class so I can take a peek at the new babies, too!

Yesterday, I bought the beginnings of a maternity wardrobe.
I surfed around all the popular maternity websites and took a peek at the offerings on walmart.com.
I decided to look on Ebay so I can afford to wear pants AND send our baby to college.

I bought 4 pairs of maternity pants, 2 skirts, and 4 shirts for $50.
Yes, I know I have talent.
I’m saving this baby tons of cash with my thriftiness.
I hope you realize that these purchases will be added to the baby’s tab.
But I’m not mean.
I don’t expect repayment until he at least finishes college.
At least.

So, I’m feeling better about the waiting game today.
I feel like I’m making some progress towards our goal.
I know my body is busy growing this baby everyday, but I don’t like to be a backseat driver.

QOTD: Labor & Delivery

2006-07-11T12:00:00.001-04:00

The big question of the day is:

Labor and Delivery, Natural or Epidural?

As if it is even a question!

Last night, I was reading a horrifying book titled ‘Pregnancy and Childbirth.’
Well, that book is about 10% pregnancy and 90% childbirth horror!
I should have dropped the book while I was still feeling somewhat confident about this, but I didn’t.

I’ve been entertaining ideas of a water birth, or walking through contractions, or giving birth standing up. I’ve read that delivery while lying on your back is the worst position because you are pushing the baby uphill and the opening is narrowed, which increased the need for episiotomy.

But then I realized that I wouldn’t be able to feel my legs if I had an epidural.
So, that rules out walking and standing.

Hmmm….

Should I be a martyr?

Considering that I get queasy just thinking about the delivery process, maybe I’m not the best candidate for natural childbirth.
I can’t really imagine myself meditating through the pain.

The baby forums are very helpful.
Some moms say, “Women have been doing it for thousands of years without drugs.”
Other moms say, “Would you have a tooth extracted without pain medication? If not, why would you give birth without it?”

So, the question is out there for debate and we have a couple of months to figure it out.

As of today, we are 80% voting for epidural, and 20% delusional.

Craving List of the Day

2006-07-10T11:16:00.000-04:00

Craving List of the Day

Cheese

Avocado

Cheese

Guacamole

Cheese

I found a recipe for a pumpkin pie smoothie.
I want one right now.

Cheese

I wonder if there is any cheese in the vending machine?
I'll be back in a minute...

How about guacamole and melted cheese on Triskitt crackers? YUM...

Anxiety Attack

2006-07-10T10:57:00.000-04:00

Big sister Erica is finally off to summer camp.

I think Chris is having a nervous breakdown.
He’s so worried about her that he can’t even sleep!
I keep trying to reassure him that she is having the time of her life,
but I don’t think he really believes me.

She’s probably not even thinking about us.
I’m sure we miss her more than she misses us.

Chris is feeling guilty because it’s raining.
Don’t kids love to play in the rain?

I’ll feel so much better when she comes home and tells us how much fun she had.

The good news is that she is not at home wondering why I am sick and tired all of the time. I have tried so hard to be a martyr, but it doesn’t seem to be working well. Chris says I look sick all of the time and I keep falling asleep in the car.

Erica probably has no clue that I’m pregnant. She’s never been around a pregnant woman, so she has no reason to be suspicious. But, she is eleven years old and being the drama queen that she is, she probably thinks I am dying of cancer and we’re not telling her.

I can’t wait until August so we can tell the kids what is going on!
Maybe Kayla will start being nice to me then?

In the meantime, I keep trying to imagine what our family life will be like next year. I’m overwhelmed.

When will I sleep?
If Mondays are crappy now, how crappy will it be when I have to get someone else dressed in the morning, too?
How will we pay for daycare?
Who is going to cook dinner?
How are we going to pay for Erica’s braces?
What will my body look like?
When will I talk to Chris?

I’m hoping I will cheer up by the time I’m beginning to show.
I wish I was more excited.
Today, I am just terrified.

At least I can alleviate my guilt by blaming it on the hormones…

Conspiracy Theory

2006-07-07T12:26:00.000-04:00

Now I know how it feels to be sabotaged.

The baby likes ice cream.

I always have the worst morning sickness in the evening after dinner.
Milkshakes make it better.

Chris is encouraging the ice cream consumption.
He says we need calcium.

My pants are tight today.
I have to hike them up over my belly button because the waistband is not elastic.
We can't keep eating ice cream everyday.
I have to say NO next time Chris asks me if I want to go to Dairy Queen.
He should stop asking me if I want to go.

They're BOTH sabotaging me!

It must be a boy because he's already on Daddy's team.

I'm on to the conspiracy...

Reasons to Celebrate Life

2006-07-06T15:40:00.000-04:00

The baby is fine.

No need to panic.

The spotting is normal.

I really need to start reading these pregnancy books so I know what to expect, but it’s hard to find time to read without giving away the secret. I can’t exactly whip out a copy of ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ in the lunchroom at work.

On another happy note,

Chris is the cutest Daddy ever.
He bought another infant carrier and a newer carseat today at a garage sale.
That brings our tally of infant carriers to three.
I hope he doesn’t think we’re having triplets.

I can’t wait to see these new baby accessories!
Erica was with him, and I trust her fashion judgement, so they must be cute.
They also bought a Winnie the Pooh doll for the baby.

How sweet!

Week Six

2006-07-06T15:39:00.000-04:00

Baby Ticker

Week Six

How your baby's growing: The cells that will make up all of your baby's body parts and systems are dividing furiously as her body begins to take shape. Right now she's about the size of a small lentil bean (4 to 5 millimeters across).

If you could see through your uterine wall, you'd find an overlarge head and dark spots where her eyes and nostrils are beginning to take shape. Shallow pits on the sides of her head mark her developing ears, and her arms and legs appear as protruding buds. Her hands and feet look like paddles, with thick webbing between the developing digits, but her fingers and toes will soon become more distinct. Below the opening that will later be your baby's mouth, there are small folds where her neck and lower jaw will eventually develop. (Inside, her tongue and vocal cords are just beginning to form.)

Your baby's heart (which is starting to divide into the right and left chambers) is beating about 100 to 130 beats per minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to circulate through her body. Her intestines are developing and tiny breathing passages are beginning to appear where her lungs will be.

She's also starting to build muscle fibers and, halfway through this week, she'll likely start moving her tiny limbs. Unfortunately, you'll probably have to wait until you're several weeks into your second trimester before you get to enjoy feeling your baby's calisthenics.

PANIC

2006-07-05T12:15:00.000-04:00

I’m spotting.

I just saw pink on the TP ten minutes ago.

I cried immediately.

What does this mean??

I’m hysterical.

I search the internet for bleeding during first trimester.

I find a small glimmer of hope.

Bleeding is common, and does not mean miscarriage.

I didn’t know how badly I wanted this baby until I thought I might lose it.

I love this baby already.

It’s suddenly real to me.

Please God, help me.

Morning Musings

2006-07-03T08:52:00.000-04:00

Just my morning musings...

I'm waiting for everyone to get ready to leave the house.
We're going river tubing today, one of the very few activities that I'm still allowed to do.

I always wondered how it would feel to be pregnant?
The pregnancy books tell me that my range of emotions are due to hormone changes in my body. That eleviates the feelings of guilt.

I'm excited.
I can't wait to meet Chris' baby!
What will he look like?

I'm terrified.
I don't remember anything about taking care of babies.
How will I know what to do?

I'm horrified.
I read ahead in the pregnancy book.
OK, don't give me too much credit.
I flipped through the pictures of what happens to your body during the third trimester.
Labor might be natural, but it also looks painful.
Not to be pessimistic, but that's just my observation.
Maybe I'm wrong?

I'm lonely.
Now that Kayla and Erica are back, we have to act like everything is normal. Chris has been the only person that I can talk to about this experience, and now I can't even talk to him.

I'm depressed.
I just lost 32 pounds, only to pack it back on and then some.
Just for the record, I was 166 pounds at the time of conception.
How long will it take me to see that on the scale again?

I'm awe-struck.
Just the thought of a human being growing inside my body is overwhelming and awe-inspiring. I'm still in shock.

I'm in denial.
We haven't heard the heartbeat yet or seen the ultrasound, so what if all the symptoms are in my head?
Nah.

I'm boring.
Really, who wants to hang out with a preggo lady that always has a tummy ache and can't walk across the room without feeling exhausted?
I am a major party pooper lately.
How can my family stand me?

I'm in love.
Whoever this little person is inside me, I love him already.
Despite the nausea.

Relinquishing Control

2006-07-02T19:15:00.000-04:00

You might be wondering where I have been lately?

Maybe you're not wondering, maybe the thought never crossed your mind. But let's assume that you missed me so I can explain why I haven't been updating my journal.

The baby has taken complete control over my body.

I'm so tired I can't even blink.
I'm queasy if I eat and I'm queasy if I don't.
My breasts feel like 2 ton boulders.
I spend 22 hours a day on the toilet peeing.
I spend the other 2 hours a day on my way to the toilet.
I can't take a dump ever.

I was reading a pregnancy book the other day (while on the toilet).
I thought it would cheer me up to know that this is only temporary.
I'm an optimist.
The book says I'll be sick until the end of the first trimester.
That means I won't feel like myself again until August.
But, then my clothes won't fit anymore.

This is so much fun!

Week Five

2006-06-29T16:47:00.000-04:00

Baby Ticker

Five Weeks

How your baby's growing: Deep in your uterus your embryo is growing at a furious pace. At this point he's about the size of a sesame seed, and he looks more like a tiny tadpole than a human. He's now made up of three layers — the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm — that will later form his organs and tissues.

The cells are forming for his major organs, including his kidneys and liver, and his neural tube is beginning to develop. This neural tube — from which your baby's brain, spinal cord, nerves, and backbone will sprout — develops in the top layer, called the ectoderm. This layer will also give rise to his skin, hair, nails, mammary and sweat glands, and tooth enamel. His heart and circulatory system begin to form in the middle layer, or mesoderm. (This week, in fact, his tiny heart begins to divide into chambers and beat and pump blood.) The mesoderm will also form your baby's muscles, cartilage, bone, and subcutaneous (under skin) tissue. The third layer, or endoderm, will house his lungs, intestines, and rudimentary urinary system, as well as his thyroid, liver, and pancreas.

In the meantime, the primitive placenta and umbilical cord, which deliver nourishment and oxygen to your baby, are already on the job.

It's All Good

2006-06-29T16:26:00.000-04:00

Maybe I was over reacting? Let’s blame the hormones.

I’ve been thinking about our recent decision to cancel our vacation in Florida.

I’m feeling doubtful.

I check the fares for the flights we would have taken.
I’m thinking the rates will have gone up or the plane will be full.
I’m looking for comfort.
The price has dropped $200.
What a deal!

Maybe I was just being overprotective?

I’m checking out the forum at www.babycenter.com
I realize there are lots of moms due in February that have done this before.
Experienced moms.
They can tell me what to do, right?
So I ask them what their OB’s think about flying during the first trimester.
After all, I didn’t talk to my OB. I only talked to her nurse.

All the moms say it’s OK to fly.

Time for some internet research.

I read and read and read for hours.

Everything I find says it’s OK to fly.

I print everything I can find.

Chris will read all of my research tonight.

Shouldn’t I just have more faith that everything will be fine?