Wednesday Feb 18th- We had our doctors appointment on Wednesday morning and we met a new doctor in the rotation. This was our first female doctor and to be honest I am more comfortable with male doctors as I think I have always had male doctors since I was a little kid. This doctor was fine, I just prefer a male. So we had our visit... my blood pressure is consistent since I have been pregnant. My rating was a 108/68. I have gained 20 pounds so far in pregnancy which is right on!!! I am on target to gain the recommended weight of 25-30 pounds. I measured a 31cm on my belly which is perfect because I am 31 weeks. The little ones heart rate dropped to 140 at this visit. We are still listening for the heartbeat below the belly button which is a good sign that the head is down and not breech right now. We love gravity and that the little one thinks this position is comfortable! We have now switched to 2 week appointments since I am passed 30 weeks now. After 36 weeks we will go to 1 week doctor's appointments.
My parents call all the time to check on me and the baby. I don't always write about it, but I should because I want our little one to know that their grammie and gramps loves him/her very much. My mom continues to send me an email at work everyday checking in on how we are feeling. My dad calls about every few days to check in on me when he gets home from work. They are going to be wonderful grandparents.
We got an update about Riley's biopsy and it was benign. Thank you God! I didn't want to have to go through cancer treatments for my dog. She is my baby and just so in tune with this pregnancy. She is going to be the protective little mother to our little one. (she doesn't know that she is a dog) actually, I don't think any of our dogs realize they are dogs because they are so loved and spoiled and are allowed to go on furniture, car rides, they get tons of love and attention just like a child would.
So at work this week, I have had tons of meetings. The little one has a very good chance of becoming an accountant because of all the accounting talk that this one has been involved in. We are in constant meetings with our CFO and controller at work and with the economic stimulus package that was just passed, lots of research and the potential affects on me personally (which Jeremy and I will not be receiving that much of a benefit-- go figure... isn't that how it always works) and then the business side and what the effects are for my employer. One reason why I love tax so much is the changes in tax law. We are always learning.
Thursday- February 19th- We received our dresser to complete the nursery furniture. Actually we still need the bed rails, but we aren't too concerned about that since it will be down the road when we might be using these. I was so excited and can't wait to get all the clothes organized and put into the tall dresser. Right now they are in the hutch, but I think I am going to use that more for all the diapers since the changing table is on top of the hutch.
Saturday February 21st- We had our childbirth class at Memorial Hospital today. This was an all day event from 9-5 and there were a total of 12 couples in the class. It first started by the instructor, Donella, asking the due date to the dads. Out of the 12 couples, we had 11 dads in the room and a grandma. The grandma was filling in for her son-in-law who is serving in Iraq. I told the pregnant women to tell her husband thank you for serving our country. I couldn't imagine not having Jeremy with me during pregnancy and am very appreciative that he is here and involved with the pregnancy.
It was very interesting in the beginning of class because out of the 12 couples, 10 choose to find out the sex of their baby. The other couple that didn't find out was split that one spouse wanted to find out and the other didn't. Jeremy and I are very unique that we did not want to find out the sex of our baby and we both agreed on this. There are very few things in life that are surprises and this is one of them. It actually hasn't been bad at all not knowing. I thought I would crack along the way and want to find out, but no that hasn't changed one bit! I am so happy that we didn't find out. I feel it will just make that bond so much more special when we get to see our little one and truly take in the moment.
So as class started, she went around to ask the parents what they were looking forward to most with the arrival of the little one and what we were looking forward to least. Jeremy was asked what he was looking forward to and he said "someone to play with". I was asked what was looking forward to least and I said "the unexpected". I know there will be lots of this and how to deal with all the situations and to raise our child right with morals, ethics, responsibility, manners, etc... I have expectations for myself that I do not want to fail my little one. I want to be the best parent possible as I had great role models in my life and I want to carry that on... I think that is why I have been obsessed with research and getting as much planning done as possible ahead of time.
The class explained the birthing process and we got to see through models how the pelvic bone, uterus, cervix and placenta all interact with each other and what will determine the stages of birth and if a vaginal delivery or Cesarean delivery is needed. We watch birthing videos and also saw a c-section video. We learned about forceps and the vacuum. I am not in favor of these delivery methods and will choose a c-section over these methods. I want the pain to be on me rather than my baby and the minor risks involved with these methods. Knowing that forceps are rarely used in delivery and that the doctors are not very comfortable with these because they rarely use them... I would be more comfortable taking on the pain. With the vacuum, just the risk of bleeding on the brain of my baby if the suction is not applied correctly is not worth it to me. there have been 9 deaths in 5 years and I know its only 9, but if my child was one of those 9, that is enough for me to make my decision for my birth plan. It will be easier for me to tell the doctor if something is wrong with me, rather than my baby not being able to communicate in the way that I could be.
So after the videos we went to lunch and I had a Snickers frozen bar that was my treat for the day! I did share with Jeremy because I couldn't finish it all. So after lunch we learned about the baby dropping and positioning of the baby and how this also impacts the bladder and how the dads need to be more sympathetic on this matter, especially getting up in the middle of the night and if we need help getting up. I think the dads were able to get more out of the class and understand more the changing in the females body during pregnancy. We learned breathing techniques and I was an example for the class and had to focus on a focal point along with Donella rubbing my back for different methods to soothe the mom while she is in labor. There will be times where the mom will want to be touched, not touched, talked to, coached on breathing. Jeremy did great when we had to go through these exercises after our tour of the facility. I really think that this childbirth class should be mandatory for all mothers and fathers. Even if you learn one thing in my mind, its worth it! You can never be prepared enough in my opinion on what to expect.
The tour of the facility started on where we go once our contractions are 5 minutes apart for an hour. We know where to enter and who to talk to. We will be sent to triage for examination to determine how much we have dilated and if we are in labor. at this point we could be sent home or sent to a birthing suite. The suites are very nice and we will stay in here while we labor and also up to 2 hours after delivery. We will do the first feeding after delivery in this room. They have 10 birthing suites and they have never run into a problem with needing a room for delivery. They have 2 c-section rooms and then the 5 triage rooms along with a few other rooms that if needed are available. So she put us all at ease that we will be in a birthing suite. The birthing suites are equipped with a TV, CD player, tub along with other amenities. There is enough space to get up and move around and do our positions if the baby is not in position for birth.
After the birthing suite, we went and played the Happy Birthday song which plays across the entire hospital to let people know a baby has been born!!! The dads have the honor of pressing this button... how neat is this!!! I can't wait for Jeremy to announce the arrival of our little one!
We then went to another wing on the 3rd floor which will be the room that we stay in for 24-48 hours after a normal delivery and we got to see the nursery. Most parents choose to have their babies in their room with them, but since a class was coming by, 2 moms allowed their babies to be sent for 30 minutes to the nursery for our learning experience. Donella said we are gonna scare ya today.... the 24 of us "students" were nervous. They had 2 babies. The first baby she showed us was 6 pounds 7 ounces. An adorable baby girl and she opened her eyes for us. She had so much hair I couldn't believe it. The second baby was 9 pounds 10 ounces... yeah a huge difference in these babies. I have a feeling this will be the difference in Adam's and Elizabeth's baby and ours. Adam and Elizabeth are expecting to have a huge baby and we are not, just based on doctors appointments and family history. So this will be interesting when we put our little ones together for their first picture together!
All in all, I have to say that Donella picked on Jeremy a few times during class as it was pretty funny. The class found out that Jeremy is obsessive compulsive about things and he is an accountant so when Donella was talking percentages, she got confirmation from Jeremy on the fractions she was using. I am convinced that if our kid doesn't want to get dirty that this trait will come from daddy! I am hoping that the organization of wanting to put toys away comes from daddy! I told Donella that I am obsessive to a point on things, but not like Jeremy. For instance, I wanted to make sure that they received our admission form, which is required to be turned in 3 months before delivery. I couldn't believe the amount of people in our class that did not have this done and they were due in March... it just blows my mind. So I made sure that they received our admission form and they had it! They are set for our arrival!
Now its time to start packing the bag for the hospital!
I came home after class and checked our photographers website and there are some of our maternity pictures posted, but not all of them so once they are all up there, I will post them for you to view!!! I can't wait!!!
Sunday- Feb 22nd- we had lunch with Derek and his women Erika. Derek is one of my good friends from high school and he is like a brother to me and we have kept in touch all this time. We went to Brewesters up in New Buffalo for lunch and it was yummy! It is always great to get together with old friends. I am glad that our little one will be able to have all of my friends as aunts and uncles... they can't wait! They even offered to babysit while we attend ND football games.
After lunch we went to my parents house and filled them in on the childbirth class and also talked about other things. My dad felt the little one move as I sit next to him at the kitchen table. It's funny because we all have our spots at the kitchen table... we will soon be making room for the little one when Grammie or Gramps cooks dinner!
So the changes that I have been noticing so far this week is that the little one loves to move around alot now. I wouldn't say they are huge movements, but that it is very noticeable that the little one is moving around in there and trying to get comfortable. Also it is become noticeable that the little one is awake more throughout the day. I normally have my 10 movements within the first hour that I wake up. It's funny because I will take a bath (usually on the weekends) and Jeremy will just watch my belly move. To him its a little freaky seeing my stomach go into all these different shapes... one side is higher than the other and then something will poke out but we have no idea what it is. It is all very interesting as the pregnancy gets further and further along.
So every morning I have an Eggo and a glass of milk. Riley, Russeau and Bob also get to have a bite of this with me every morning as well. They wait at the kitchen table and my last three little bites goes to them. They are just loving this pregnancy with me as they are getting to eat some snacks that normally they would not be receiving!
I also talked with Jeremy's mom this week and filled her in on the childbirth class and where they will need to go once its time! It's all new to all of us and just so exciting... we can't wait! (well we can, but just want to make sure the baby has done all the developing before any arrival is made).
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