Delaney Funnies
Delaney has said a few really cute and funny things lately that I just need to get in writing so I don’t forget them!
At the pool at Water World, she met a little girl named Kylie. They were playing and jumping over the waves together. Delaney brought her over to me and said “this is my friend Kylie, but she is NOT my favorite Kylie”. This was soon after Shaye and Kylie had come to visit and Delaney adores them. Delaney also named a doll Kylie recently. She loves “those sisters” alright.
Delaney has been saying a lot of totally random things lately. It seems like she just wants to get David’s or my attention and then when she gets our attention, she just makes something up to say. So, sitting on the couch she says to David – Delaney: “Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad…..DAD!”
David: “Yes, Delaney?”
Delaney: “at Mom’s house I have lots of slippers”
Totally random and hysterical. So, David started laughing and she got all giggly too, but I’m not sure if she realized why she was funny.
Similarly, I was in the kitchen and she was at the kitchen table looking out the window at the jungle gym in our yard –
Delaney: “Jil, Jil, Jil, Jil, Jil….JIL!”
Me: “Yes, Delaney?”
Delaney: “at my other mom’s house, we don’t have one of those”
OMG, I just about melted when she said “my other mom”. I wonder if Dana would mind being “the other mom” hahaha. She is so stinkin cute.
Rollie’s Arrival
Today is Rollie’s 7 week birthday and I finally have some time (thanks to Colin) to catch up on some blogging! This blog is about Rollie’s birth, and is more for me to remember it – so reader beware!
Because of my wonderful blood-clot disorder, Dr. Plotnick scheduled me to be induced on my due date, June 16. We had to check-in to the hospital the night before at 5pm. In an attempt to get things started, David and I stopped for a spicy Mexican dinner at Casa Alvarez on our way!
Once we were checked-in they started the process right away. I was given a ‘pill’ to start dilating my cervix. They said it usually takes about 2 hours for it to start working, but mild contractions started within a half-hour. I was hooked up to a monitor for the contractions and the baby’s heart-rate. It was actually a pretty fun evening. Bonnie and Jen (the doulas) stopped in to check on us and my parents came over to watch The Bachelorette since it was a Monday night! They gave me some Ambien so I’d be able to get some sleep for the night, then hopefully in the morning I’d be a little dilated and have some stronger contractions and things would move right along. The best-case-scenario is to have the dilation from the pill trigger contractions strong enough that I wouldn’t need to really be induced with Pitocin, which can be pretty brutal for labor.
Lucky me – I woke up from the contractions at 3am and was able to snooze off and on until 5am. By then the contractions were so strong that I couldn’t sleep anymore. This was just early labor, a regular person wouldn’t even be in the hospital yet, so I just tried to relax, read some magazines in the jetted tub (yes, Foothills is a badass hospital with jetted tubs and flatscreen TVs), and waited for David to wake up and for more contractions to come!
At 9am Dr. Plotnick arrived to break my water. This can sometimes trigger stronger contractions, but doesn’t usually work right away. They said if I didn’t have some stronger contractions in a few hours, they’d give me Pitocin. To break my water, they used some kind of crochet needle type thing that I didn’t want to see. Bonnie and Jen came to help me through it. I don’t remember that hurting too much, but it was just a scary thing. The L&D nurse, Cathy, had a student with her, at this point I wanted no extra people around, so she was outta there (randomly the L&D nurse had a student, Plotnick had a student, and Bonnie had Jen, her apprentice – so it was like a party in there). When my water broke, there was meconium in it, so they just needed to monitor me a little extra and make sure it didn’t hurt the bambino. And after that gush of fluids — not to worry, within 5 minutes I was in full-blown-active-labor with serious contractions. Ouch – really? This was some major pain. The Doulas stayed by my side (so did my hubby of course) and helped me breath through the contractions and helped me try different things to alleviate the pain. We tried walking laps around the hospital floor – no good, my legs wanted to buckle at each contraction. So, then we tried to soaking in the tub – no good, I made them get me out after sitting through one in the water (when I say they had to get me out of the tub, I mean it, I couldn’t move much by myself at this point, they literally lowered me in the tub and hoisted me out).
The pain was definitely more than anything I’ve ever experienced. The contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart. To make it through, I was doing some super-low-breathing-moany-sound. I felt like I was not myself, I was some weird animal-person or something. My parents came in to visit for a few minutes and I barely remember it because I was in some bizarro state-of-being. At some point they gave me Fentanyl, which is a narcotic 100 times more potent than Morphine. It was supposed to “take the edge off” but it just made me a little drunkish and have a hard time keeping my eyes open. It didn’t actually do much for the pain. Finally at about noon, I begged for an Epidural.
I was at 4cm dilated when I asked for the Epidural. They said it would take 15 minutes for the Epidural guy to get there. OMG – that was like a 3 more contractions, I honestly didn’t know how I would survive 15 more minutes of this. When he got there, the doulas had to hold me still because they contractions were coming and he couldn’t get the Epidural in if I moved at all. Once it was in, it starting working really fast. Oh sweet relief. The Epidural changed my life. I can’t imagine not having had it. Immediately I felt like myself again and could carry a conversation. I asked if I could take a nap and then basically passed out for 2 hours (while I napped David got some lunch and napped too). It was the difference between night and day when I got the Epidural. I can’t believe some people choose to endure that kind of pain, when you can take a nap instead. And YES, my teddy bear, Bernie, did come to the hospital with us!
I woke from my nap and the nurse was worried that the Epidural might have slowed down the labor because the monitor showed my contractions had gotten slower. So, they checked me and surprise, surprise – I was 9cm dilated. I had just slept through the hardest part of active labor. I went from 4cm to 9cm in 2 hours while I slept. They all said I was lucky I got the Epidural when I did because that would have been an excruciating 2 hours. Then they told me I’d be ready to push in one hour. Holy shit, one more hour and I was ready to push my baby out?!?! Scary and exciting.
During that one hour, the Epidural started to wear off on one side. I could feel my right side but not my left, so they let me ‘push the button’ and get another dose. That new dose only made my left side more numb but I could still feel my right side. They wouldn’t let me have any more and said it would be good to have some feeling so I could know when to push through the contractions. So, I went in to the push only half-numbed.
Push it, push it good. Push it, push it real good. It was time to push. It all seemed so civilized the doulas and L&D nurse were holding my legs up and helping me know when to push based on the monitor and my half-numb feelings. David was by my head – right where we both wanted him to be. Within a half-hour they saw the head and let me feel it and I was all excited that the baby would be out soon. I was pushing like crazy and they shifted me around in different positions trying to get things going faster. After about another 1.5 hours of pushing, I was starting to lose it. But again, they said they could see the head and asked if I wanted to touch it. But, WTF!?!! That meant nothing of progress to me since I already felt it 1.5 hours ago! I started getting worried that it had been 2 hours and I was still pushing with all my might, and totally exhausted, and in complete agony because the effects of the Epidural were long gone. This is when I started screaming for Dr. Plotnick and asking why wasn’t he there to check on me after 2 hours of pushing? Finally, they got him to come (I guess the doc only comes for the last 10 minutes, but I didn’t know that then!) and he suggested a new leg position and then we pushed some more. David was feeding me ice-chips in-between contractions. They were now 5-6 minutes apart which was awful because I just had to sit there in pain between them and wait for more pain to push through. Finally, they rolled in the cart. David knew this and I didn’t — he said when they roll in the cart with all the medical equipment, you know you are almost done. I was literally screaming in pain and begging them to find a way to “JUST GET THE BABY OUT” (like – don’t they have suction cups or forceps or something?). They reminded me that they couldn’t do it for me, I just had to keep pushing. I think I dropped my first F-bomb towards the end when a contraction was coming at the same time that the stupid blood-pressure monitor was squeezing my arm and I screamed at the top of my lungs “GET THIS FUCKING THING OFF ME!!!!!” and David ripped it off my arm and flung it out of the way. I think I even started hyper-ventilating a little — freaking out that it was never going to end. Bonnie had to keep telling me to stop looking at the clock. I was really at the end of my rope! It had been just too much for too long.
Finally, Dr. Plotnick offered me a way out. He said I could have an Episiotomy and probably get the baby out at the next push or push through a couple more contractions and see how it goes. HELL YES, I’ll take it. And ta-da, the next push, there he was. It was 6:32pm on Tuesday, June 16th and Robert Oliver was born. I was so exhausted. I was in active labor from 9am to 6:32pm. When he came out, they put him up on my chest but he was upside-down so the first thing I saw of my beautiful baby boy was his cute little bottom. Then they turned him around and there he was – little baby Rollie staring up at me.
David was amazing through the entire labor. He rubbed my back, my head, fed me ice chips, encouraged me, loved me, and kept me sane (well, as sane as I could be at the time). I could not have done this without him. We made a pretty awesome team. Go Team Cohen!
And he is already getting so big! Here he is at 8 days and then more recently, 6 weeks old!
Pregnancy Update – 39+ weeks!
I’m past 39 weeks now and just anxiously waiting until we check-in to the hospital for labor induction Monday night 6/15. The baby will most likely be born on 6/16, my actual due date. He is fully cooked and ready to take on the world!
I’m so excited to meet him, and have all of our friends and family meet him. The doc thinks he is over 7 pounds and has really long legs! Somehow I’m not really scared about the labor. Everyone keeps asking if I’m scared. I guess since there is no turning back now, I haven’t really wanted to waste my energy focusing on how painful the whole labor thing can be. I can’t control how the labor will go, so I’m just hoping for the best. I think the baby is strong and ready, so what else could I ask for? But, who knows, Monday night at 5pm I may be singing a different tune!
I’ve heard from so many people that the last 1-2 months of pregnancy are totally miserable. I disagree. My back pain has lightened up, I’ve still been sleeping like a champ, and I’ve had a good amount of energy – still able to keep up my exercise routines. So, for those pregger-friends out there, the end isn’t so bad. I just feel the weight more, have a harder time hoisting myself from laying or sitting, and everything I do takes a little longer because I’ve slowed down a bit! If anything the build-up of excitement to meet the baby is the hardest thing to take. The suspense is killing me!
The biggest change lately is that he has dropped. I didn’t realize how different it would feel when he dropped. He dropped on Monday and it was extremely obvious. All of the sudden he is not up in my ribs anymore, which is a huge relief. There is all this extra space up high in my belly now and I can take big giant deep breaths without any struggle. He must be putting pressure on my stomach or something, because my appetite has definitely lessened which is a welcome change!
When we decided to have a baby, the whole pregnancy part of it didn’t really mean anything to me, I just knew we wanted to have a baby. I had no idea what a powerful experience it would be to carry a baby. I have truly loved it. Yes, I complain of back problems, loss of mobility, not being able to enjoy some vino, etc., but I have loved my roundness, feeling the baby move around, the pregnant lady attention, and the overall feeling of creating and growing a life. It has really changed me. I’m so happy to have had this part of my life and I’ll be sad when it is over. But, I’ve got my eye on the prize!
While I’ve enjoyed my pregnancy, of course there are some things I’m looking forward to, other than actually having a baby:
~Being able to put sock/shoes on without sitting down and moaning
~Snuggling with David
~Laying on my stomach
~Running up the stairs
~Wearing real pants
~Not bumping in to things all the time
~Walking instead of waddling
~Going to a restaurant without my inflatable back pillow
~Driving the scooter
~Picking up Delaney
~Dance parties in the kitchen with my step-kids
~Climbing up to Andrew’s lofted bed for a goodnight hug
~Regular hugs, not just side-hugs
~Drinking some good vino – more than one glass
~Playing tennis
~General mobility
I’m definitely looking forward to being a normal person again, although this past 9 months will always be remembered as very special 🙂
Here I am, as big as I’m gonna get with 4 days to go until labor begins! Well, maybe I’ll indulge in a few more milkshakes and gain another pound, just for old-times-sake!
Wish me luck!
Pregnancy Update – 36 weeks!
I have just finished my 36th week, which means I’m basically full-term now. Baby is ready, he can safely come at any time.
A few interesting things happened at the 36 wk dr.’s appt — first, I got to switch from the Fragmin injections every 12 hours that I’ve been doing since September (ugh) to Lovanox injections that I can do once-daily (yay). I never thought I’d be so excited to jab myself with a needle once a day. The new injections don’t sting at all, which is also really nice — but the needle is thicker and bigger, ouch. Second, the dr. took a bunch of measurements of the baby in an ultra sound and estimates that he is over 6 pounds now. WOW, he really is fully-cooked in there, I guess. The dr. also said that the baby has long legs and a big belly. Third, the dr. said that due to my injections, he wants to induce me on or before the due date in order to stop injections 48 hours before labor (due to risks of internal bleeding, especially if a c-section is needed. Remember, I’m basically a hemophiliac right now. Also, if I want an epidural, I need to be clear of blood-thinners). So, next Friday David and I have an appointment to pick the induction date with the dr. How weird that we get to pick the baby’s birthday? While it is nice to know for sure when he’ll be coming and to know that I won’t go overdue, the idea of induction is a little scary, but it is the safest option for me and baby. Lastly, the baby is in the ready position! All this time that I’ve thought he’s been kicking me in the ribs on my right side, really that has been his bottom. His head is way down, bottom up to the right and legs folded towards the left/back, which I guess is great positioning for coming out facing back and cork-screwing around and out. So, hopefully he’ll stay in this position for the last few weeks and he’ll slide right out!
In other baby news – we have kinda, sorta picked a name. We’ve been trying it out to see if it feels right and so far so good. But, don’t bother asking, because we won’t tell you! You’ll have to wait until he comes.
So, now I really am HUGE. I thought I was before, but now I actually am. I’m even outgrowing some of my maternity clothes! That is just wrong. I’ve gained 25 pounds so far, so I’m on track to gain 30 total, which is pretty good. I was going to be happy with staying under 35. I’ve still been working out with my trainer and walking a lot, and I’m feeling pretty good. So, hopefully I’ll be back to normal in no time, except for my butt which I fear will never be the same 😦
Quote of the week – “I saw a big fat woman across the room and then I realized it was YOU”. How sweet, right? That was even said by a woman, I won’t say who though.
And to quote my handy-man a little while back – most of you have heard this one already, but I gotta document it here because it was so bad – [after asking my age] “You’d have a much easier time getting your figure back if you had a baby at 25 instead of 32!” What great advice, dontcha think?
I honestly can’t believe some of the stuff people will say to a pregnant woman. As if I already don’t feel like a giant amazon woman, thanks people! I do actually love my big belly and have been embracing my pregnantness, but still….come on!
My baby shower was May 3rd and it was a really wonderful brunch at the Tea House hosted by my mama. I think there were about 14 girls, including me, and we had a really nice time. I got some amazing gifts and we played a cute game of “Guess Who’s Baby Pic Is Who”. Katie helped out a lot with the invitations and the game. I really appreciated having all my girlies there. There should be more reasons to have brunch with all of your friends, shouldn’t there?
Here are some pics from 32 wks, 34 wks, and 36 wks. I think there was a big jump in belly size from 34 to 36 wks, yikes!
We are so excited to finally meet our son, and it is just around the corner now. I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the next few weeks, the suspense is killing me – and those of you who know me well, know that I am not a very patient person. I want to meet him NOW. I just want to hold him and snuggle him and love him. Soon enough, I suppose. I’ll write again when we pick the induction date, how exciting!
Dallas visit April 2009
I just got back from visiting Julie and family in Dallas. My main reason for going was for Lulu’s first cheerleading competition at Six Flags (the Texas Cutez took 3rd place!). I was just there for 3 days, but even in that short amount of time, I really feel like I’m able to bond with the kids and get to know them better and better with each visit.
Lulu and John Davis are adorably hysterical, so before I forget, I wanted to jot down some of the sweet and funny things they say. They may not make much sense out of context to people that don’t know them, but this mostly for me to remember anyway 🙂
Right now Lulu is 4.5 and John Davis is 2.5.
*I love how they call me Aunt Chirpy – pronounced ‘Ant Kirp-y’.
*When I first got to their house, I put my stuff in the guest room and went into the bathroom. Of course Lulu was with me (she likes to be by my side when I visit, and I love that). When I shut the bathroom door, in her most dramatic voice she demanded “Aunt Chirpy, you CAN”T close the door, I NEED to see you ALWAYS!”.
*John Davis put his hands on my belly and when he felt my belly move, I told him it was the baby kicking. A little while later when the subject had totally changed, John Davis excitedly told me and Julie that “when Aunt Chirpy’s baby comes out, I’m gonna KICK HIM, I’m gonna KICK the baby”
*After the big, long day at Six Flags, we were in the car and the kids were a little hyper and saying that they wanted to play more. Lulu wanted to go to the mall and stay there forever to play. When we told her that wasn’t going to happen, Lulu starts moping and saying “I’m a poor thing, just look at the poor thing, me!” “I have a sad face, I’ll never have a happy face again, just a sad face”. Julie asked the kids if we could just relax, be quiet and just do nothing for the rest of the car ride, so then John Davis starts saying in random spurts for the rest of the 45 minute car ride in different fluctuations of voices “nothing.” “nothing!” “noooth—-iiiiing!”. I guess that is how he ‘does nothing’.
*Out of the blue, Lulu asks Julie “Does Aunt Gabby have a little brother named Dadda?” “and then so does Dadda have a big sister named Aunt Gabby?” (Gabby is John’s big sis)
*Lulu is really in to Annie, and many conversations revolve around Annie and prequels/sequels to Annie that Lulu has concocted in her mind.
Lulu “Am I luckier than Annie?”
John (jokingly) “that depends, would you rather have a indoor pool or a mama?”
Lulu seriously considers these options “can I just have both?”
*In the car, the kids are playing with their stuffed animals like there is a animal birthday party going on.
Julie “Are you kids having a pretend birthday party back there”
Lulu (in her most dramatic voice) “Noooo Mama, it is NOT pretend, it is a REAL birthday party”
Oh, and there are so many more funny things that they say and do. They constantly crack me up.
Lulu’s cheer competition was adorable, of course. It was so exciting, not only to see her perform on stage, but more importantly, to see how proud she was of herself and to see that giant smile on her face knowing that we were all so proud of her.
Things I wish I knew when I first got pregnant!
OK, for all my girlies that are or will be pregnant after me, I’m reviewing some of the pregnancy and baby products/services I’ve used. Rummaging through all the pregnancy/baby crap out there to find the actually good stuff is time consuming, so here is a short-cut! I have some definite favorite things, so I thought I should share!
Skincare
I’ve been using Proactive for over 10 years, so I was worried about problem skin during pregnancy, but wanted to switch to something all natural. I tried a ton of different things – samples from a facialist, samples from Sephora, and organic stuff from Whole Foods…then I went to Lush.
I love love love their stuff – I use the Herbalism Cleanser/Exfoliant in the shower, and Fresh Farmacy Cleanser at night. Then I use the Vanishing Cream lotion during the day and Paradise Regained cream at night. Also, the Therapy Massage bar is great for rubbing on the growing, itchy belly and to help prevent stretch marks – and it feels oh so good. Most of these products are vegan too. I love them all and will continue to use them post-baby!
Prenatal Personal Trainer
OK, so this is definitely my biggest splurge during my pregnancy, but seriously, it is so worth it. I’ve made it a priority to try to stay in shape and it would definitely be harder to do without an expert. My trainer (Stephanie at One Boulder Fitness) knows things I would never know – like alternate stances and positions to avoid straining the back and abs while using the machines. She’s taught me the importance of doing squats a certain way to help strengthen the hips and pelvis in preparation for labor – she just knows how to safely and effectively exercise the fragile pregnant body. Plus, she is very motivating!
B-Buckle vs. Bella Band
I say – buy both! I use them together, they actually work well together and serve different purposes. I use the buckle to hold my pant together and on, and then the band over the buckle to smooth it out and for belly support (and to help reduce the look of the popping-out belly button). The Bella Band will not hold your pants on, but it will help your b-buckled pants to not look lumpy! Also, the Target version of the Bella Band is just as good! [update 5/1/09 – the Target version is NOT as good as the Bella Band, I’ve had it for less time than I’ve had the Bella Band and it has started to unravel, buy the Bella Band to last through your pregnancy!]
Maternity Jeans
UGH. Is all I can say. Maternity jeans have been especially dreadful for me as a tall girl. I could not find any 34″+ inseam jeans for under $200+. No joke. A Pea In The Pod has long jeans, but only designer brands (as does Nordstrom and many places online, but I need to try jeans on in person), so I bought one pair. I wear them, but they totally suck. They are not even comfortable and I curse them! I bought the Joe’s, and the band is itchy and they don’t stay up, I don’t think the 7s or True Religions were any better, I tried on several and they all felt the same. I end up putting a Bella Band over their itchy band to keep them up.
**Better jean option** — What I ended up doing that has worked well, is when I was about 5 months pregnant, I went to my regular jean store and bought a pair of the lowest cut jeans I could find that were a little bit big on me at that point in time. I can still wear them now at 32 weeks with the help of a b-buckle and they are totally comfortable.
Maternity Clothing Stores
All of the exclusively-maternity stores I’ve shopped at, Pea In The Pod, Becoming Mothers, Mimi Maternity, to name a few, have a terrible return policy. You can only exchange or get store credit – NO REFUNDS. I honestly think the best place to shop for maternity stuff is The Gap. Online they have tons of stuff, all totally refundable and hassle-free. Old Navy has good tshirts and tank tops too, but they have itchy tags in a lot of their stuff and pregnant skin is very sensitive. The Gap knows this and has mostly tag-free maternity clothes – very nice!
Body Pillows
I tried one of the full-body pillows and did not like it. It was way thinner than it looked online, and I had read a lot of the reviews and picked a really good one. The point of a body pillow is to keep your body in alignment, mainly your hips. You want to lay on your side and have the top leg parallel with your hip, so a pillow in between the knees is what you need. But if the pillow is thin, it doesn’t do the trick. The full body pillows also have a head-part, so you can’t use your own head pillow with them…I don’t know about you, but I am VERY particular about my head pillow! I found this one after trashing my full body pillow, and I love it – by Boppy, it also helps with belly support when the belly gets bigger.
Massage Pad
I have had back issues since about 2 months pregnant, but even if you don’t have actual back issues, your back is getting totally abused during your pregnancy. I got this Massage Pad at Bed Bath & Beyond (you can always find a 20% coupon) and I LOVE it. It helps when your back is achy or just feeling kinda stiff. My doula even recommended that I bring it to the hospital because it will be good to have during labor. This will be nice to have post-baby too!
Cribs – Drop-rail vs No Movable Parts/Lifetime/Convertible
So, I obviously haven’t used the crib yet, but I did a lot of research and went with the No Movable Parts/Convertible crib. Here is why – most people have told me that they barely ever used the drop-rail, and as being 5’10”, I’m assuming reaching into the crib will not be an issue for me. Also, many reviews say that the drop-rail doesn’t work well or sticks (which becomes a major safety issue) so they can’t use it much anyway. But more than that — at first I liked the looks of the drop-rail cribs better, but started hearing a lot about recalls and safety issues with the drop-rails. I also read in several places and saw a news segment that said most manufacturers are starting to focus on producing the Convertible cribs because they are safer, more stable, have less recalls, and leave less room for human error while assembling. Less and less drop-rail cribs are being manufactured because of this, and it sounds like eventually they’ll be a thing of the past. So, I figured I’d go with the trend toward No Movable Parts. It is also a bonus that many convert into a toddler bed, then a full-size bed, which will be convenient as long as your baby doesn’t chew up the part that becomes the footboard.
Baby Furniture
Yikes, there is no good answer for this in the Boulder area. Boulder does not have a single baby furniture store! I looked a ton online, Pottery Barn, Guys & Dolls in Denver, a couple boutique-y places, and Babies R Us. Babies R Us seemed like the best option because they do in-house delivery and set-up plus they are about 1/3 the price of Pottery Barn. Yes, some of their stuff seems on the cheapy/cheesey end, but they do have some nicer lines made from hardwood and not veneers. After lots and lots of research, I chose their line from Babi Italia, which has gotten great reviews from users and is sampled on the floor at the store. While I love the furniture I got, it was an absolute nightmare to order from BRU. That store is run by monkeys, I swear. It took me about 2 months to actually order what I wanted – not to physically get it, but to actually ORDER it. Once it was ordered, I got it in about a week and a half. But, OMG, I must have talked to every furniture person, supervisor, and manager in the store several times over 2+ months just trying to order it. They are idiots!
Prenatal Photo Shoot
You have got to do this! I went to Colby Evans (check out a sample pic in portfolio 4, pic 18), who did those adorable photos of me and my step-kids that I have plastered all over facebook and my house! She is awesome, but even if you don’t use her, you should do some prenatal pics with your baby-daddy. I’ll post some when I get them in a couple of weeks. We had so much fun and it ended up being a little love-fest, bonding-over-belly-and-baby experience. Embrace your beautiful roundness!
3D & 4D Ultrasound
I wouldn’t have thought to do this, but David set it up and I am so glad he did! We went to a place in Westminster, not far from Babies R Us, First View Ultrasound. For more info on this, see previous blog post.
Post Pregnancy Belly Wrap
Again, clearly I haven’t used one yet, but I did research a few different kinds and Tauts got the best reviews, so that is what I went with. Plus, I like Brooke Burke, so I wanted to buy hers 🙂 But really, it seems like a good product. It is a firm wrap that you wear as much as possible starting the day after you deliver. It is supposed to help reduce the size of your swollen uterus and water retention and it will help your regular clothes fit better sooner (the corset effect I’m guessing) and help you not look lumpy under tshirts and such. The material is firm but still soft against the skin and compared to the other postpartum wraps, it looks like it covers more of your torso to your waist/hips than others that look like they just go around your waist area. Hopefully it will help me get my rock-solid abs (yeah right, have I ever had hard abs?) back!
***And most importantly – the best burger in Boulder is at the St Julien, and the best drive-thru milkshake is at Goodtimes. Plan your pregnancy to stretch over as many junkfood-binge holidays as possible! I’ve been pregnant through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter. YUM. I’m doing it for the baby, of course — I’m trying to make sure that he’ll be sick of chocolate by the time he is born and will never want to eat it again.
I’ll add more stuff as it comes to me. Feel free to add your own reviews in the comments and help out our future baby-mama friends!
3D/4D Ultrasound – 32wks
David surprised me this morning with an appointment at a 3D/4D ultrasound place. When I kept guessing where we were going while headed away from Boulder on highway 36, he said “maybe we aren’t going someWHERE, maybe we are going to see someONE” and then I got it and started crying — today we were going to really see our baby! As I was filling out my paper work in the waiting room and thinking what an awesome husband I have, in walk my mom and dad to join us for the ultrasound – so then I had to start crying again. It was very exciting and my husband is beyond thoughtful.
I am amazed at the technology that does this. The 3D is obvious, but I didn’t know what 4D meant – it is the 3D plus motion, so it is like watching the baby move around on video. The ultrasound takes 3D pictures 18 times a second, so you actually get to see the baby’s movement. He yawned, wiggled, sucked his thumb, blinked (we only got to see open eyes for a split second), and blew me a kiss – OK, maybe not that last one.
Sleeping FBB
Eyes opening up a little bit
Starting to smile
Smiling!
Count em – 5 fingers
…And 5 toes!
I just don’t know how I’m supposed to wait 2 more months!
Thank you so much David, I adore you 🙂
Pregnancy update – 32 weeks
Soooo, as much as I still enjoy being pregnant — I am ready! I just want to meet our baby, hold him, and smell his baby smell. 9 months (well 10 months) is really a long time. I feel like I’ve been pregnant forever and I still have 2 months to go. My belly is so big, I’m starting to feel like it has taken me over. My back pain is pretty severe on a daily basis now, and I’m starting to waddle! I have to carry pillows around with me to sit anywhere. I basically can’t sit in a regular chair for more than 20 minutes without my back hurting. Luckily I’ve still been able to exercise a lot. If I don’t get in an hour of exercise a day, my back pays the price at night. I go to my trainer, prenatal aqua class, prenatal yoga, and walks with Ellie about 5 times a week, so I have been keeping busy. Movement keeps me feeling good (plus it helps me justify the milkshakes and cadbury eggs). Why can’t I be one of those people that doesn’t really like sweets? I’m so jealous of them.
David took these pictures of me. I was pleasantly surprised to see that from the rear-view, I still actually have a waist. I had no idea!
FBB is growing like crazy. I still don’t have any new pictures of him, but all the appointments have gone well. I can feel him moving like crazy in there, and he has discovered a new hobby – headbutting my bladder, which is really fun 😉 At this point, he has a memory and his brain is just about as developed as it will be at birth. His nervous system and lungs are still maturing, and his main job right now is to grow grow grow. His skin has matured from translucent and thin to pink and full, as his fat cells are creating more insulation for him to stay warm in the outside world. I wonder what he’ll be like — will he be a chubby baby full of little baby-fat rolls? will he be a long baby, all tangled up in there like I was? will he have hair, or be bald like Delaney? Will he have David’s feet or the famous ‘Nesbit toes’ that have a longer middle toe? I hope he’ll have David’s feet! We just can’t wait to finally meet him.
The baby furniture is supposed to come in later this week or next week, so it will be a relief to finally get things set up and decorated in FBBs room. It has been stressing me out!
Oh, and David and I did our prenatal photo shoot today. It was really fun. I recommend it to any parents-to-be. At first I thought I was kind of dragging David along with me, but it ended up being a really good thing for us to do together and he had a lot of fun with it too. Probably didn’t hurt that half the time it was me posing in my underwear, but whatever – he had fun 🙂 We won’t get to see the pictures for a couple of weeks, but I’m really excited to see how they turned out. It’s nice to be able to capture this special time in our lives, I’m sure it won’t be too long before it is all a blur.
Cravings — hmmm, well, the beef is back. Once again I have been on a burger binge. It isn’t quite like the first round of beefy cravings a while back, but it is significant. However, at least now I’m also liking chicken. So, while I’m eating a good amount of beef, mainly in the form of cheeseburgers, it is not every day like it was before. Still loving the lemonade too, but not much else has changed since the last blog post. Cadbury Egg season is now officially over, but fear not – I still have 7 left to enjoy!
The whole beef thing likely has to do with Anemia, which the doc says I have (not surprised, I’ve been Anemic before, or maybe I just always have been? Not sure if it has ever gone away?). So, I’m taking iron supplements in addition to eating lots of meat and spinach and iron-y things.
Pregnancy Brain is real! So, over the past few months I’ve had a couple of ‘pregnancy brain’ episodes. One was when I had $100 cash (if you know me, you know I NEVER have cash), I had taken cash out to payback someone. It was on the kitchen counter, but since the cleaning crew was coming, I hid it in a drawer (of course I didn’t just put it in my wallet). Well, for the next 2 weeks, I was racking my brain wondering where that $100 went. Did the cleaning crew steal it? Should I fire them? OMG, I was so pissed. That is, until I opened that ‘junk drawer’ and there was my $100 right where I left it. OK, now this one is even better — yesterday I went to the grocery store, then to pick up our taxes, then to get a smoothie. Last night at 5am, I woke up thinking of how good a fresh pear was going to taste (yes, I really woke up to think about food) – OMG, I left all the groceries in the car. So I layed in bed for an hour thinking of what an idiot I am that I left all the groceries in the car and running through a list of what would be ruined (turkey, cheese, etc.) and what would be safe (cereal, bread, etc.). Duh!
So, that is me at 32 weeks pregnant!
Pregnancy Update – 24 weeks
I had my 6 month check-up yesterday and after last month’s check-up, I was very nervous about the weight-gain. After gaining 6.5 pounds in one month, I was afraid if I kept that up, I may get way too big and have a hard time getting the weight off after FBB arrives. Of course, while pregnant I’m not dieting or anything, but I finally had a month that I wasn’t having strong cravings for heavy and fattening things, so that helped! At this appointment I actually lost 2 pounds, but my belly has still grown. I wasn’t eating too light or anything, they said that some months will be like that so it washes out the high weight-gain months. Phew. So, I’m right on track. They didn’t do an ultra-sound this month, so no new pics of FBB to share 😦 But I’m sure he’s getting bigger and cuter every day (just like two other rug-rats I know). Next month they’ll do some testing for gestational diabetes, but so far I’ve had no symptoms for that.
I have still been feeling wonderful and sometimes pregnant-high, which I LOVE. However, some new back pain has greeted me in the evenings. Now pretty much every day around 4 or 5pm my back starts to ache and feel really tired on the sides and middle. It isn’t a pinched nerve or lower back pain like before, but a whole new kind of back pain. I guess that is just my thing during pregnancy – unescapable back pain. It has been bothering me a little overnight too, so my nights of happy sleep might be behind me. Other than that, I’m tiring out a little more easily, but still feeling good. It is probably a good thing that we went to Paris when we did — nice job hubby!
Cravings — So, although my beef craving is gone, I now have a new craving — lemony things, particularly Chick-fil-A lemonade. I’ve made several drives out to Flatirons just for it. I have a new found love of lemonade, lemon muffins, anything like that. I’ve never been much of a lemon person before, so this is kinda fun. Tonight I’m making lemon chicken for dinner. Other than lemony things, I’ve been wanting lots of fruit, which isn’t anything new, but still going strong. Also, it is Cadbury Egg season, so I constantly want those, but I don’t thing that has anything to do with the pregnancy 🙂
We just had some painting done around the house. Delaney’s room is now lavender, FBB’s room is now a very light blue, and we had some touching-up done too. So, all kids now have colorful rooms! In the beginning of March, we’ll hopefully decide on some baby furniture, then it will all be coming together for the little guy to arrive.
We have started birthing class, which seems like a waste of time. It is 2.5 hrs on Tuesday nights for 5 weeks. Each class could easily be done in one hour. About half of the time, the instructor just babbles on a lot and tells stories about when she was pregnant and then she goes around the room and asks each couple the same stupid questions. The videos I could certainly do without. I don’t know if they are designed to scare us or prepare us. But, there is no turning back now! David has been great, it is nice that he already knows all the important stuff, so then when I get freaked out and cry about how scary the labor looks, he can talk some sense in to me.
FBB’s kicks have definitely been getting stronger. Frequently now, instead of a little flutter, when he kicks or punches or does acrobatics in there, I feel my entire belly convulse. It is pretty bizarre, but I love it!
So, that is what has been going on lately. We are really getting excited to meet our little man.
Snow-shoeing in Breckenridge with the Hermans
We had the Hermans and Camerons up to Breckenridge for a weekend of fun in the sun and snow. While the Camerons were out teli-skiing, we opted for some snow-shoeing (with the dogs, of course) and enjoyed the beautifully sunny and mild January Breckenridge weather!
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