25w5d - Birthday!!!

Not Noah's birthday, MY BIRTHDAY!  It's on Nov 1 (Sunday).  We are celebrating by going to the Melting Pot for dinner tonight.  That is one of my favorite restaurants so I can't wait!!!  Then for Halloween tomorrow, we are just planning on sticking around the house and handing out candy especially since there are a ton of kids in our neighborhood.  Sunday is my actual birthday but right now, we don't have any plans.  May possibly try to catch a movie and catch up on the DVR.  Basically, a lazy weekend is ahead!!!

 

Everything else with the baby and pregnancy is going fine.  He's kicking and being a lot more active every day.  I'm to the point where if I'm lying still on my back you can see my belly move.  Our childbirth classes are going well, too.  After each class, I'm more and more sure that naturally is definitely the way we want to go.  I also have more and more confidence in myself that this is something I can do.  I'm just praying to God that everything turns out ok so that we can continue on with our plan.  I'm afraid I'll find out he's breech or in distress and then we'll have to make the decision to do a C-section or something else when we really didn't want to do that. 

 

My next doctor's appointment is on November 11.  We are also planning to do a birth place tour soon.  On Nov 25 - I took the day off work so we could go tour day care centers.  So far, we've only set up 3 places - Happy Time, Child Time, and Kinder Kare.  We are looking for a place that isn't too far out of our daily route to work, so if anyone has any suggestions, please let us know.  We are also still looking into home daycares, but it seems like most places, the centers included, don't have any waiting list and we'll just have to wait until closer to May to decide. 

24w3d - Finished Nursery

Here are pictures of the "pretty much" finished nursery. We are thinking of hanging the comforter on the wall to the left of the crib so that's why there's a big blank space there. Otherwise, we just need picture frames and other baby stuff to fill the room. Also, my dad is building a tray to go around the changing pad. I'll take a couple more pictures once those items are done, plus any new stuff that is added. ENJOY!

23w5d - Bradley Classes

So here is THE post about our childbirth class and why we are choosing this method.  I really like to talk about this but because of "certain" reactions I have gotten, David and I have decided that unless someone else brings up the topic, we are not going to talk about this anymore.  And if you are that someone who brings up the topic, please be understanding to why we are choosing this method and don't be critical.  You don't have to agree with us for why we are doing it this way.

 

So first of all, a little background on the Bradley method.  It was developed by Dr. Robert Bradley and a quick google search will get you any information on him or his theories that you could ever imagine.  Not to mention his book, Husband-Coached Childbirth.  The main ideas are that he believes in the husband having a "coach" role and being just as much a part of the birth as the mother.  The method focuses on natural childbirth and as Dr. Bradley explains "that's how animals do it".  Instead of Lamaze classes that teach distraction and focal points, the Bradley method teaches you to focus on the pain and relax.  Most of the pain caused in labor is actually a result of your body tensing up.  To relax, you can use exercises, breathing techniques, and teaching your body to relax on command.  This is where the husband comes in.  He can "train" your body using his voice and touch to relax so that you can let yourself do what you are supposed to do during birth. 

 

The method also emphasizes laboring at home (or having a home birth) and using little or no interventions.  First of all, we do not plan on having a home birth.  We plan 100% to give birth at a hospital, St. Clare to be specific.  We would like to labor at home for as long as possible, since that makes it easier to relax and resist the use of drugs.  Once we do get to the hospital, I don't necessarily have a problem with fetal monitoring and IV's.  I would, however, like to avoid any drugs as well as a C-section.  Obviously there is a time when I may have to choose between these options, and while not ideal, it's just something we'll have to deal with at the time.

 

We had our first class last night and I feel very confident in myself and David that we can do this.  I just hope now that our doctor, who isn't exactly a Bradley friendly doctor, but not really anti-Bradley either, will be on the same page with all of this and that Noah will come out as planned.  I don't know what else to say about it right now, but maybe I'll elaborate more in the future as we go through more classes.  I hope everyone can understand where we are coming from and just be supportive of us.  Thanks!

23w4d - Update to Flu Shot

Just wanted to let everyone know that I had my flu shot today.  David's work has a MinuteClinic downstairs and they had a supply of the flu shots.  They were $30 but they are supposed to be covered by our insurance, so we didn't pay anything today.  We've had issues in the past with them covering our visits at MinuteClinic, so we'll see!  I'm happy to have found a place, since every other place (my OB, our primary doctor, Walgreens) is out.  I'm headed home now to get ready for our first Bradley class - I'll let everyone know how it goes.

23w3d - Dr's Appt

Had another doctor's appointment today. I have to say that for an ob/gyn, my doctor is very punctual with his appointments. I don't recall ever having to wait longer than 5 minutes. BUT TODAY....David and I waited over an hour. He did apologize when we finally got in and we were being patient, so it was fine. Hope this doesn't become a regular occurrence, though.

Regardless, everything is looking good, my tummy measures good, my weight gain is good, blood pressure fine, heartbeat strong...everything a mom-to-be could hope for. The good news - I didn't have to get stuck with a needle today. The bad news - They weren't able to give me the flu shot because they don't have any. I don't want to go into a huge debate here on whether or not I should even get the shot, I'm getting shot. My doctor suggested checking around to other places in case I find one there before I make it back to their office next month. It sucks because my work is doing free flu shots, but they have preservatives in them so me being pregnant can't have it. Any suggestions on a place I can go to??? My insurance covers them normally, so I hate to pay more than $25 since that's my primary doctor's co-pay anyway.

We FINALLY got the rest of our bedding set in. It's not quite all put together yet because I need to buy some "baby" detergent and wash some of it. Now we are just waiting on our glider which will hopefully come in the next week or so. I also can't believe how close my shower is getting. Tomorrow is our first Bradley birth class. I really want to go into more detail about these classes and why David and I chose to take these classes, but I'm tired and it will have to wait for another night.

23w1d

I thought I'd write another post even though I don't really have anything too exciting to write about, but still, it's been 2 weeks...

We're getting closer to finishing his room. Mostly we need our glider and bedding to come in. Then we can finish putting up the letters and window valence. I have another doctor's appointment on Wed, nothing too special. On Thursday, we have our first birth class which I'm really excited about!!!! I'll post again after those two events happen.

Oh and the baby moves all the time now, it's fun to feel him moving all around, but sometimes it's at the inopportune time and can get a little uncomfortable. I'm sure it just gets better!!