32 weeks: A Haiku

TUMS

Heartburn flows through me
Churning and burning and raw
Pop 'em, one by one

...a haiku by Mommy

Crazy Mommy :)

The doctor, the doula, and the belly

THE DOCTOR
We had another check up on Friday. We see her again in 3 weeks, then in 2 weeks, then every week after that. At 36-37 weeks they will do an ultrasound to see how her position looks and make sure she is starting to move head-down.

As far as our appointment on Friday, here are the stats:

Weight: 174 (I've gained 26 pounds- you are supposed to gain 25-35 and the average person gains about 35-40 ish so I am doing good)

Baby's Height: 30 cm (so she has caught up in size)

Baby's Heart Beat: go speed racer!! Lookin' good and very strong

Test results #1: Anemia- yes, I'm anemic so I am taking iron supplements. I have had hardly any red meat throughout my pregnancy because I like my meat on the rarer side and since I have to have it fully cooked, I am not eating it. Guess I should have been afterall!

Test results #2: Gestational Diabetes- nope. If your sugar levels are at or above 130, then you are a candidate for gestational diabetes and need further testing. My levels came in at 79. Bring on da cake!

Eye Check Up: yes, remember the eye? I had a check up for that, as well as my vision. All is good on the eye ball front.

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THE DOULA
Here is a little bit about our first meeting with our new doula!

Her name is Stacia and she is just fantastic. She met us at the house yesterday morning for a little "get to know you" session. She had Ryan and I each take a piece of paper and answer some questions, like

1) name 5 ways you would describe your partner
2) name 5 ways you think your partner described you
3) (to Krista) what would you like for Ryan to say to you during labor and (to Ryan) what do you think you should say to Krista while she is in labor and
4) How do you think you will respond towards each other during labor

VERY INTERESTING...try this with your partner and see what happens!

It was actually tough to come up with some answers. But I will say, my FIRST response to #3 was "Please go get me a cold beer." Well....since Ryan won't do that, I need to enlist someone else to. Afterall, beer does promote lactation! And I will take a beer over an epidural anyday (ask me if I still fell the same way after the delivery!)

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THE BELLY
On another note, my women's networking group threw me the sweetest baby shower yesterday. We are a small group so there were 9 of us. We ate greek food, had some delicious cake, did some Feldenkrais movements and belly dancing. It was fab-u-lous! The highlight of the afternoon was doing a belly casting. I wasn't sure I'd be up for this, being topless and all in front of a group of women, but it turned out to be such a great experience! I am so glad I did it. And it wasn't a big deal either, because I tend to surround myself around supportive, energetic and amazing women. I think it would be cool to do some sort of collage on it.

Ok everyone, get back to work you slackers!

Hugs!

Aaaahhh! We're at 30 weeks!

Aaaahhh! 30 weeks? Are we nuts? What have we gotten ourselves into? We are no longer in our 20's. I miss the 20's. I am closer to giving birth than not! Aaahhh! Ok, freakout mode is on. It's WAY on! Our house is full of baby stuff. The upstairs is a mess. The room isn't painted...why is it that when you have a baby you have to paint the room anyway? What is wrong with white walls? We still need furniture. Where will ALL of these clothes go? And who is going to wash them? Is Tide ok or do I really have to use Dreft? I steam cleaned the carpet this weekend. It wasn't even dirty! I steam cleaned the window channels. Those WERE dirty. Eeuch. Where will the cat box go now? What if I don't like the paint color we picked? What if I can't handle the pain? AaahhhH!!

Is there any turning back?

Can I pay someone to have the baby for me?

Oh man, I am stuck.

Oh man...

Oh man...

I think I need some ice cream. I will be right back.








Ok, I feel better. Thank you Missy and Steven for the gift certificate for the ice cream. This was CLEARLY an emergency.

29 weeks- a shower full of presumptions

I love my husband. He is strong, supportive, handsome, and will be a great dad. But I can't wait until we take the childbirthing class.

Last weekend we began to interview doula's. Most doula's usually meet with you twice before the due date, but for Ryan, one of the doula's suggested we have not 2, but 3 meetings! Why do you ask? Ryan was suprised to find out that the moment the water breaks, you DO NOT have to be bedridden. He assumed once labor begins that you have to be in bed the entire time.

We watch Scrubs and Grey's Anatomy together. I thought he would have known this.

Note to self: never assume Ryan knows.

On another note...We went down to So. Cal this weekend and had our first baby shower. It was so great to see all of our family and my friends from high school and college. We received so many great gifts. One thing is for sure, this will be a well-dressed kid! Ryan doubted that we could fit it all into his hybrid- but put me to the task and I can get it done. And so I did! We also announced the baby's name. Care to take a guess at what it is? Hahahahahaha!

Oh my gosh- I have to tell another funny Ryan story. (Sorry hon, but this is just too much!) My girlfriend Jenny has an adorable 12 year old daughter named Kiersten. Kiersten made the cutest card for us! She also asked if Ryan would be changing the baby's diaper with gloves on, and if so, she'd like a picture! THIS from a 12 year old. Do we all know Ryan or what?!!

Sorry this is late, we didn't get home from LA until around 1am last night. Ryan did take a picture when we got home, but he is currently in Austin- with the camera. If he has some time, he will put it up.

Hugs to all!

28 weeks- the sugar runneth over

I was just getting ready to go to bed when I realized I hadn't posted anything yet. And since I know that y'all just can't start your Monday without the latest baby smitty du jour reading, I decided to sit down and blog rather than sleep- which I don't get much of- so consider yourselves lucky! However, there won't be a picture up tonight. Sorry!

We had a prenatal appointment on Friday. It went well; the baby is measuring in at 26-1/2 weeks (don't worry, this is fine) so I am pretty sure she will be late. Oh joy. My nurse practioner will neither confirm nor deny. Weight is good, although I lost a pound. But I am sure I have a pound or two to spare from my derrier. Everything else with the baby looks good.

I also had glucose testing done to determine if I have gestational diabetes. I had to drink this super sweet orange concoction loaded with sugar...mmmmm...not so good...and then see how well my body absorbed the sugar. I won't have the results until this week. It was funny though- the nurse who was drawing my blood accidently brushed up against my boobs. I told her not to worry, they seem to be getting in the way of everything these days.

Although I have a middle name picked out, Ryan isn't into it yet. He has designed a program in FrontPage that will allow us to view the names in some sort of order, and see how they look on paper and sound in person. Only Ryan. As if this will help me pick the name- I already know what it will be!

We also started interviewing doula's. We have met with two so far and have one more interview set up. What a fascinating job to have! Jill- Ryan and I think you should look into becoming one- you'd be very good at it. How great it would be to be to experience so many babies coming into this world!

On another note, for all of you concerned folks out there, my eye is doing much better, thank you. And thank you for all of the emails in response to my recent post. Gotta keep you on your toes!

Ok, I really need to go to bed now. I am exhausted. Sweet dreams!