Saturday, October 3, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
My Birth Story (as I remember it)
On Sunday night around 7PM, January 11, I started feeling a new kind of cramp in my lower belly and a bit of tightening. Jason was going to head out to jam with the guys at a Greenpoint studio, but I had him stay back, just in case, because these cramps were so new and slightly regular. After drinking a lot of water and eating a bit, they subsided and I had Jason go out to have some fun.
Monday morning - closer to afternoon, actually - I awoke with a headache and continued to have the belly pain. A few times every hour it hit particularly hard. I got up, loaded the dishwasher and made a quesadilla. It was difficult to even sit up from the pain. I honestly thought my baby's head was just lying very low and the pain was hitting every time it moved. So I grabbed Arrested Developmentt, curled up in bed with my laptop and kitties and attempted to watch and put the pain out of my mind.
Jason got home around 7PM and made me some steak and corn. I tried to sit up as long as possible but curled up in bed around 9PM. Our friend Dave came by and hung out, leaving maybe an hour later. I finally realized these pains were fairly constant and began to time them. They came anywhere from two to ten minutes apart or so, lasting anywhere from 44 to 90 seconds. I thought how it really didn't feel like labour because it wasn't "tight" the way most women describe, all across my belly, and I didn't see it physically changing shape. But it was quite painful, enough to curl my toes, which Jason laughed at.
I finally called the doctor at 10:30PM, not wanting to call much later just for false labour. He wasn't convinced it was time yet, but said I could go to the hospital if I really felt like it, though they may make me walk around for a while or even send me home. Something told me I should go in, so I called Danelle, my doula. I told her I wasn't sure if this was it, but we were going in. She said she'd be over ASAP.
Once I acknowledged that this could be it, things began to move quickly. I was sick in the bathroom, curled up in bed, and then Jason got to see me puke for the first time, lucky him!
Danelle arrived quickly and we moved to the couch and put on Planet Earth. Contractions moved to four minutes apart. At this point, time stopped moving in hours, but in contractions. Each contraction was a little harder, felt a little more painful, and I began to moan out loud. The space in between I could only think about the relief, yet dreaded the next. For a time I could watch the show, but soon didn't care. Danelle had me stand to see if that helped. It didn't. I sat back down, was offered the birthing ball, but could only moan "noooo". I decided to lie in bed again, and this time Danelle helped me throw up.
Finally I decided it was time to head to the hospital, though I dreaded the trip. Danelle called a car to come in a half hour or so, but the driver had to wait another 30 minutes while Jason and Danelle loaded everything (suitcase, backpack, car seat, birthing ball, and Danelle's doula bag) into the car, though one of them always stayed by my side. It took probably ten minutes to make my way down the three flights of stairs and outside to the car.
Amazingly the car ride was fairly fast, again because time was in contractions, not in real minutes. It was an older driver, who didn't seem to mind my increasingly loud moans. He pulled up to NYU Medical Center's emergency room and was very patient as Jason and Danelle unloaded everything while putting me in a wheelchair.
We were led by security to a special elevator that whisked us straight up to labour and delivery. Unfortunately, two very inconsiderate nurses hitched a ride and laughed and said "you have another eight hours of this, at least!" Had I any ability to speak or move, they would've had an earful or a couple nice shiners.
It was just after 1AM. They quickly led me to a triage room, changed into a gown, strapped on a fetal monitor and one for my contractions, though I was moving so much that they couldn't get a good read, and I yelled "my baby's fine!", because I didn't want to be stuck in one place. Jason had to go admit me, so Danelle took over. It was probably around then that my moans turned to yells, and not much longer until I was literally screaming at the top of my lungs. Jason returned and they checked my cervix; I was 5cm dilated and at -1 station. I didn't even feel the pain of the IV and when the nurse first attempted to put on my ID band, I whipped my hand away to grab Jason's.
Apparently at one point I said I didn't want an epidural, but still the anesthesiologist was sent in. She asked if I had changed my mind. In the intense pain, all I could do was look at Jason, because I nearly cried out "yes!" but knew in my head that's not what I wanted (I don't think they could've put the needle in my spine between contractions anyhow, they were so close and I couldn't sit still). Jason explained to her, seeing my eyes, that I didn't want to risk a spinal headache, as I'd had one in the past and deal with chronic headaches. She still tried to get me to sign the waiver in case I changed my mind or needed an emergency c-section, to which Jason said "well, if it comes to that, can't we sign it then?" She left.
My doctor showed up and told us it was time to move to the delivery room. I don't know how long it took, but every several steps I had to stop, lean against Jason, and scream at the top of my lungs. I felt bad for anyone else delivering or coming in, but also didn't care.
I fell onto the bed. The doctor checked me and I was at 9cm. I now wanted to push but he told me not to, as I had to get to 10cm and pushing now would swell my cervix and make it harder. So each contraction I grabbed a hand from each of my supporters and squeezed and screamed. I even ripped off my gown because I was too hot and honestly didn't care anymore about anything other than making the pain end.
Finally, he told me to start pushing, somewhere around 4AM. I was to stop screaming and put all my energy, which was quickly fading, into it. It took me a few times to figure out how to do it; three sets of ten within a contraction, which moved up to four sets. I glanced at the clock to see 4:15AM and figured I would have my baby by 4:30AM.
Unfortunately, it didn't quite happen. The doctor kept telling me to push, sounding more like a personal trainer, that I had to work harder. I yelled at him a few times, "I can't!" and probably would've kicked him had I had energy.
The baby's heart rate was decreasing with the contractions, so I was given oxygen, but had to rip the mask off with each one as I sucked in so hard I felt more suffocated. The room was filling up with nurses and doctors and med students, and I was told a pediatrician was being brought in to make sure the baby was OK.
The doctor continued to coach me, saying it would take only one or two more pushes and be out. He had Jason look at the top of the head, which was sitting right there. Danelle asked me if I wanted a mirror, but again, I just didn't care at all. The doctor said it had hair, which shocked me,. He said dark hair, to which Jason quipped "that's it, it's not mine!"
Later Jason said the head had been sitting there for quite a while, and finally the doctor said he was going to have to intervene. My first thought was c-section, so I said "no!" But it was the vacuum he wanted to use. I did another few hard pushes. My water broke, which seemed to splash across the room. It still didn't work, so the doctor put on his scrubs and gear, the table was folded up so my butt was by the edge, and he applied the vacuum.
I screamed at him that he was hurting me and he said "it's not me, it's the baby." But my skin was hurting and he quickly numbed it up.
All of a sudden, with the next push, the head was out. I saw Jason's excited eyes get big as the head popped out. One more push and the body was out. It happened so fast and there was immediate relief. It was a boy! But they took him to a table off to the side of the room to check him out. Jason's face was covered with an expression I'd never seen before, just complete elation, and I couldn't stop saying "oh my gosh, it's my baby! I have a baby! There's my baby!"
There was a bit more pain as I birthed the placenta. He plopped it into a container and I asked to see it. Gross but cool. The he had to stitch up my second degree tear as a med student watched.
Still, I couldn't stop staring at my baby. I asked Jason if he still liked "Max", and he said yes. I had Jason go look at him but he seemed wary with the doctors and nurses there and didn't want to leave my side. It took maybe ten minutes or so while they fixed and cleaned me up, and tended to my Max. Finally, Jason got to be the first to hold him and when I was ready, the tiny little life was put in my arms.
My baby's born. Max Ronald Powers.
Monday morning - closer to afternoon, actually - I awoke with a headache and continued to have the belly pain. A few times every hour it hit particularly hard. I got up, loaded the dishwasher and made a quesadilla. It was difficult to even sit up from the pain. I honestly thought my baby's head was just lying very low and the pain was hitting every time it moved. So I grabbed Arrested Developmentt, curled up in bed with my laptop and kitties and attempted to watch and put the pain out of my mind.
Jason got home around 7PM and made me some steak and corn. I tried to sit up as long as possible but curled up in bed around 9PM. Our friend Dave came by and hung out, leaving maybe an hour later. I finally realized these pains were fairly constant and began to time them. They came anywhere from two to ten minutes apart or so, lasting anywhere from 44 to 90 seconds. I thought how it really didn't feel like labour because it wasn't "tight" the way most women describe, all across my belly, and I didn't see it physically changing shape. But it was quite painful, enough to curl my toes, which Jason laughed at.
I finally called the doctor at 10:30PM, not wanting to call much later just for false labour. He wasn't convinced it was time yet, but said I could go to the hospital if I really felt like it, though they may make me walk around for a while or even send me home. Something told me I should go in, so I called Danelle, my doula. I told her I wasn't sure if this was it, but we were going in. She said she'd be over ASAP.
Once I acknowledged that this could be it, things began to move quickly. I was sick in the bathroom, curled up in bed, and then Jason got to see me puke for the first time, lucky him!
Danelle arrived quickly and we moved to the couch and put on Planet Earth. Contractions moved to four minutes apart. At this point, time stopped moving in hours, but in contractions. Each contraction was a little harder, felt a little more painful, and I began to moan out loud. The space in between I could only think about the relief, yet dreaded the next. For a time I could watch the show, but soon didn't care. Danelle had me stand to see if that helped. It didn't. I sat back down, was offered the birthing ball, but could only moan "noooo". I decided to lie in bed again, and this time Danelle helped me throw up.
Finally I decided it was time to head to the hospital, though I dreaded the trip. Danelle called a car to come in a half hour or so, but the driver had to wait another 30 minutes while Jason and Danelle loaded everything (suitcase, backpack, car seat, birthing ball, and Danelle's doula bag) into the car, though one of them always stayed by my side. It took probably ten minutes to make my way down the three flights of stairs and outside to the car.
Amazingly the car ride was fairly fast, again because time was in contractions, not in real minutes. It was an older driver, who didn't seem to mind my increasingly loud moans. He pulled up to NYU Medical Center's emergency room and was very patient as Jason and Danelle unloaded everything while putting me in a wheelchair.
We were led by security to a special elevator that whisked us straight up to labour and delivery. Unfortunately, two very inconsiderate nurses hitched a ride and laughed and said "you have another eight hours of this, at least!" Had I any ability to speak or move, they would've had an earful or a couple nice shiners.
It was just after 1AM. They quickly led me to a triage room, changed into a gown, strapped on a fetal monitor and one for my contractions, though I was moving so much that they couldn't get a good read, and I yelled "my baby's fine!", because I didn't want to be stuck in one place. Jason had to go admit me, so Danelle took over. It was probably around then that my moans turned to yells, and not much longer until I was literally screaming at the top of my lungs. Jason returned and they checked my cervix; I was 5cm dilated and at -1 station. I didn't even feel the pain of the IV and when the nurse first attempted to put on my ID band, I whipped my hand away to grab Jason's.
Apparently at one point I said I didn't want an epidural, but still the anesthesiologist was sent in. She asked if I had changed my mind. In the intense pain, all I could do was look at Jason, because I nearly cried out "yes!" but knew in my head that's not what I wanted (I don't think they could've put the needle in my spine between contractions anyhow, they were so close and I couldn't sit still). Jason explained to her, seeing my eyes, that I didn't want to risk a spinal headache, as I'd had one in the past and deal with chronic headaches. She still tried to get me to sign the waiver in case I changed my mind or needed an emergency c-section, to which Jason said "well, if it comes to that, can't we sign it then?" She left.
My doctor showed up and told us it was time to move to the delivery room. I don't know how long it took, but every several steps I had to stop, lean against Jason, and scream at the top of my lungs. I felt bad for anyone else delivering or coming in, but also didn't care.
I fell onto the bed. The doctor checked me and I was at 9cm. I now wanted to push but he told me not to, as I had to get to 10cm and pushing now would swell my cervix and make it harder. So each contraction I grabbed a hand from each of my supporters and squeezed and screamed. I even ripped off my gown because I was too hot and honestly didn't care anymore about anything other than making the pain end.
Finally, he told me to start pushing, somewhere around 4AM. I was to stop screaming and put all my energy, which was quickly fading, into it. It took me a few times to figure out how to do it; three sets of ten within a contraction, which moved up to four sets. I glanced at the clock to see 4:15AM and figured I would have my baby by 4:30AM.
Unfortunately, it didn't quite happen. The doctor kept telling me to push, sounding more like a personal trainer, that I had to work harder. I yelled at him a few times, "I can't!" and probably would've kicked him had I had energy.
The baby's heart rate was decreasing with the contractions, so I was given oxygen, but had to rip the mask off with each one as I sucked in so hard I felt more suffocated. The room was filling up with nurses and doctors and med students, and I was told a pediatrician was being brought in to make sure the baby was OK.
The doctor continued to coach me, saying it would take only one or two more pushes and be out. He had Jason look at the top of the head, which was sitting right there. Danelle asked me if I wanted a mirror, but again, I just didn't care at all. The doctor said it had hair, which shocked me,. He said dark hair, to which Jason quipped "that's it, it's not mine!"
Later Jason said the head had been sitting there for quite a while, and finally the doctor said he was going to have to intervene. My first thought was c-section, so I said "no!" But it was the vacuum he wanted to use. I did another few hard pushes. My water broke, which seemed to splash across the room. It still didn't work, so the doctor put on his scrubs and gear, the table was folded up so my butt was by the edge, and he applied the vacuum.
I screamed at him that he was hurting me and he said "it's not me, it's the baby." But my skin was hurting and he quickly numbed it up.
All of a sudden, with the next push, the head was out. I saw Jason's excited eyes get big as the head popped out. One more push and the body was out. It happened so fast and there was immediate relief. It was a boy! But they took him to a table off to the side of the room to check him out. Jason's face was covered with an expression I'd never seen before, just complete elation, and I couldn't stop saying "oh my gosh, it's my baby! I have a baby! There's my baby!"
There was a bit more pain as I birthed the placenta. He plopped it into a container and I asked to see it. Gross but cool. The he had to stitch up my second degree tear as a med student watched.
Still, I couldn't stop staring at my baby. I asked Jason if he still liked "Max", and he said yes. I had Jason go look at him but he seemed wary with the doctors and nurses there and didn't want to leave my side. It took maybe ten minutes or so while they fixed and cleaned me up, and tended to my Max. Finally, Jason got to be the first to hold him and when I was ready, the tiny little life was put in my arms.
My baby's born. Max Ronald Powers.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Lately
I guess it's been a while since I've posted, sorry to my two or three loyal readers. :)
Here are the highlights of the last month or so:
- We had a visit to the hospital about four weeks ago. Slight bleeding and lots of cramps and the doctor suggested I go get checked out. I knew it would only be a day thing, and sure enough nothing was happening... until they gave me a couple liters of fluids (via IV, which annoyed me because it took them 4 pokes and the nurse calling an anesthesiologist to do it when I could have simply DRUNK the water!) and suddenly I started having regular contractions. They briefly thought I was in labour, but nothing was happening so they sent me home, of course. But then, thanks to lying in one position for 5 hours and not being able to move due to the fetal monitors, I had a lovely 4-day migraine and missed half of my last week of work. I also missed our second childbirth class, which really sucked, but I have an amazing husband who went on his own for the tours, endured an hour of breastfeeding education, and learned to bathe and change a baby. Brave, amazing man - I am so blessed!
- December 19th was my last day of work. I was sad to leave some of the people, but it was getting hard to get myself to work and run around all day, and obviously I'm just excited to become a stay-at-home mom. For now I spend my days watching too much TV, organizing the house, finishing up thank-you cards, etc.
- The two weeks of Christmas and New Years Jason was home. It was awesome, though we didn't do a ton of stuff, mainly just hung out. Christmas day we opened gifts, Dave came over and the guys cooked dinner while I napped, we watched the Yule Log, and we went and saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with our friends Julie, Chris, and Kory in a too crowded theatre, but it was great, and we went out for drinks and appetizers after. New Year's Eve we just stayed home, since I was once again miserable with a headache. We also got the nursery set up, and love it! We also had Dave, a professional photographer, over to take photos. Here's the first one, though it is unfinished:
- Jason's mom had a shower for us in California, and set us a box with all the gifts. Very sweet of her!
- My mom had a "virtual shower" for us, where I Skyped with friends and family back home in Seattle. It was awesome to get to talk to everyone and open gifts for them here.
- My cramps are getting much worse now, and as of tonight I'm getting more Braxton Hicks contractions and pains in my nethers. But that doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot. I'm 38.5 weeks, which means full-term, due in 1.5 weeks, wow! Praying for a slightly earlier baby, but we'll see!
Here are the highlights of the last month or so:
- We had a visit to the hospital about four weeks ago. Slight bleeding and lots of cramps and the doctor suggested I go get checked out. I knew it would only be a day thing, and sure enough nothing was happening... until they gave me a couple liters of fluids (via IV, which annoyed me because it took them 4 pokes and the nurse calling an anesthesiologist to do it when I could have simply DRUNK the water!) and suddenly I started having regular contractions. They briefly thought I was in labour, but nothing was happening so they sent me home, of course. But then, thanks to lying in one position for 5 hours and not being able to move due to the fetal monitors, I had a lovely 4-day migraine and missed half of my last week of work. I also missed our second childbirth class, which really sucked, but I have an amazing husband who went on his own for the tours, endured an hour of breastfeeding education, and learned to bathe and change a baby. Brave, amazing man - I am so blessed!
- December 19th was my last day of work. I was sad to leave some of the people, but it was getting hard to get myself to work and run around all day, and obviously I'm just excited to become a stay-at-home mom. For now I spend my days watching too much TV, organizing the house, finishing up thank-you cards, etc.
- The two weeks of Christmas and New Years Jason was home. It was awesome, though we didn't do a ton of stuff, mainly just hung out. Christmas day we opened gifts, Dave came over and the guys cooked dinner while I napped, we watched the Yule Log, and we went and saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with our friends Julie, Chris, and Kory in a too crowded theatre, but it was great, and we went out for drinks and appetizers after. New Year's Eve we just stayed home, since I was once again miserable with a headache. We also got the nursery set up, and love it! We also had Dave, a professional photographer, over to take photos. Here's the first one, though it is unfinished:
- Jason's mom had a shower for us in California, and set us a box with all the gifts. Very sweet of her!
- My mom had a "virtual shower" for us, where I Skyped with friends and family back home in Seattle. It was awesome to get to talk to everyone and open gifts for them here.
- My cramps are getting much worse now, and as of tonight I'm getting more Braxton Hicks contractions and pains in my nethers. But that doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot. I'm 38.5 weeks, which means full-term, due in 1.5 weeks, wow! Praying for a slightly earlier baby, but we'll see!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Learnin' stuff
Saturday we had our first childbirth class, one of the two intensive classes going all day for two Saturdays in a row. Ahead of time I was entirely dreading it. For some reason I built it up as if there would be only hard, uncomfortable chairs, a Nurse Ratched-type teaching the class (the type totally entrenched in the hospital system who was all about drugs and doing birth just one way), with a lot of hormonal pregnant women who would ask dumb question after dumb question, when the rest of us just wanted to go home.
Turns out I was only right about the chairs.
The teacher actually used to teach Art History, and anyone who knows about the stereotypical art teacher will know what this woman was like: she told us if we needed to take naps, it was OK to lie down, just make sure our partners were listening, and she encouraged us to put our feet up, so that, by the end, every spare chair was being used for a pregnant woman's feet. And it turned out I was the one asking all the questions, at least until I had others comfortable enough to ask, but I seemed slightly more educated, having read and watched a lot of videos about childbirth. In fact I was slightly shocked at how little some of the women had educated themselves, but perhaps they were waiting for the class.
I was very happy that Jason got to finally see and learn a lot firsthand, and, more importantly, that he was attentive and seemed excited to actually be learning so much! I have no doubt that he's going to be so amazing in childbirth. He listens well and he understands that I'm going to be emotional and crazy during labor and for the following couple of weeks. The teacher said that the two weeks following birth are the most hormonal of a woman's life, like the worst period ever. To which one of the husbands asked if there was some kind of pill that could be given to his wife to make it better, haha! (The answer is no.)
The one thing that surprised me slightly was that out of the 9 couples, 3 were dead set on getting epidurals, 5 were going to "wait and see" if the pain was too bad to take, and then decide, and I was the only one who is dead set against NOT taking anything. The teacher said that's statistically pretty accurate, as to how it breaks down. She also said that unless you have a delivery that isn't too painful at all, as a few lucky women have, you will probably opt for one unless you are determined, as I am, to not have one. Because obviously it's going to hurt like hell, and you just have to expect it. The scariest thing for me is that we watched a birth (which I think is cool), but she pointed out that the pushing and the baby actually coming out is not the most painful part, it's the part just before when everything internal is stretching. So if it looks that bad from the outside, I can only imagine what's going on on the inside! Ack! But still, I'm absolutely determined, and will only receive any drugs at all (pain relief or Pitocin) if completely medically necessary.
Well, I could go on and on, but that's it for now. This Saturday, after having already learned what a normal end-of-pregnancy, labor and delivery is like, we'll learn what complications may arise, about c-sections, newborn care, and we'll take a tour of the maternity ward (and nursery!), which I'm most excited about.
Turns out I was only right about the chairs.
The teacher actually used to teach Art History, and anyone who knows about the stereotypical art teacher will know what this woman was like: she told us if we needed to take naps, it was OK to lie down, just make sure our partners were listening, and she encouraged us to put our feet up, so that, by the end, every spare chair was being used for a pregnant woman's feet. And it turned out I was the one asking all the questions, at least until I had others comfortable enough to ask, but I seemed slightly more educated, having read and watched a lot of videos about childbirth. In fact I was slightly shocked at how little some of the women had educated themselves, but perhaps they were waiting for the class.
I was very happy that Jason got to finally see and learn a lot firsthand, and, more importantly, that he was attentive and seemed excited to actually be learning so much! I have no doubt that he's going to be so amazing in childbirth. He listens well and he understands that I'm going to be emotional and crazy during labor and for the following couple of weeks. The teacher said that the two weeks following birth are the most hormonal of a woman's life, like the worst period ever. To which one of the husbands asked if there was some kind of pill that could be given to his wife to make it better, haha! (The answer is no.)
The one thing that surprised me slightly was that out of the 9 couples, 3 were dead set on getting epidurals, 5 were going to "wait and see" if the pain was too bad to take, and then decide, and I was the only one who is dead set against NOT taking anything. The teacher said that's statistically pretty accurate, as to how it breaks down. She also said that unless you have a delivery that isn't too painful at all, as a few lucky women have, you will probably opt for one unless you are determined, as I am, to not have one. Because obviously it's going to hurt like hell, and you just have to expect it. The scariest thing for me is that we watched a birth (which I think is cool), but she pointed out that the pushing and the baby actually coming out is not the most painful part, it's the part just before when everything internal is stretching. So if it looks that bad from the outside, I can only imagine what's going on on the inside! Ack! But still, I'm absolutely determined, and will only receive any drugs at all (pain relief or Pitocin) if completely medically necessary.
Well, I could go on and on, but that's it for now. This Saturday, after having already learned what a normal end-of-pregnancy, labor and delivery is like, we'll learn what complications may arise, about c-sections, newborn care, and we'll take a tour of the maternity ward (and nursery!), which I'm most excited about.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Stretchy stretchy!
So last night I'm stretched out in bed with my laptop, wearing my $3 "I (heart) NY" t-shirt that no longer covers my belly by any means, when Jason walks in and goes "what are those red lines?" I can't see what he's talking about until I use a DVD as a mirror to look down under my belly. At first I think (and hope) that they're just marks from my sweats (yeah, I'm totally attractive in the evenings these days!) but after 20 minutes or so they're not going away. And again this morning, there they are! So I guess despite putting on Burt's Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter every day, while it feels good, doesn't really do a whole lot to eliminate stretch marks. Honestly, I'm surprised it took this long for them to show up, what with my crazy pale skin, and they could look a lot worse, but still... dang it!
Turkey Day and Crib Warming Party
This weekend was lovely. For Thanksgiving we had a total of 7 people who came and brought some amazing food. I had to take several small plates and eat them very very slowly, and noticed even after the first that the things left on my plate were all store-bought. The home-made food was just too amazing! Jason did a great job with the bird for a first-timer, after calling his mom the night before and getting some advice. And we were able to do it without a thermometer or turkey baster, just propped the turkey up on some ramekins, spooned the melted butter and seasoning on it every 20 minutes, and it turned out pretty beautiful! Afterward we all hung out, played Outburst, and around 9:30 everyone left, at which point I crashed and burned into bed!
After spending pretty much all day Friday recovering, we got ready for the housewarming/baby shower on Saturday that our dear friends and leaders of our church community group hosted (at our place). It was lovely; we're not a very rowdy crowd to begin with but I think any event with "baby" in the title on the invitation is going to be pretty chill, even with the 22 people or so that attended. It was a pretty even mix of guys and girls, drinking some wine, beer, and myself some Martinelli's sparkling cider, and several people brought over amazing appetizers and baked goods. We got some good loot for Baby Powpow, including a baby monitor, the baby gym, blankets, and the letters to spell out "Powpow" painted by our friend Monica. No cheesy shower games, which was fine, and again around 9:30 or so everyone took off, at which point I once again crashed and burned. Fortunately we were compelled to go to church on Sunday so we could donate to His Toy Store, which may not have happened considering the freezing rain, the long walk (probably about a mile and a half total) and train construction (3 trains), but we're glad we went. And even gladder that we got a ride home with Kieran, who took most of the photos at our shower:
(That last photo is of me and my doula, Danelle. As usual, more photos on our Flickr site.)
After spending pretty much all day Friday recovering, we got ready for the housewarming/baby shower on Saturday that our dear friends and leaders of our church community group hosted (at our place). It was lovely; we're not a very rowdy crowd to begin with but I think any event with "baby" in the title on the invitation is going to be pretty chill, even with the 22 people or so that attended. It was a pretty even mix of guys and girls, drinking some wine, beer, and myself some Martinelli's sparkling cider, and several people brought over amazing appetizers and baked goods. We got some good loot for Baby Powpow, including a baby monitor, the baby gym, blankets, and the letters to spell out "Powpow" painted by our friend Monica. No cheesy shower games, which was fine, and again around 9:30 or so everyone took off, at which point I once again crashed and burned. Fortunately we were compelled to go to church on Sunday so we could donate to His Toy Store, which may not have happened considering the freezing rain, the long walk (probably about a mile and a half total) and train construction (3 trains), but we're glad we went. And even gladder that we got a ride home with Kieran, who took most of the photos at our shower:
(That last photo is of me and my doula, Danelle. As usual, more photos on our Flickr site.)
Monday, November 24, 2008
Slowing down... sort of
I know it's been a while since I posted. I think I'm slowing down in pretty much every way. Ironically I spend all day long staring a my computer screen, often looking for things to do. I have been getting caught up in various projects, though, doing a lot of research on baby, and a little bit of shopping. Since this post could get pretty boring pretty fast, here's a briefing (although, you know that I'm not exactly brief once I get going - I bolded the topics of each section) of what's been going on with us lately:
- Finally finished our registries at Target and Babies"R"Us. I think I probably removed and added several hundred things, literally, over the course of the two months or so since that frightful day we began registering in-store a couple months ago. Had to get it done because...
- Saturday our awesome church community group leaders, Tom and Angie, are going to throw us a housewarming party/baby shower! We decided to do something co-ed since we wanted to have both anyhow, so the women can hang out and ooh and ahh over any gifts that are given and the guys can sit back and have a beer or glass of wine and talk about guy stuff. Most of them are graphic designers so they'll probably talk about designy things. They're not exactly the football and car lovin' kind of guys, which I don't mind - makes life easier for me! This was also the last weekend we could have it until January, at which point baby may be in the picture. We initially thought not many people could come because they'd all be out of town, but realized that those that are in town are going to be starved for friends and family, so as of now we've got about 20 who say they're coming, with more stragglers, I'm sure.
- Aside from the one here in New York, our moms are doing some creative showering for us. Jason's mom is having their church home group over to ooh and ahh over gifts and then wrap them up and send to us to open. And after the holidays when we'll both have cameras on our computers, my mom is having a virtual shower for us. She'll be mailing us gifts ahead of time, have my friends and family over there, and we'll be able to open our gifts online with everyone watching! This Thanksgiving I'm thankful for creative, incredibly thoughtful and giving moms and friends who are making us feel surrounded by love, even from afar!
- Thanksgiving will also be a day surrounded by friends for us. We're having four people over, though I can see a few being added to that number. Thankfully we're in a place with a decent sized living room at this point, and we have a table now! I think we'll have enough food to feed at least a dozen, and though I eat a lot nowadays, I get full very quickly with my diminished (thanks to baby growing into it, and often giving it a lovely kick) stomach size. Ironically this may be our last Thanksgiving in the city for a while, and it's sad that we can't go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but with my also shrinking bladder (which was too small to begin with) and the fact that I can't be on my feet for more than 30 minutes or so - an hour at the most, at which point I tend to be in much pain - I think the parade would be one of the more miserable holiday options this year. However, it's a possibility I might be into seeing the balloons inflated the night before, if there's a place for me to sit and watch and perhaps a good restaurant nearby - the Upper West Side has a few good hole-in-the-walls.
- Oh, and as far as my pregnancy goes? I have no more placenta previa (yay!) and as of a November 14th when I went in for my final ultrasound, the baby was 3 lbs, 11 oz. With gaining 1/2 lb. a week until the birth, we're looking at an 8-9 lb kid! I'm a bit freaked out by that, but the doctor pointed out that I'm not a small person so my baby's not going to be too small, either. Dangit. We were also hoping for a last, really good 3D ultrasound. Unfortunately baby had it's hand up by it's face, and it's face pressed against the placenta, the stubborn little sucker. I don't think she was that good of an ultrasound tech, though, because she only got two semi-profile shots and they weren't that good - not even worth posting here, honestly, because some of the earlier ones were much better. I'm also getting much more sore and tired much more easily. Back and hips these days? Not feeling so good. Sleep? I go to bed hoping for 11-12 hours and end up getting maybe 7 or 8, since generally there's a period or two where I lie awake for an hour or 2, too tired to get up but too awake to sleep. But, now that I've told them, I can finally make public that...
- I've got less than four weeks of being in the workforce, indefinitely! I've wanted for so long to be a stay-at-home-mom, and now my dream's about to come true! I had to tell my boss a couple weeks ago when they were figuring out Christmas week vacations, because December 19th is my last day. Jason gets almost all of Christmas and New Years weeks off, other than possibly having to work Friday, January 2nd, though that may not even happen. It will probably be the last 2 weeks of our foreseeable futures that we get to spend entirely alone, or at least with no worries about how kids are doing back home or with grandma and grandpa. Dave will be moving out next Monday and so we'll probably spend some time getting baby's room ready. Which reminds me (last thing, I promise)...
- We're finally making some headway into buying baby gear. We bought our stroller on eBay for over $100 less than at Babies"R"Us - brand new and it literally came overnight. We had to go with a Maclaren because everyone says it is THE brand to own in NYC (light and thin and easier to carry than most all the other ones, and, like I've said, we live on the 3rd floor and have a good 3-story walk up to the subway at our stop), and this is the only of the brand that works from birth on up. We've bought bedding and I have purchased a few swaddlers and clothing items, just in case baby comes early. Jason's family is also graciously gifting baby with it's crib and mattress. Super thankful for that, and for little things my mom has sent along the way. Baby will be so loved!
- Finally finished our registries at Target and Babies"R"Us. I think I probably removed and added several hundred things, literally, over the course of the two months or so since that frightful day we began registering in-store a couple months ago. Had to get it done because...
- Saturday our awesome church community group leaders, Tom and Angie, are going to throw us a housewarming party/baby shower! We decided to do something co-ed since we wanted to have both anyhow, so the women can hang out and ooh and ahh over any gifts that are given and the guys can sit back and have a beer or glass of wine and talk about guy stuff. Most of them are graphic designers so they'll probably talk about designy things. They're not exactly the football and car lovin' kind of guys, which I don't mind - makes life easier for me! This was also the last weekend we could have it until January, at which point baby may be in the picture. We initially thought not many people could come because they'd all be out of town, but realized that those that are in town are going to be starved for friends and family, so as of now we've got about 20 who say they're coming, with more stragglers, I'm sure.
- Aside from the one here in New York, our moms are doing some creative showering for us. Jason's mom is having their church home group over to ooh and ahh over gifts and then wrap them up and send to us to open. And after the holidays when we'll both have cameras on our computers, my mom is having a virtual shower for us. She'll be mailing us gifts ahead of time, have my friends and family over there, and we'll be able to open our gifts online with everyone watching! This Thanksgiving I'm thankful for creative, incredibly thoughtful and giving moms and friends who are making us feel surrounded by love, even from afar!
- Thanksgiving will also be a day surrounded by friends for us. We're having four people over, though I can see a few being added to that number. Thankfully we're in a place with a decent sized living room at this point, and we have a table now! I think we'll have enough food to feed at least a dozen, and though I eat a lot nowadays, I get full very quickly with my diminished (thanks to baby growing into it, and often giving it a lovely kick) stomach size. Ironically this may be our last Thanksgiving in the city for a while, and it's sad that we can't go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but with my also shrinking bladder (which was too small to begin with) and the fact that I can't be on my feet for more than 30 minutes or so - an hour at the most, at which point I tend to be in much pain - I think the parade would be one of the more miserable holiday options this year. However, it's a possibility I might be into seeing the balloons inflated the night before, if there's a place for me to sit and watch and perhaps a good restaurant nearby - the Upper West Side has a few good hole-in-the-walls.
- Oh, and as far as my pregnancy goes? I have no more placenta previa (yay!) and as of a November 14th when I went in for my final ultrasound, the baby was 3 lbs, 11 oz. With gaining 1/2 lb. a week until the birth, we're looking at an 8-9 lb kid! I'm a bit freaked out by that, but the doctor pointed out that I'm not a small person so my baby's not going to be too small, either. Dangit. We were also hoping for a last, really good 3D ultrasound. Unfortunately baby had it's hand up by it's face, and it's face pressed against the placenta, the stubborn little sucker. I don't think she was that good of an ultrasound tech, though, because she only got two semi-profile shots and they weren't that good - not even worth posting here, honestly, because some of the earlier ones were much better. I'm also getting much more sore and tired much more easily. Back and hips these days? Not feeling so good. Sleep? I go to bed hoping for 11-12 hours and end up getting maybe 7 or 8, since generally there's a period or two where I lie awake for an hour or 2, too tired to get up but too awake to sleep. But, now that I've told them, I can finally make public that...
- I've got less than four weeks of being in the workforce, indefinitely! I've wanted for so long to be a stay-at-home-mom, and now my dream's about to come true! I had to tell my boss a couple weeks ago when they were figuring out Christmas week vacations, because December 19th is my last day. Jason gets almost all of Christmas and New Years weeks off, other than possibly having to work Friday, January 2nd, though that may not even happen. It will probably be the last 2 weeks of our foreseeable futures that we get to spend entirely alone, or at least with no worries about how kids are doing back home or with grandma and grandpa. Dave will be moving out next Monday and so we'll probably spend some time getting baby's room ready. Which reminds me (last thing, I promise)...
- We're finally making some headway into buying baby gear. We bought our stroller on eBay for over $100 less than at Babies"R"Us - brand new and it literally came overnight. We had to go with a Maclaren because everyone says it is THE brand to own in NYC (light and thin and easier to carry than most all the other ones, and, like I've said, we live on the 3rd floor and have a good 3-story walk up to the subway at our stop), and this is the only of the brand that works from birth on up. We've bought bedding and I have purchased a few swaddlers and clothing items, just in case baby comes early. Jason's family is also graciously gifting baby with it's crib and mattress. Super thankful for that, and for little things my mom has sent along the way. Baby will be so loved!
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