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.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
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!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Things are coming together
This weekend we finally met with the doula I'd been hoping to hire. Her name is Danelle Brown and I'm so excited to have chosen her! She's a designer, specializing in green living, but has recently become certified with DONA. She seems very knowledgeable and will be a warrior (self-described, before I even told her that was something I really desired!) in the hospital for me when anyone tries to come at me with any drugs or convince me that something is "for the good of the baby" when, in actuality, it's better for the hospital and staff. She did actually read up on NYU and found that they have pretty good (meaning less) c-section rates. Jason feels comfortable with her, as well, which is just as vital, since I want him to be as much a part of this as can be (meaning he'll be feeling the pain... as I throw angry words and anything within reach at him! No, hopefully Danelle can help keep me under control and play defense if need be:)). Another great thing is she lives only about eight blocks away from us (how crazy is that in a city this big?!) and will be bringing by books and DVDs (including Orgasmic Birth, crazy name, I know, but I've been wanting to see it), and she can get to me fast when I actually go into labour (or, should I say, when contractions get to be around eight minutes apart - the first part of labour can go a loooong time and we all agree it would be really great just to have the two of us, Jason and I, for the first part). She will try to bring a back-up for our next meeting this weekend, just in case, and we'll be putting together our birth plan and knocking out more logistics, etc.
I've decided I'm pretty much done with my registries at Target and Babies"R"Us. There's probably more that can be done, but I'll just be fine-tuning things from here on out.
I've been feeling a little down because I don't know if I'll be having a baby shower. Self-pity is so unflattering, but being pregnant, I'm feeling like the center of the world these days (as most pregnant women can attest to feeling). Some of the people in our church community group may throw one for us, but time is quickly running out with the holidays at hand, so Jason and I may just have a house-warming/crib-warming party in the coming weeks. As of right now we have 3 things for baby: a bed set, a diaper bag my friend Mae sent and a pair of booties my mom sent. So if baby comes today we can wrap it in the bed set, put booties on its feet, and carry it home in the diaper bag. :) I did notice Babies"R"Us is having a sale tomorrow, so hopefully I can knock some stuff off the list. We're also praying that Dave finds a new apartment soon so that we don't have to kick him out (he's working crazy long hours for overtime and I know he doesn't want to burden and will probably be out before we even ask, such a sweet man!) and can get the baby's room ready during Christmas week.
One bright spot is that my best girlfriend Kelsye may make it out in February!!! I don't know when any of the moms will be able to come, which breaks my heart a bit (but they've all got so much going on in their lives and very valid reasons for not being able to make it right away). But to have Kelsye make it would be so beautiful. She'll get to be one of the first of people we've known for more than two-and-a-half years to see our little lanky, pasty white babe.
I've decided I'm pretty much done with my registries at Target and Babies"R"Us. There's probably more that can be done, but I'll just be fine-tuning things from here on out.
I've been feeling a little down because I don't know if I'll be having a baby shower. Self-pity is so unflattering, but being pregnant, I'm feeling like the center of the world these days (as most pregnant women can attest to feeling). Some of the people in our church community group may throw one for us, but time is quickly running out with the holidays at hand, so Jason and I may just have a house-warming/crib-warming party in the coming weeks. As of right now we have 3 things for baby: a bed set, a diaper bag my friend Mae sent and a pair of booties my mom sent. So if baby comes today we can wrap it in the bed set, put booties on its feet, and carry it home in the diaper bag. :) I did notice Babies"R"Us is having a sale tomorrow, so hopefully I can knock some stuff off the list. We're also praying that Dave finds a new apartment soon so that we don't have to kick him out (he's working crazy long hours for overtime and I know he doesn't want to burden and will probably be out before we even ask, such a sweet man!) and can get the baby's room ready during Christmas week.
One bright spot is that my best girlfriend Kelsye may make it out in February!!! I don't know when any of the moms will be able to come, which breaks my heart a bit (but they've all got so much going on in their lives and very valid reasons for not being able to make it right away). But to have Kelsye make it would be so beautiful. She'll get to be one of the first of people we've known for more than two-and-a-half years to see our little lanky, pasty white babe.
Neil's the Man!
My best girlfriend Kelsye knows I love Neil Diamond. Lord knows how I tortured her on my 16th birthday when she spent the night, I put his admittedly bad remake of Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen on repeat, and went off to get ready for the day, leaving her with the song for, I don't know, a good hour. Of all the things I've done to her, that may be one of the few she'll never forgive me for! So now it's become sort of a thing that she teases me about, but I know she finds it endearing. This weekend I received for my birthday from her an original Japanese poster from Neil's only starring role in a movie, The Jazz Singer. Probably one of the most creative birthday gifts ever!
So now we've decided to start up a "rock and roll" kitchen again, like we had when living in Seattle. That one was plastered with posters, particularly since Jason worked at Tooth and Nail and we had easy access to all we wanted. This one will be more upscale. I'm off to buy a poster frame right now!
So now we've decided to start up a "rock and roll" kitchen again, like we had when living in Seattle. That one was plastered with posters, particularly since Jason worked at Tooth and Nail and we had easy access to all we wanted. This one will be more upscale. I'm off to buy a poster frame right now!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Knock-knock!
My new favorite thing to do at the end of a long, stressful day, is to lay half on my back with my shirt pulled up and my feet up on the ottoman and play knock-knock with Baby P. In the last week he (I mainly say "he" just because it's easier and I still have a strong feeling, as do most of my friends, that it's a boy) has been very, very active. After last week's doctor visit (I'm up to seeing him every two weeks now!) and getting the quick ultrasound, I know that the head is down and angled towards my right side and he's got his legs crossed so his feet are up by my ribs/stomach these days. That means I can poke him around where his knees or feet are, or his head (although I feel like I'm pushing in his face), and get a reaction. I can almost hear a whiny voice saying "Mooooom, stop poking me!". The weirdest thing is when I my whole belly shifts as he rolls over, or does something to that effect. And this morning when I woke up my belly was noticeably bulging on the right side over the left. He's definitely found my ribs so I do my best to shake my belly around and get him to shift, but generally it doesn't work but get him more active, kicking up a storm. I find it mostly amusing, though. He also gets hiccups which is funny. In fact, I think he's got some right now... or else he's responding to the peanut butter and chocolate ice cream I just ate.
And apparently I'm looking pretty small. I'd much prefer that over looking as though I'm ready to pop! I'm just at six-and-a-half months and some people can't believe that. The big boss of our company, on leaving last night, commented that I must be eating healthy because I look really good (I myself was expecting to blow up like a balloon or at least get a fat face, which hasn't happened yet, thanks be to God!). I started laughing at that; everyone else that walks by and sees my eating habits knows what a joke that is!
And apparently I'm looking pretty small. I'd much prefer that over looking as though I'm ready to pop! I'm just at six-and-a-half months and some people can't believe that. The big boss of our company, on leaving last night, commented that I must be eating healthy because I look really good (I myself was expecting to blow up like a balloon or at least get a fat face, which hasn't happened yet, thanks be to God!). I started laughing at that; everyone else that walks by and sees my eating habits knows what a joke that is!
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