Another day and another appointment. I have a feeling that these weekly appointments are going to make the last few weeks fly by! Today we went in and I was told every week I will come in before my appointments and have Non Stress Tests (NST). The midwife had mentioned the possibility of having these at last weeks appointment, but we didn't get the confirmation until today. The purpose of the tests is just to make sure she's moving around like she supposed to. The beginning of the test she was sleeping, so they had me drink some water and she woke up and did what she was supposed to! Jared did freak out when her heart rate jumped into the 190s and he told me to relax so she would! Well the nurse was happy to tell him that it was totally normal! She explained that when Olivia is sleeping or just chilling, her heart rate is in the 150-160s. When she wakes up, her heart rate increases and that's what they want. She reassured Jared that Olivia is doing what she's supposed to.
After being hooked up for 30 minutes we went into another room for measurements and to check her position and fluids. Fluids are really good and it's looking like Olivia is weighing in at 5lbs 11oz. Currently her head is down, so we're praying she stays that way. She is measuring two days ahead of her due date, so it's anyone's guess when this little girl is going to come. We did ask the doctor how much she thought Olivia would weigh at birth and she is thinking 7-7 1/2lbs. Let's hope she's right. Jared was over 7lbs and I was over 6lbs so I'd be happy with a 6 or 7lb baby! We will have a quick ultrasound at every appointment just to make sure she doesn't flip and to monitor fluids, weight, and length. Hearing that was a nice surprise we weren't expecting.
So all in all things are going well. We've started packing our hospital bag, we finish labor and delivery classes tomorrow night, and we pre-register at the hospital on Friday! Busy, busy, busy!!
Until next time!
-AKL
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Labor/Baby Classes and Updated Due Date
Well needless to say it's been a very hectic month and we still have 2 weeks to go! Not a ton to report on but here's a snapshot of what we've been up to.
Every Thursday during the month of march we attend a labor & delivery class. It's made for some long Thursdays but all of the classes have been really helpful and eyeopening to certain aspects of labor & delivery. We're so glad we signed up for the classes! I think both Jared and I would agree that the best class was when we were able to tour the labor and delivery floor of the hospital. It made us feel more comfortable seeing where we'd be giving birth and hearing more about how they handle births at the hospital. I have had a couple of mini freak out moments while attending the labor & delivery classes but Jared keeps reminding me that many women have done this before me and that I can do it also. Easy for him to say....he doesn't have to push a watermelon out of a hole the size of a grapefruit! I've been present for births before but it's a whole different ball game when you realize you're the one that will be doing all the work and pushing this time around! We are filling out paperwork to get pre-registered at the hospital and they have you outline your birth plan. I'm trying to figure out how I can say, "My perfect birth plan would be to sneeze and she fall out!" Seriously though, wouldn't that be awesome? I know that's not going to happen but hey one can dream....right?
The past two Wednesdays we've taken a baby care class. The class was packed full of valuable information. Some information we knew and other information we had no clue about. It was fun to see how many of the guys in class had never changed a diaper or only changed one or two in their entire life. I have to admit that I was very impressed with the knowledge Jared had regarding baby care how natural he looked with the fake baby.
We went into the doctor this morning for our usual check up and found out that they've bumped up my due date to April 28th. They did tell me that where I'm at now in the pregnancy if she were to come early they wouldn't try to stop her from coming. I've reached that magical time where should she come in the next few weeks she should be just fine. We're praying she keeps cooking for at least another 4 weeks and then if she'd like to talk to us about coming early we'd be open for discussion. We can't wait for her arrival but at the same time want to make sure she has the most adequate cooking time possible. We'll go in next week for another check up and then have a brief ultrasound to make sure her head is down. There will be other tests next week as well and let me just say, NO ONE TOLD ME ABOUT ONE TEST IN PARTICULAR!!!!! It's a good thing the nurse took my blood pressure before giving me the heads up of what next week would entail!
In other kid news Shy and Chan are doing well and getting used to some baby stuff being around. Chan loves to lay on my belly at night and cuddle whereas Shy could honestly care less. I do think she knows something is coming and has kicked up her guarding skills. Which is another way of saying she's a loud mouth! We've been talking about how we're going to introduce them to the baby when we come home as well as figuring out how we're going to deal with them while we're in the hospital. I've tried to convince Jared they just need to come to the hospital with us but he's not really going for that idea.
That's all for now! Until next time!
-AKL
Every Thursday during the month of march we attend a labor & delivery class. It's made for some long Thursdays but all of the classes have been really helpful and eyeopening to certain aspects of labor & delivery. We're so glad we signed up for the classes! I think both Jared and I would agree that the best class was when we were able to tour the labor and delivery floor of the hospital. It made us feel more comfortable seeing where we'd be giving birth and hearing more about how they handle births at the hospital. I have had a couple of mini freak out moments while attending the labor & delivery classes but Jared keeps reminding me that many women have done this before me and that I can do it also. Easy for him to say....he doesn't have to push a watermelon out of a hole the size of a grapefruit! I've been present for births before but it's a whole different ball game when you realize you're the one that will be doing all the work and pushing this time around! We are filling out paperwork to get pre-registered at the hospital and they have you outline your birth plan. I'm trying to figure out how I can say, "My perfect birth plan would be to sneeze and she fall out!" Seriously though, wouldn't that be awesome? I know that's not going to happen but hey one can dream....right?
The past two Wednesdays we've taken a baby care class. The class was packed full of valuable information. Some information we knew and other information we had no clue about. It was fun to see how many of the guys in class had never changed a diaper or only changed one or two in their entire life. I have to admit that I was very impressed with the knowledge Jared had regarding baby care how natural he looked with the fake baby.
We went into the doctor this morning for our usual check up and found out that they've bumped up my due date to April 28th. They did tell me that where I'm at now in the pregnancy if she were to come early they wouldn't try to stop her from coming. I've reached that magical time where should she come in the next few weeks she should be just fine. We're praying she keeps cooking for at least another 4 weeks and then if she'd like to talk to us about coming early we'd be open for discussion. We can't wait for her arrival but at the same time want to make sure she has the most adequate cooking time possible. We'll go in next week for another check up and then have a brief ultrasound to make sure her head is down. There will be other tests next week as well and let me just say, NO ONE TOLD ME ABOUT ONE TEST IN PARTICULAR!!!!! It's a good thing the nurse took my blood pressure before giving me the heads up of what next week would entail!
In other kid news Shy and Chan are doing well and getting used to some baby stuff being around. Chan loves to lay on my belly at night and cuddle whereas Shy could honestly care less. I do think she knows something is coming and has kicked up her guarding skills. Which is another way of saying she's a loud mouth! We've been talking about how we're going to introduce them to the baby when we come home as well as figuring out how we're going to deal with them while we're in the hospital. I've tried to convince Jared they just need to come to the hospital with us but he's not really going for that idea.
That's all for now! Until next time!
-AKL
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
4/D Ultrasound part 2
I know it's been a while since I've given a personal blog update. Trust me, I've had plenty of people get on my case about that but really I don't have much to update you on besides the fact that my belly keeps getting bigger and Olivia keeps kicking harder!
For the most part I'm feeling really good and my appetite has come back. We're talking I can eat chicken again!! Whoo hoo! Gag reflexes are still touch and go. I do have some pretty good stories about that but I think I'll keep those off the blog since they're a little TMI! Let's just say I've had some good laughs with Jared and my mom who have been the primary ones to experience my episodes of gagging!
I'm still pretty tired all the time. I am able to venture out more and more but mornings and evenings are pretty rough with just wanting to stay in bed and sleep. I'm not get much sleep at night. I've got the typical potty breaks it seems every two hours and I'm struggling with my hands falling asleep all the time. Typically I fall asleep and then wake up 2-3 hours for the first potty break, try to fall back asleep, go potty again, sit up in bed trying to get the blood flowing back to my hands, watch TV or play on the iPad for 2-3 hours, go potty again, and then try to force myself back to sleep so I can wake up and work. Everyone keeps telling me to get my sleep now but that's just not happening.
Last week we went in for our final 4/D ultrasound. It was so fun getting to see Olivia again and seeing how big she's getting. She moved around a lot more than when we went for our first one. She still has a thing with her hands being in her face and new to us she likes her feet in her face as well. It's amazing to see what these babies can do in such small spaces. My mom, sister-in-law Jessica and nephew Jakob were able to join us at the ultrasound. Again Jakob had some funny things to say and got a few good laughs at what Olivia was doing. He said he could finally tell that she was a baby so that's a good thing.
We've started our labor and delivery classes and tomorrow start our baby care classes. Needless to say the month of March is extremely busy but we are learning a lot. We're getting so excited for Olivia to come!!
Below are some pictures of Olivia at our last ultrasound!
Rubbing her eyes
Hands and feet covering her face
Foot in her mouth
Glamour Shot
Until next time -
AKL
For the most part I'm feeling really good and my appetite has come back. We're talking I can eat chicken again!! Whoo hoo! Gag reflexes are still touch and go. I do have some pretty good stories about that but I think I'll keep those off the blog since they're a little TMI! Let's just say I've had some good laughs with Jared and my mom who have been the primary ones to experience my episodes of gagging!
I'm still pretty tired all the time. I am able to venture out more and more but mornings and evenings are pretty rough with just wanting to stay in bed and sleep. I'm not get much sleep at night. I've got the typical potty breaks it seems every two hours and I'm struggling with my hands falling asleep all the time. Typically I fall asleep and then wake up 2-3 hours for the first potty break, try to fall back asleep, go potty again, sit up in bed trying to get the blood flowing back to my hands, watch TV or play on the iPad for 2-3 hours, go potty again, and then try to force myself back to sleep so I can wake up and work. Everyone keeps telling me to get my sleep now but that's just not happening.
Last week we went in for our final 4/D ultrasound. It was so fun getting to see Olivia again and seeing how big she's getting. She moved around a lot more than when we went for our first one. She still has a thing with her hands being in her face and new to us she likes her feet in her face as well. It's amazing to see what these babies can do in such small spaces. My mom, sister-in-law Jessica and nephew Jakob were able to join us at the ultrasound. Again Jakob had some funny things to say and got a few good laughs at what Olivia was doing. He said he could finally tell that she was a baby so that's a good thing.
We've started our labor and delivery classes and tomorrow start our baby care classes. Needless to say the month of March is extremely busy but we are learning a lot. We're getting so excited for Olivia to come!!
Below are some pictures of Olivia at our last ultrasound!
Rubbing her eyes
Hands and feet covering her face
Foot in her mouth
Glamour Shot
Until next time -
AKL
Week 32: Mommy your HOT!
*Want to know where I got this information? Go to www.baby-gaga.com*
Weight: 4lbs Length: 17 inches
In the latest womb reports, your amazing baby has now developed sensitivity to temperature!
Which means you’re likely to get a swift kick if you put a hot pad or bag of ice on your ginormous belly.
For the Elton John lovers out there - baby’s got blue eyes.
Actually, even if you're too young to know who Elton is, all babies have blue eyes at this point.
This could easily change after birth (or even between now and labor), but for the time being, blue it is.
Thanks to their recently matured lungs and a strengthening immune system, over 90% of babies born in their 32nd week survive!
So - go ahead and throw a mini-party right now because it’s pretty much a done deal - you've got a human-bean that's going to make it!
That's not to say you actually want your wee womb-squatter to pack their bags and move out now, because they'd still end up in the ICU for a good while, rather than in your arms at home.
Babies are best when fully baked!
And how's mom doing?
Choo choo... back on the same lame symptom train and the ride is ... well, let's just say you can count getting up to pee every 10 minutes as part of your daily exercise regime. Let's be clear on one thing: your labor is your labor - it's not the doctor's, it's not your mother's, it's not even your partner's
Also, when you're getting up for your millionth potty-break, watch out for lightheadedness and get up nice-n-slow during these last weeks as your blood tends to pool in the lower limbs, resulting in low cranial blood pressure.
If you haven't yet started facing the elephant in the room, it's time to bite the bullet and talk about labor and birth.
Yes, labor isn't easy (hence the name "labor") and although contractions can be intensely painful if they're not properly managed, there are several easy and safe methods for making your contractions much more tolerable pain-wise.
To start: let's be clear on one thing: your labor is your labor - it's not the doctor's, it's not your mother's, it's not even your partner's, so it's time to start taking steps to prepare yourself for one of the most intense experiences of your life.
Labor and Birth 101
PHASE 1: EARLY LABOR:
Early labor is signaled by an increase in the rate and intensity of contractions (between 30 - 60 seconds; starting 20 minutes apart till they're 5 minutes apart), bloody show (loss of your cervical plug), water breaking (or not - it only happens to 20% of women at the onset of labor), and diarrhea is also common.
Please note that labor is not a linear process for every woman. Sometimes it starts and then recedes - the more active you are, the more you're going to encourage it to progress. The more you're relaxing horizontally and taking baths, the more slowly labor will progress.
The contractions you'll feel are powerful muscular waves of movement moving both down and across your uterine muscles, that first thin your cervix, and then begin to slowly press your baby out of the uterus and down towards the birth canal.
PHASE 2: ACTIVE LABOR:
Active labor occurs when your contractions become more intense in duration and rate. Active labor contractions last for 45 to 60 seconds, and are 3 to 5 minutes apart.
PHASE 3: TRANSITION:
Transition is what you're aiming for once you're in labor but it's also the point where your contractions are pretty much non-stop and as intense as they'll ever be because your baby's about ready to head out in the most literal sense of the expression.
If you're in the hospital, and decide to have an epidural, this is when it should be administered - and not sooner, to prevent interfering with labor.
PHASE 4: DELIVERY OF YOUR BABY:
This is an intense time when you push - in heaving intervals of groaning and bearing down like you're trying to take the most massive crap ever - in order to bring your baby out of the birth canal and into the world. This time may be marked by someone coaching you to push/bear down in intervals.
PHASE 5: DELIVERY OF THE PLACENTA:
After giving birth to your now-evicted womb resident, you should try to immediately breastfeed to help deliver the placenta as breastfeeding helps the uterus contract. The contractions you'll experience during this process will be a whimpering shadow of what you felt prior to delivering your baby.
So that's labor and birth in a quick nut-shell.
In the upcoming weeks, we'll cover the insider's view on how best to deal with labor, avoid a c-section, prevent tearing of your perineum, and loads of other surprising and disturbing facts about giving birth.
Until next time...
-AKL
Weight: 4lbs Length: 17 inches
In the latest womb reports, your amazing baby has now developed sensitivity to temperature!
Which means you’re likely to get a swift kick if you put a hot pad or bag of ice on your ginormous belly.
For the Elton John lovers out there - baby’s got blue eyes.
Actually, even if you're too young to know who Elton is, all babies have blue eyes at this point.
This could easily change after birth (or even between now and labor), but for the time being, blue it is.
Thanks to their recently matured lungs and a strengthening immune system, over 90% of babies born in their 32nd week survive!
So - go ahead and throw a mini-party right now because it’s pretty much a done deal - you've got a human-bean that's going to make it!
That's not to say you actually want your wee womb-squatter to pack their bags and move out now, because they'd still end up in the ICU for a good while, rather than in your arms at home.
Babies are best when fully baked!
And how's mom doing?
Choo choo... back on the same lame symptom train and the ride is ... well, let's just say you can count getting up to pee every 10 minutes as part of your daily exercise regime. Let's be clear on one thing: your labor is your labor - it's not the doctor's, it's not your mother's, it's not even your partner's
Also, when you're getting up for your millionth potty-break, watch out for lightheadedness and get up nice-n-slow during these last weeks as your blood tends to pool in the lower limbs, resulting in low cranial blood pressure.
If you haven't yet started facing the elephant in the room, it's time to bite the bullet and talk about labor and birth.
Yes, labor isn't easy (hence the name "labor") and although contractions can be intensely painful if they're not properly managed, there are several easy and safe methods for making your contractions much more tolerable pain-wise.
To start: let's be clear on one thing: your labor is your labor - it's not the doctor's, it's not your mother's, it's not even your partner's, so it's time to start taking steps to prepare yourself for one of the most intense experiences of your life.
Labor and Birth 101
PHASE 1: EARLY LABOR:
Early labor is signaled by an increase in the rate and intensity of contractions (between 30 - 60 seconds; starting 20 minutes apart till they're 5 minutes apart), bloody show (loss of your cervical plug), water breaking (or not - it only happens to 20% of women at the onset of labor), and diarrhea is also common.
Please note that labor is not a linear process for every woman. Sometimes it starts and then recedes - the more active you are, the more you're going to encourage it to progress. The more you're relaxing horizontally and taking baths, the more slowly labor will progress.
The contractions you'll feel are powerful muscular waves of movement moving both down and across your uterine muscles, that first thin your cervix, and then begin to slowly press your baby out of the uterus and down towards the birth canal.
PHASE 2: ACTIVE LABOR:
Active labor occurs when your contractions become more intense in duration and rate. Active labor contractions last for 45 to 60 seconds, and are 3 to 5 minutes apart.
PHASE 3: TRANSITION:
Transition is what you're aiming for once you're in labor but it's also the point where your contractions are pretty much non-stop and as intense as they'll ever be because your baby's about ready to head out in the most literal sense of the expression.
If you're in the hospital, and decide to have an epidural, this is when it should be administered - and not sooner, to prevent interfering with labor.
PHASE 4: DELIVERY OF YOUR BABY:
This is an intense time when you push - in heaving intervals of groaning and bearing down like you're trying to take the most massive crap ever - in order to bring your baby out of the birth canal and into the world. This time may be marked by someone coaching you to push/bear down in intervals.
PHASE 5: DELIVERY OF THE PLACENTA:
After giving birth to your now-evicted womb resident, you should try to immediately breastfeed to help deliver the placenta as breastfeeding helps the uterus contract. The contractions you'll experience during this process will be a whimpering shadow of what you felt prior to delivering your baby.
So that's labor and birth in a quick nut-shell.
In the upcoming weeks, we'll cover the insider's view on how best to deal with labor, avoid a c-section, prevent tearing of your perineum, and loads of other surprising and disturbing facts about giving birth.
Until next time...
-AKL
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