week 4

tonight was SUPER FUN!!

chenelle and i had a delicious dinner at algusto, followed by a wonderful childbirth class focused on medical interventions and complications during labor and delivery. we both learned some stuff from the class...here's what i remember...

...there are stage 1, 2, 3 and 4 of tearing

...stage 2 = size of cut with an episiotomy

...doing kegel's (may) help reduce the amount/degree of tearing during delivery

...if your water breaks and you feel pulsating in your vagina, IMMEDIATELY put your knees to your chest with your butt in the air and call 911. this is VERY SERIOUS, you might even have to go for a ride in a helicopter to get the hospital in time to save the baby

...only be scared if being induced "cold" (i.e., no other natural signs of labor have occurred), but if induction is augmenting labor, it won't be quite as bad/painful

...having your membranes stripped does not sound like something i'm interested in

...vacuum extraction looks worse than it actually feels (at least when you do it on your arm)

...enlisting the help of a doula during labor and delivery might be worth re-considering

...it's okay for kenny to sit with me in the hospital bed during labor (just not when it's time to push)

____

that's what's fresh in my mind right now, but it's kinda late, so that's all for now. :)

possibly my favorite pregnancy shirt!

at bowden's last game

1.1.2010
me: 26 wks pregnant
kz: a pretty young non-pregnant thing must've distracted him, as he's clearly NOT looking at the camera! ;)

a quilt from great-grandma

yesterday i visited my grandma and she showed me this SUPER CUTE material that she wants to make a little quilt for carter out of. isn't it the cutest??? it's a michael miller fabric and i looked at some of his other stuff online and i LOVE IT! it's giving me an itch to take up sewing...kenny would have a cow! lol. me and my crazy creative juices. :)

just got back from seeing the midwife and...

...i didn't gain any weight in the last 3 wks!! woo hoo!! chenelle and i will celebrate with chips, queso, salsa and other assorted mexican foods tonight at algusto! deliciousness---i can't wait for good mexican food AND part 1 of girl time this week!

...carter is measuring right on and his heartbeat sounded great

...i don't need to worry about being induced (as this is one of my biggest fears) until i get to 40wks

...there's no need for me to do fetal kick counts as long as i'm feeling him move around daily

...it's not necessary to buy the $50/month prescription prenatal vitamin--the one for $3 or $4 works just as well (if only i'd asked about this when i started taking the darn things in may!)

...no need to worry about internals--we won't do those until 39wks (or if i'm experiencing symptoms of labor)

30wks today

{{70 days to go.}}

___________

how far along: 30 wks exactly
total weight gain/loss: +23.2 lbs...why oh why do i keep gaining weight? i know i'm not eating THAT MUCH! oh well...i'm sure i'm gonna hear about it from the midwife when i go on wednesday...i can't wait...
waist circumference: 36.5 inches
how big baby is: almost the size of a squash--about 15.2 inches long and 2.5 lbs!
maternity clothes: an absolute necessity; although, i'm pretty comfortable wearing my pre-pregnancy shirts around the house and just letting the belly hang out...:)
stretch marks: no...and keeping my fingers crossed that they NEVER come!!
sleep: last night SUCKED, but whatever...it is what it is...it varies nightly
best moment this week: reading a note kenny wrote me...he said, among other things, "remember: carter loves you"...i just never thought about that before...
movement: pretty much anytime i'm laying (or is it lying??) on my back
food cravings: since i've had my little cold, it's weird, it's like i can no longer tell if i'm hungry and when i eat, i have no idea when i'm "full". maybe it's a cold thing or maybe it's a pregnancy thing??
gender: he better still be a BOY! i can't wait to see him at our 3d ultrasound on the 6th!
labor signs: none
belly button: still in
what i miss: a full night's sleep; laying on my back in bed watching tv without getting weird pain in my lower back/buttocks region
what i am looking forward to: the 3d ultrasound...the showers...eventually meeting carter...
weekly wisdom: ??
milestone: braxton hicks contractions...

our saturday

highlights from our classes
...breastfeeding is instinctual
...if you put baby on your chest, skin to skin, he'll root around until his cheek finds nipple and latch on--even right out of the womb! (it looked SO EASY in the video, but i KNOW it won't be like that in real life)
...if it hurts to breastfeed, you're doing it wrong
...introduce expressed milk at 4 weeks! (which seems a little soon, but i'm no lactation consultant)
...if baby lays on mom's chest skin to skin, mom's body temperature will automatically adjust to whatever temperature baby needs--so if baby's cold, mom's body temperature will go up to warm baby
...
i'm sure i learned a whole lot more, but those are the things that are sticking out in my mind now.

then...
highlights from date night
...delicious udon and the fabulous frank roll (no sesame seeds, no asparagus) from tokyo sushi
...going to the indian film festival to see "amal." it was a GREAT MOVIE, but i am partial to indian movies and the indian culture in general. you should check it out! it's a well-filmed (and produced) movie AND a GREAT STORY! :)

on today and tomorrow

today i spent the day with chenelle and it was awesome! i'm holdin' out hope that carter will have blue eyes like his daddy, even though brown eyes is the dominant gene (and he'll have that from me). i'm able to hold out hope because the little boys we were with today have a brown-eyed daddy and a blue-eyed mommy and the boys both have blue eyes! and speakin' of those boys, they are so stinkin' cute! it was so neat to see how much they've grown since the first time i hung out with chenelle at work and how i can't wait for carter to make my heart sing like those bundles of joy do!

enough with the sappy stuff...

so tomorrow is a BIG DAY filled with childbirth education classes at tgh. we have "breastfeeding 101" from 10am-12:30pm (which i'm sure kenny is ECSTATIC about) and then "newborn basics" from 1:30pm-4:30pm! i hope it's not information overload, but we shall see. oooo, i just remembered that i need to look around and decide where we should eat lunch tomorrow. i don't know that i'm ready to try out the cafeteria at tgh, but they do have a mcdonalds...hmmmm...we'll see...

week 3

last night was week three of our childbirth class and all i can say is WOW! i told kenny that it was a good thing that i didn't know about all this stuff before we were trying to conceive or i might not have allowed conception to occur. things like "tearing" and "the ring of fire" are NOT on my "things i want to experience in life" list.

on a happier note, we toured the hospital last night and were able to see the labor and delivery tub rooms they have, as well as the postpartum rooms. the labor and delivery rooms are nice and spacious--kenny will even have a "bed," though i don't know that i'll actually let him use it ;), but the postpartum rooms are a different story! we'll be spending the majority of our time in the postpartum rooms and they only have one uncomfortable-looking chair (other than the hospital bed i'll be confined to). the thought of spending 36 hours in there might be the motivation i need to find a pediatrician (one with weekend hours if possible).

next week's class will be even better!! *sarcasm* week four covers all possible complications during labor and delivery. kenny picked the perfect week to skip, but poor chenelle, who has so kindly stepped in to fill his place.

it's a little late...but here's what 29 wks looks like...

{{77 days to go.}}

i'm still sick and don't feel like posting an update, so...no update fo' you! ;)

on being sick

i really

HATE

being

sick.

luckily, pre-pregnancy, i didn't have to experience this very often (even when i worked at sydney's school and about all those kids would share was germs), but now that my immune system STINKS, it seems to happen more often--or maybe i just get more sick when i get sick?

doesn't my immune system know that i have plans and that girl time doesn't happen all that often (and once carter gets here, it REALLY won't happen often), so calling out sick to girl time is NOT AN OPTION?!?

blah! oh well. i did break down and go to cvs for something to take over the counter that had a low risk of hurting carter just so i would be able to go tonight. don't judge me. a smart lady i know once said, if this baby can't make it in your uterus while you're doing life, then how do you expect this baby to make it in your life when he gets here...or something like that. i am SO NOT GOOD with repeating exactly what said (yes, i admit, i'm the one who always screwed up the telephone game). when i was early on in pregnancy, i thought this was a little harsh, but i think it fits now and we're gonna go with it!

i'm off to shower and get myself together to be seen in public (yes, i did go to seffner cvs in clothes not necessarily fit for "public", but it's seffner--you'd understand if you visited and/or lived here).

so the midwife called...

and apparently my iron is low and i must now take an iron supplement in addition to my prenatal vitamin. i guess they were able to determine this from my glucose test that i took (and passed) on friday. it isn't really a big deal i suppose--i don't think it hurt carter any, but it does bother me a little seeing that i haven't had blood work done since...gosh, i don't even remember...first trimester or maybe early 2nd trimester. oh well. there's nothing i can do about it now.

another productive weekend thanks to my wonderful husband!

...we picked up the furniture from treehouse (thanks don and dad)
...kenny painted the wall behind the frame red
...kenny painted "CARTER"
...kenny reinforced the frame
...kenny hung up all of the items we have thus far in carter's room
...kenny sanded and stained the gun rack
...i lined (some of) the drawers
...we ordered towels for carter's bathroom
...we measured for the shade for carter's room

{{wow, i look like a lazy pregnant lady, don't i??}}

anyway, we still have some stuff that needs to be done, but everything's really coming along! :)

on another note, i get the feeling that the blog is lame. i'll have to do some blog stalking to see what other women in my shoes are blogging about. i've been toying with some ideas but not sure exactly what will shake things up like i want, well things other than carter joining this planet. but once he gets here, i'm sure the LAST thing i'll have time for is blogging! oh well, no stress...no stress...no stress...

nursery update

i'm so excited! yesterday the crib arrived and last night kenny and i put it together. then, this morning, the crib mattress came in! it's really starting to look like a nursery!

i hope carter likes cowboys!

oh, and tomorrow we're picking up the rest of the furniture from treehouse!

__________

my biggest fears on birthing a babe...

(1) being induced

(2) having a c-section

(3) getting an epidural

it's good to know that i can change my mind and get an epidural as late as 8cm, but it still freaks the sheet outta me to even consider it!

they're clean!!

the carpets were cleaned yesterday so now we can finally make arrangements to pick up the rest of carter's furniture from treehouse gallery! i'm SOOO excited! hopefully we'll be able to do it this weekend!

AND the crib is scheduled to arrive on thursday

AND the crib mattress is scheduled to arrive on friday!!

SOOO carter could be well on his way to a complete nursery by the time this weekend is over!!

this makes mommy happy!! :) mommy? really? did i just type that? hmmm, i wonder if i will go by mommy? i guess there's a chance that i will. :)

28 wks! that means carter's viable!! yay!

{{84 days to go.}}

________________

how far along: exactly 28 wks
total weight gain/loss: +21.2 lbs...which means i actually lost a little from last week! the midwife will be proud.
waist circumference: 36inches still
how big baby is: 14.8 inches long and 2.2 lbs--the size of an eggplant!
maternity clothes: just got another HUGE bag of maternity clothes to borrow from stephanie! i'm SOOO grateful!
stretch marks: not yet
sleep: still good. i've been waking up less the last few nights, which is NICE.
best moment this week: knowing that carter is viable now!
movement: yes!
food cravings: i've really been "craving" boston cream cupcakes--now i just need to come up with an excuse to make them. :)
gender: boy--i can't wait to meet our little carter brian!
labor signs: none
belly button: still in, but slowly disappearing. kenny doesn't think it'll pop out; he thinks it'll just stretch to nothing.
what i miss: having a little vodka and peach schnapps in my orange juice at dinner.
what i am looking forward to: the carpets getting cleaned and the crib coming in so we can set up carter's room and get the remaining furniture from treehouse
weekly wisdom: eat the red grapes instead of the green ones
milestone: still waitin' on the braxton hicks

a productive weekend

all i can say is that kenny is amazing and that i wouldn't get as near as much done without his help! we make such a great team--always have and (hopefully) always will!

what we did this weekend:

...found the last "r" for "carter"
...hung "carter" on the wall
...built and hung the frame to go around "carter"
...bought the red paint and tested it out
...laid 15 bags of mulch (only about 30 bags to go!!)
...hung the shelf over the window in carter's room
...got the fabric tape to "hem" carter's curtains
...got new bathmats for carter's bathroom
...hung the shower curtains in carter's bathroom
...ordered the crib

and we still managed to find some time to have some fun. we watched "adam"--it's a pretty good movie (a romantic comedy about a guy with asperger's).

p.s. carter's sign isn't finished yet. we are still deciding between:
option 1: painting the letters dark red
option 2: painting the wall inside the frame dark red and painting the letters off-white with brown cow spots.
right now, option 2 is the leading contender.

although this is about 15 hours late, i just HAVE to say

that there is NOTHING like a chocolate drumstick ice cream cone--especially after a two hour cry/crazy fest!

i don't know if they're so delicious b/c they truly ARE delicious, or if they're MORE delicious b/c you can ONLY get them if you buy the variety pack. i'll just never know. so much for "watching my carbs." good thing the midwife doesn't read my blog. ;)

and we're off...

to class one of six for childbirth preparation and delivery. sounds like fun! i hope they don't tell any horrendous birth stories. i have done such a good job of keeping such things away from my eyes and ears thus far. :)

as i look back...

on pictures of me at 10wks and 12wks pregnant and look at myself in the mirror, i think 'holy cow! man, i guess i was pretty skinny to start with' and 'sheesh, did i really think that i was showing then?' it's funny how gaining 20plus pounds (and BARELY being in third trimester) will do that to ya!

maybe one day i'll go back to almost normal. a girl can dream, right?

and one last thing...

dear strangers questioning whether my baby is "growing okay in there,"

i appreciate your genuine concern about my unborn child, but it is perfectly common for a woman just shy of 7 months pregnant to NOT be as large as a house! and yes, i have talked to my "doctor" about this. she assures me that carter is measuring right on target and she predicts his arrival date to be april 10th, 2010.

thank you again for your concern, but please...keep your freakin' comments to yourself!

sincerely,
mrs. az

right now...

...i feel like poo. the heartburn is out of control and i was told today that i need to "watch my carb intake" b/c i've gained 14 lbs in 6 wks. BLAH! i SO SUCK at watching what i eat. if i want something, i'll eat it, but i guess that's what got me here. :(

...i need to get dinner started. we're trying something new tonight, some publix fish recipe. we shall see if it makes it into the rotation.

...i feel a tad bit inspired plus three-quarters loser-like and it's all because of this super awesome blog i stumbled upon yesterday. the ideas are brilliant and don't seem too difficult and the photos are gorgeous...if only i had a new camera. but how can i justify a new camera when there's a new baby coming into this world who needs more important (and expensive) things like a crib and an infant car seat and diapers...and when i have a super awesome husband who provides me/us (including carter) with absolutely every thing we need who would LOVE a macbook pro? that's right, i can't justify it! oh boo hoo...there are people starving and im blubbering on about wanting a new camera. i'm just in a poopy mood. i'll go make dinner now and put an end to this.

carter's coming home outfit

27 wk pic

{{91 days to go.}}

today a lady at the publix bakery asked me how far along i was. i told her 7 months. she responded, "is the baby growing okay?" i'm definitely going to ask the midwife about this tomorrow--she is like the 6th stranger who's made a comment along these lines. but i keep reminding myself...I'VE GAINED 20 POUNDS!! the baby BETTER be growing okay.

27 wk update

for those of you who don't know me all that well, i can be a little strange at times, especially about numbers. for instance, i don't like doing odd-numbered week updates (as in, a 27 wk update)--which is why all of my updates up until this point have been even-numbered; however, i slacked off last week, so i must do an update this week. here it goes...

_____________

how far along: 27 wks exactly
total weight gain/loss: +23 lbs...hello 140's...i don't like you very much!! :p
waist circumference: about 36 inches--i did the measuring myself this morning and usually kenny does it to make sure it's in a line
how big baby is: on his way to eggplant-size! 13.6 inches and 1.5 lbs!
maternity clothes: are pretty much a necessity these days. i'm gonna have to buy some bras soon because my pre-pregnancy bras have not been fitting adequately for quite some time.
stretch marks: no, just a lot of visible veins running through my belly.
sleep: it's pretty good. i wake up at least 4 times a night still and last night i couldn't even stay up until 11pm! i think the fatigue people talk about in the third trimester has arrived unfortunately.
best moment this week: of this past week, i'd have to say it's a tie between having a wonderful dinner with my husband at 29 south eats in amelia island while on our babymoon and finding the PERFECT going home outfit for carter (look for photos soon).
movement: yes! it's pretty consistent but a little different than it was early on. it's hard to explain.
food cravings: gotta have my almonds and ice cream sandwiches!!
gender: boy--i'm gonna make them check at our 3d/4d ultrasound in a few weeks just to be sure...again.
labor signs: none
belly button: it's in still, but barely.
what i miss: not having to think about how often i've had fish to determine whether or not i can have some more.
what i am looking forward to: seeing carter again at our 3d/4d ultrasound and crossing off some of the things on my MASSIVE to do list. (props to kenny though for helping me cross off 2 pretty big items yesterday! where would i be without you? and who would move around all the furniture and take me for krispy kreme hot now runs??)
weekly wisdom: none yet, maybe i'll get some tomorrow after going to the midwife.
milestone: braxton hicks contractions??? i think that should be soon.