Maternity Leave

Yesterday I did a post on some of our pregnancy photos from this past weekend.  I'm sure you all noticed how puffy I looked in them. While I know this is common for late pregnancy, I have been more swollen and puffy than normal.  In the week between appointments I put on 10lbs.  (I can't believe I just put that out on the internet...) My doctor came into the exam room took one look at me, asked if I was still working, I said yes, and he said I was done.  Most of that wieght gain is fluid and with her being big and pressing on everything, I needed to be laying down resting more.  He didn't want me going back Wednesday, but I think he could tell that I would go regardless, so he said I could go Wednesday, but not after that.  It came as a total shock to us, I thought I still had a couple of weeks left to finish up some stuff.  All of this was made even more complicated by the fact that the temp who is filling in for me was sick and therefore didn't start until Wednesday. So my last day was her first.

Needless to say Wednesday was crazy at work. I apologized the temp, and then threw her into the deepend.  Luckily she seemed to swim instead of sink, so that makes me feel a bit better.  There was just so much I didn't get to go over with her... Add to that my boss was out of town and didn't come back to the office until today.  And it's added up to be a stressful week. 

So back to Wednesday, my wonderful awesome amazing co-workers put together a baby shower for us.  If I get a copy of the pictures, I'll be sure to write a post about that.  Our office has never looked better.  It was heartwarming to see the effort they put into this event.  I truely feel loved by the people I work with, who I consider more friends than co-workers.  They were so so soooo generous to us!

After the shower, we had to quickly load up the cars, I finished a few last minute projects and we went straight to our birthing class.  Are you tired yet? Because going through it all again is making me tired.  Needless to say, by the time I got home Wednesday I think I was about as miserable as I've been.   I went straight to bed without passing go or collecting $200.  Everything was swollen, everything hurt, and I was just plain done.

So now I am officially on maternity leave.  It's wierd.  I got up yesterday and worked for about 5 hours on some stuff I took with me, before I realized that I was doing the exact same thing I do at work and when my feet hurt to bend and tingle when I stood, I realized I needed to stop and rest.  After all, that is the point of being on leave. So I layed down the rest of the night and after sleeping I've noticed that the swelling has gone down some, but it's still ready to pile up.  I had plans of going to the office today, but since I'm starting to recover I don't want to push it, so I'll wait till Monday.  This late pregnancy stuff is no joke!  I'm still shocked by it because it was so easy up to this point.  Oh well, just gotta keep reminding myself that it's worth it and she'll be here within the next couple weeks.

On an up note, because I've had time to just rest, I've been feeling baby girl a lot.  Now when I touch her I can feel little body parts like feet and legs.  It's pretty awesome!  Plus now I know she's doing good in there.  Before I got so busy that I wouldn't always pay attention to her moving and then panic because I thought she hadn't moved in awhile.  So we're doing good. Just resting up for the big day whenever it comes.  But that is my long drawn out description of Wednesday and why I am now on leave instead of pulling my wieght at work (I don't have a guilty conscience or anything...)  I have a fun post in mind for my next blog. I don't know if I'll get to write it tomorrow though, because we'll be busy celebrating Haley turning 12 (I can't believe she's the same 7 year old I met four and a half years ago!)  Have a great weekend everyone!

Pregnancy Photo Teaser

This past weekend Mike and I had some pregnancy photo's taken by a friend of ours, Brian Terry.  He did a fantastic job and was nice enough to send me a few teaser pictures.  I've gotten his permission to share a couple with you!  Now I have to say, if I'm being honest, I didn't realize at the time just how puffy and pregnant I look at this stage.  I mean I know we're full term, but it still caught me a little off guard.  I wanted documentation of this time in our lives, so I'm trying to not dwell on how I look.  And the pictures really did turn out great ~ I can't wait to see the rest!  But here are a couple that he shared with me this morning:

Photographer: Brian Terry

Photographer: Brian Terry

Photographer: Brian Terry

This last photo I'm going to share is my favorite of the group.  I just love how it turned out!  If you are interested in Brian doing some photo's of you, let me know and I'll put you in contact with him.  He's really easy to work with and as you can see, he gets some great shots!  I really can't wait to see the rest of the pictures!!!

Photographer: Brian Terry

I have been put on maternity leave early by my doctor (more on that later...), so check back often for more updates.  I have a feeling I'll be posting a lot more regularly until the baby gets here!  Thanks again Brian for coming out and taking photo's of us!

Coming Home Outfit

I wish I was better at posting on here!!! I have several blogs swirling around my head that I've never taken the time to sit down and write.  So in trying to be slightly better, I'm forging ahead with another post.  I have finally taken the time to take some pictures of her coming home outfit.  A while back, probably in September or October I decided that I wanted to make something for our baby girl to come home in.  The coming home outfit is important because it's the first time we get to dress her and it's what she'll wear in her first forray into the world.

I should let you all know that we are surrounded by many talented, creative people who are are all anxious to make something for our little one.  I knew I wouldn't have to do much to get a one of a kind handmade outfit.  My mom sews, Mike's mom, both my sisters, and several others are handy with a crochet hook and knitting needles.  But then so am I!  I took up crocheting probably 10 years ago, so while I'm no expert, I'm certainly capable of making something for my little girl.  Most of what I've created, up to this point, have been afghan's, hats, scarves, beanies, and a few various other things.... but I really wanted to do something different.  After all, this is my first baby and she deserves something special from her momma.

So I hit up a few local craft stores and found a pattern I thought I could pull off.  I've never made clothing, or booties, but what the heck, I was feeling ambitious.  I got all of my supplies together and set to work.  It took me about 3 days to complete this outfit.  (3 days of working on it, after work in the evenings and whatnot)  Anyways here it is:

Now I need to give credit where credit is due.  I made the outfit, Mike's mom made the baby afghan and gave it to us for Christmas.  But what better backdrop for these pictures than her crafty work!?  Anyways, this is the first sweater and booties I've ever attempted and I have to say that I'm pleased with how they came out.  I was really worried when I first completed this set that it would be too big for her, but as we all know, she's a big baby so I think it'll work just fine!!  I've made beanies before, so this one was fairly easy, it was just on a smaller scale.  Here are some closer shots the individual pieces:

So there it is ~ a part of our little girls coming home outfit.  I'm not sure yet what she will wear underneath the sweater, but I'm pretty sure my mom has something up her sleeve that will be perfect!  I have a feeling that every part of her coming home outfit and accessories will be special and unique made by the people who love her already!  The afghan will also be making the trip to the hospital.  Here's a closeup of it and some of the details:

Thanks for stopping by and checking in on us!   I really am going to try to get some of these blogs out of my head and onto paper er computer, whatever!!!

Baby Update

So I just wrote a somewhat boring post about our birth plan.  But what I'm sure all of your want to know is how the baby is doing... So here's an update from our appointment this past Tuesday.

Right now, we are officially 3 days from being considered full term (37 weeks).  But Tuesday, they did another growth ultrasound on her to see how big she's grown in the past 4 weeks.  Can you guess how big she is/was?  I've given you some context clues in my past blog about her weight... No.... No guesses...?  Well let's just say that the ultrasound tech called her "big boned, petite".  She was making small talk while she was measuring her femur (thigh bone) and said that some babies are really long and that's what makes them so large.  Ok, nothing wrong with that, I'm fairly long... Then she measured the circumference of her head and her talking of being long kinda dwindled as she has a big head too...  Any guesses yet?!...  No? So she got her measurements together and pulled up the same chart that showed our baby teetering on the upper line last time.  Well now, she was way up in the clouds...  Am I peeking your curiosity at all?  I know Mike is better at the humorous and entertaining posts, but I'm trying here people!  Anyways our sweet little girl is...

8 lbs!! 

Yup that's right!  Well she was 8lbs on Tuesday, so I'm sure she's grown since then.  And yes, we had (4) weeks to go until her due date.  Healthy little girl in there. 

Fun ultrasound stuff: This time on the ultrasound we got to see her practicing breathing, we could see her little diaphragm working hard to prepare her for the real deal.  We saw her little face for a fraction of a minute, but then we couldn't get a good shot for a picture (bummer!).  But it did look like she has Mike's nose.  And lastly we got to see that she has some hair on her head.  Well, really all we saw was hair on the back of her head.  With the shadows and the way she was facing we could only see the bottom of the back of her head.  Hopefully it goes all the way up, otherwise she'll look like a little old man when she's born...  While this would not be my preference, if she happens to just have an old man's ring of hair I'll there for her, I'll buy her lots of cute hats and beenies off etsy.  I'm a hat girl, she can be too!!  Oh!  and she had a full belly from breakfast (in case you wanted to know).  It's always fun to see our little girl, I can't wait until she gets here and I get to see her little face for real!!!

So then we checked in with doctor.  He's officially deemed us "Short Timers" and we'll be going to see him once a week from here on out.  He'll also be checking labor progress from now on.  As of Tuesday, I was no where near close to having her.  She is still safely locked up in my uterus.  She's big, but she's not ready yet.  He did want to make us aware that it may come down to a C-Section.  He wasn't trying to scare us, but he wanted us to be aware that the bigger she gets, the more it's a possibility.  In his words, "it's better than a path of destruction on her way out".  When you put it like that, I can get okay with the thought of a C-Section.  I think it's really put the pressure on Mike though, I'm pretty sure he's convinced we won't be going until the 20th.  He told me the other night that I might get sick of him, because he feels the need to be close to me right now (As if I would ever complain about that!)  So I think he's getting into "go" mode.

Other than that, I'm trying to get us ready.  My temporary replacement for my maternity leave starts Monday for training.  I'm getting all of our paperwork filled out and ready, and making sure we have our bag packed.  (It only has a few things in it right now...)  Oh!  But I did put together our "comfort bag" because we needed it for our birthing class Wednesday.  And, Um, I was trying to look all together so I got some of the stuff suggested (rather than an empty bag with the one massage tool I won in Sicily for taking the best care of my electronic baby, (irony), which is all we had previously)  Anyway, I attempted to make one of those rice sock thingy's.  Well, I made the rice sock just fine, but we were told to have something for all senses (touch, site, smell, taste, sound) so I added some lavender vanilla essential oil.  And um, yeah it stinks (I think I used too much), and the worst part is, it's been sitting in that zipped bag since Wednesday, so I'm pretty sure all the other stuff in there will smell now too... whoops!!!

So there you go, that's been our week in nutshell when it comes to baby Gill.  And no, we still don't have a name so don't ask ;-).

P.S.  I lied, there is one more thing I want to share.  This is going to sound horrible, but I'm going to put it out there anyway... our baby already prefers Mike.  Any time he talks to her or touches her, she responds almost instantly.  I can talk to her and touch her and get nothing half the time...  What's a mom gotta do to get some love around here!?  Haha

Birth Plan

A couple of weeks ago I told you I would share with you my birth plan for this baby.  Prior to being pregnant, I had never heard of such a thing.  I thought having a baby was pretty straight forward.  However, after attending 3 birthing classes and talking to several "been there, done that" mom's I realize this is not the case.  There are a multitude of options when it comes to your baby entering the world.  Your birth plan can contain almost anything you want.  You could almost pretend to have a medical degree, and believe me, some women have! 

But back to my birth plan.  I am a fairly traditional girl, I'm planning on having her at Baptist Hospital and letting my OB deliver her.  I think it's pretty clear at that this point that we love our OB, and I am going to trust him and his recommendations for most (all) medical decisions.  After all, he's delivered hundreds of babies and I've delivered none.  We've learned a ton of stuff in our birthing class and feel like we're informed of our options and what could happen, so I don't think there will be anything too scary or out there that we haven't considered, or been forced into facing.  (Believe me, our last class was intense enough with all the things that could happen... yike-et-y yikes yikes!!!)  Of course, (this goes without saying) I'm hoping for a smooth uncomplicated delivery.

Most of the things that are important enough for me to put down on paper (yes your birthing plan should be on paper, 1 page or less typed and you should bring several copies with you to the hospital in case a shift change during your delivery, FYI) have to do with after delivery.  I've done a lot of research (shocker I know!) and I have some specific requests for after she's born.  So here are my requests:

• As long as my baby is healthy, I would like my baby placed skin to skin on my abdomen with a warm blanket over us.
• Please delay all essential routine procedures on my baby until after the bonding and nursing period
• If the baby needs immediate medical attention, I would like my partner to stay with the baby
• Please allow my partner and I (1) hour bonding time before guests can visit
• My baby is to be exclusively nursed
• DO NOT offer my baby any of the following without my consent:
• Formula
• Pacifiers
• Any artificial nipples
• Sugar water
• Anything to soothe or feed other than myself

While this may seem a little strange to some of you out there in blog reader land, there are reason as to why these things are important to me.  There have been numerous studies done show the benefits of holding your baby against your skin as soon as she's born.  But beyond those, I think birth is also traumatic for my little one.  I want to be able to bring a sense of calm back into her little world.  I've taken care of her for the past 9 1/2 months, I want to her to know I'm still there to keep her warm and make her feel safe.  Some of the stuff they do to your baby can wait until things have calmed down a bit.

The other bullet points about nursing are important to me because I want to give myself the best shot at being successful.  It can be stressful enough learning how to feed your baby, that I don't want to confuse her by shoving a bunch of different things in her mouth.  By instinct, a baby knows how to nurse, however mom's don't.  It's a learning process, or can be, and I want to be successful, so I'm doing what I can to make that happen.

I do have a few other specific things on our plan that I'll go ahead and share.  I realize this a boring post, but if your like me, you want to know everything... So here they are:

• Upon arrival at the hospital, I want to have my partner with me at all times
• Please keep the door shut while I'm in labor
• I DO NOT want a mirror or video of any sort during delivery (delivery is gross! The moment your child enters the world is beautiful, don't get me wrong.  But before that, it's not pretty)
• If a C-Section becomes neccissary, please show me my baby immediately after she's born
• I prefer to have a hand free to touch my baby
• If the baby need medical attention, I prefer my partner to stay with the baby
• If the baby is healthy I would like my partner to be the baby's constant source of attention until I am free to bond with her (i.e. holding, skin to skin, etc.)

So there you go, that's our birth plan in a nutshell.  Nothing to fancy or complicated.  In fact, I believe a lot of it is stuff they do automatically anyway now a days, but it doesn't hurt to put it out there that these things are important to me.  After all, how will they know if I don't tell them ;-)

(And yes, today I like typing with (parenthesis))

How To Birth A Baby

What is a "birthing class?"

I've been fielding that question a whole lot lately. Namely because I have to explain why I'm unavailable to anyone who wants to make any plans or do anything on a Wednesday night between 6:30-8:30 p.m. from now until the baby is born. Most people have an acute lack of understanding as to exactly what a birthing class is, and a further query as to why I would have to be in attendance, other than for obvious moral support.

It's a smallish class of first time breeders who yearn for more education about the life-changing process they're already going through. Basically, where facts trump wives' tales and experience reaches the unexperienced.

My basic grasp of it going in was that we are outright paying someone to tell us about which cocoa butter to buy, how to properly breathe while in labor, and a few other minor tips and tricks to put mommy-to-be's mind at ease. While I still have a blind faith that most of this will be covered during the six week span, so far it has resembled a support group and remedial sex-ed combined. Interesting? To say the least.

Jenni was really looking forward to this going in. Being this is her maiden voyage into motherhood, she's dying to get any help she can to settle her busy little mind. I agreed to go with her, knowing this could indeed get weird and wondering to myself if I would be the only guy in a room full of very pregnant women. She really wanted me there. And if nothing else, the experience would be... unique.

Upon entering the first class, I noticed 6 other couples already spread out across the room. The guys looked a bit timid, much like I was, and the semi-blank expressions and polite half-smiles on their faces told me that this was also not their idea. Jen and I proceeded to sign in and partake in the free cookies and lemonade to the right. Once the class started, the teacher introduced herself as a life-long nurse and a mother herself and came off as very warm and friendly.

Over the next two hours, we got to watch slides of what the female body looked like from the inside, complete with color-coded organs. Not only did I get a good visual of the layout of Jen's digestive and reproductive areas, I also learned priceless nuggets such as "your baby is swimming in it's own urine" and "make sure to pack a tube sock full of flakseeds in your hospital bag."

We got to watch a short movie about different types of pregnant women and their unique experiences during pregnancy. Not to be Roger Ebert at a birthing class, but this thing was poorly acted... all the women actors faked some kind of discomfort that was probably meant to be back pain but ended up looking like they had gas. I also couldn't help but notice that they decided to cast one white couple, one black couple, one hispanic couple and one woman who was pretty much abandoned by her sperm donor. Apparently it's super-important to maintain diversity and cover all the stereotypes during a 15 minute infomercial.

The teacher also covered how the baby would exit the body (in case there were still lasting suspicions that a stork will be coming), which managed to fill Jenni with that massive burst of fear and terror that we had both been procrastinating: yep, it's gonna get even bigger, and then violently and with limited warning, it's going to do a cannonball through your hips and lady parts with little regard for either.

I really did not want Jenni to concentrate on that part yet. I was hoping we'd still deal with buying stuff for the baby, how to organize the room, what to name her (apparently "baby" isn't working), etc. Now I have to try to get that petrified, speechless look off her face... you know, like the kind of look Bambi must have had when her mom died. It's kind of like a six book series where they give away the ending in the first book. Thank you very much, know-it-all teacher.

What could be in store for us tonight? I can't begin to imagine. :-)

That Moment

I finally had that moment.  You know that moment when you can actually picture yourself with a cute little bundle of joy.  Up till this point, she's been sort of an ideal, not really based in my reality.  Sure I've loved being pregnant, and I've always wanted children, but I haven't been able to picture myself with a baby all my own.  When I see a baby I think to myself "I hope I have a baby one day" instead of "gee I'm having a baby soon".  So while I've been preparing and going through the emotions associated with becoming a parent, I couldn't picture her.  I'm not sure if I am explaining this very well... but I'm writing this post more to remind myself of this moment.

You see, I have been thinking about her a lot lately.  (I wonder why!?) And I've wondered what it will be like when she gets here.  I've been preparing for the sleepless nights and hard work and even being ok with all the gross stuff that apparently baby's do.  But I haven't really been picturing all the wonderful things that are headed my way.  I guess I've been pretty practical when it comes to having her.  But the other night, I was browsing in a baby section checking out those bouncy activity centers, when I could actually picture her playing in one.  Like see her little body and face and hear her giggles, and I got excited!  Like giddy almost!  It really dawned on me that I'm going to have a beautiful wonderful baby all my own.  I won't have to share her with anyone (of course that's a misstatement, but you know what I mean...)  I'll be "mom".  I'll get to hold her as long as I want.  I'll be the one she wants for comfort.  I'll be the one she's passed back to when she gets a little fussy and makes whoever is holding her uncomfortable.  It's going to me, no... it's going to be us!  And I can't wait until she gets here!  It's going to be so cool watching her learn and explore and grow.  I can't wait to teach her things and learn new life lessons myself.

I have one of the best things in life headed my direction soon and I'm like a kid waiting for Christmas!  It's made even better by the fact that Mike and I are a strong team, our families are a strong support system and this little one will be loved beyond measure!  I know God has created another one his masterpieces in her and I can't wait for the reveal.  It's going to be awesome, epic, (I need a bigger word here)!!!  Stay tuned, it's gonna get good!