Interesting note on dr's appointment

I had a doctor's appointment on monday. It was pretty standard. My fundus height is right where it should be and his heartbeat is going strong (the doctor remarked that the baby was "showing off"). The coolest part was when the doctor felt around to see which way the baby was positioned. This brought two really cool revelations. 1) He is positioned head down, which is a good thing for birth (woohoo!) and 2) she showed me how to feel where he was. So now Kenny and I can feel my belly and figure out what body parts are where. He generally hangs out on my left side and you can feel his little butt poking out. It also helped me figure out that his feet are what are constantly kicking under my ribs, and his head and hands are what are constantly putting pressure on my left hip. Sometimes it feels like he is rubbing my hip bone really hard and repetitively. I don't know if I mentioned this before but we are rotating through the obs in the practice because they want us to have a chance to see everyone since anyone of them could be on call when I go into labor. For the most part, the doctors have been great. There is one exception, and she will, of course, probably be the one we get come delivery time. I'm sure she's knowledgeable and very competent, but she's not very nice. So keep hoping she's not on call when we go in.
Our childbirth class was cancelled this week due to the horrible weather, so no new freakouts. It did push the schedule back a week. We had originally scheduled a c-section information class in mid-February, just in case, but that's been replaced by the make-up childbirth class- which will hopefully be more useful... And in addition to all of the frightening info that we learned last class, we also learned a lot about helpful laboring positions and exercises/positions we can use to expand our pelvic bones during labor or get baby to turn around in case he's coming out sunny-side up. Sunny side-up is when his face is up rather than facing back. This causes his skull to rub on the back part of the hip bones, which leads to "back labor." So childbirth class isn't just scaring me, it's teaching us useful things too. (Perhaps the most useful was when she taught the coaches how to give soothing massages.)

A little overwhelmed

First, I would like to thank Jennie, Casie, and Aunt Candie for the WONDERFUL shower they had for me and baby this weekend in Mansfield! I'll post pictures as soon as they send some to me :). The cake was adorable! They asked the guests to bring books to help develop the baby's library, which was great! I love to read, so hopefully this will help pass that trait on. The nursery is coming along. We'll post pictures of what it looks like so far shortly. But suffice to say, it finally looks like a baby's room instead of just a room. We had our second childbirth class this week. The first one was just a basic introduction to the third trimester. Most of the information was a review for Kenny and I. We did discuss when the water breaks, which was something I hadn't heard a whole lot about. The second class went over the labor process. We got to watch a video of birth and delivery of the placenta. I've seen birth videos before but, probably because I wasn't pregnant when I saw those, they didn't seem as traumatizing. Maybe it wasn't the video itself that was traumatizing, but more so of the discussion afterwards. I wasn't too freaked out by the whole idea of labor before but I'm definitely getting there now. Kenny keeps saying he hopes I have a short one because he's a little scared for me. They were talking about how much everything stretches, the amount of time contractions last, the amount of time labor lasts, the window of opportunity for the epidural, positions to help ease labor, trying to focus on something other than the pain, etc. Somewhere in all of that discussion the disturbing thought that I was going to have to deal with all of this and that didn't settle too well for me. To follow up this class, I went home and started to read the assigned chapter for my pathology class. Bad idea. This week we were talking about congenital defects and developmental diseases. I'll just say that I didn't finish the reading. I was also going through "old" pictures last night and was hit with the realization that I may never look like that again. Needless to say, last night was really depressing and I was getting pretty stressed out. Kenny, thankfully, knows how to deal with me when I'm like this and got me to breathe and relax. He put to practice some of the massage techniques we learned in the birthing class and helped me practice my "cleansing breath." I finally was calm enough that I didn't think I was going to cry and could actually fall asleep. I'm feeling much better today. I think it was just the initial shock of all of that at once. Other than that, I am feeling pretty well. I am having some hip pain and swelling in my hands and feet, but I'm pretty sure that is nothing unusual. I've been getting tired, but my mood and general state of mind have been pretty good. Kenny and I are both starting to get very excited and are looking forward to the next couple of months and all that it brings.

9 weeks left!

I'm starting my 32nd week and 8th month now! I was at the doctor's yesterday, and everything is going well. Nothing new to report on that front. We went to IKEA and picked up a dresser and bookcase last week. Kenny got them set up quickly, so now the nursery is not so bare. We start our childbirth classes tomorrow. I guess I should have waited to post until after our first one, but I'll post something small about it sometime this weekend-probably Sunday. I know you'll all be waiting with bated breath. I start the semester at Xavier today. Kenny started last week, and things don't seem too rough for him yet. He's taking a calculus class at UC, and their exam week is, of course, the week that I'm due. I had to get a note for him from my doctor yesterday so that the teacher will work with him on the timing. I went to the salon and used the gift certificate for the prenatal massage that Kenny bought me for my birthday. It was great! I really needed it. I've been sitting a lot at work, and my lower back was really sore. We also finished unpacking everything upstairs that was left from the move. Kenny didn't let me do a lot, but I still managed to get sore and tired. The baby is active pretty much all the time now. We did notice over Christmas and New Year's that he does not like large, loud crowds. He didn't move a whole lot at any of the Christmas get-togethers or on New Years. I think the noise freaks him out. But any other time he is kicking and rolling away. Kenny started calling me "Amandatee" the other day. And not because of my physical likeness to the rather large manatee. Instead, it's because of my increased flatulence. The rumor about pregnant women and gas is true, so everyone beware!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! 2009 promises to be very exciting! Just a quick little note to keep everyone updated. We were at the doctor's office on Wednesday. My glucose results came back fine, but my bloodwork showed that I have mild anemia. Nothing major, or apparently unexpected in the third trimester- it's common at this point in the pregnancy. I just have to take an iron supplement, in addition to my prenatal vitamins. We are now on two-week appointment schedule! Less than eleven weeks until go time! We're both very excited and definitely a little nervous too. Fortunately, we have enough going on that we won't have time to freak out too much. I've officially hit the nesting stage and want to have the nursery finished yesterday. We've been collecting clothes and are going to IKEA this weekend (hopefully) to get some furniture for the room so it doesn't seem so bare. I'm definitely feeling unprepared. Kenny starts classes on Monday and I start a week from Tuesday, so we are trying to finish what we can before then. I'll post pictures of the room as we work towards completion! Until then, enjoy 2009!