35 Weeks

Uuuugh. Ok, seriously, I'm in the mood to whine, so I'll keep this short. First of all, this is not a great picture of me. I look like a house! yuck. What happened? :( Next week better look better - I don't want to spend month looking like this. Poo

Second, I have been sick all weekend, and now I am very tired, have a headache, and not looking forward to working tomorrow. I kind of lost my voice today, and I have a weird sort of squeaky teenage boy voice. Hopefully it goes away before work tomorrow. I don't need another reason for people to ask me how I'm doing :p

Caleb was a busy busy guy this week. He kicks (or punches) me in the hip a lot, which is a weird feeling. I'm thinking "How did you get all the way over there??". He also gets the hiccups at least 3 or 4 times a day, and the bigger he gets the more I can really feel him hiccuping. I took a video of him moving around in my stomach, but I haven't figured out how to upload it to my computer yet. When I do, I'll post it on my blog.

I *think* Caleb is head down right now, but it's hard for me to tell. The midwife couldn't tell last time if he was head down or not, so she is going to check again at my appointment on Wednesday. Unfortunately, if he isn't head down by now, that means he may not turn on his own and I'll have to do some things, like chiropractic work, or a version (painful - the doctor squishes your stomach around and tries to flip the baby) to get him to turn. If he still won't turn by 40 weeks, that's a c-section for me. So here's hoping he is upside down at this point. I'm not too worried about it, there's still time.

We had our 2nd hypnobirthing class with our doula on Saturday. We practiced some relaxation techniques for dealing with contractions, and talked a lot about what labor would be like (based on the average labor). Ethan and I have exercises to do at home. I have to hold a bag of ice in my hand for a minute and practice deep breathing and visualization techniques. It's supposed to be like a simulated contraction. I think the main lesson is that time goes by much faster when you are practicing the relaxation techniques, and it really helps focus your mind off of the pain. We also went to the store and got some aromatherapy oils for the labor room, and we are picking out music to listen to also. The idea is to create a very calming spa-like environment. We are having fun with it, and I'm looking forward to the birth. I just hope everything goes smoothly so that we can at least try some of the stuff we are practicing.

I have weekly midwife appointments from here on out. I can't believe that it's already that time! Ethan tried (unsuccessfully) to put the carseat in this weekend, and next weekend we'll probably start gathering up the stuff we want to take to the hospital so that we are ready when the time comes. Since it was hard for Ethan to put the carseat base in (I guess it's just tough to get it tight enough), we will have to ask them to help us at the inspection place. I'm going to try to find a place that does inspections on a weekend so that Ethan and I can go together and see how it's done.

I'm going to skip the baby update for the week - I don't have that much to add anyway. Caleb is about 5 and 1/2 pounds now according to the averages. Check out babycenter.com for more info!

34 Weeks!

34 weeks is a pregnancy milestone because at this point, 99% of babies born will do fine with no long term problems. So hooray for Caleb making it this far!

Wow, well I am officially laughing at myself for feeling "huge" at 20 weeks. I read back some of my old blogs last week and yeah, I had no bump really. Of course, when you are used to seeing your body a certain way, all the changes can seem much bigger to you than they do to other people. At this point, it seems like I get bigger almost every day! With more than a month left, it's funny to think how big I'm going to be before it's all over. What's even funnier is that I have a relatively small belly for a pregnant woman this far along. I'm grateful for that, because I can see how uncomfortable it gets.

I got a hair cut this week, and it feels great to have short hair again! I didn't realize how long it had gotten. I don't love having long hair because my hair is very thick and it just gets unmanageable when it's long. I don't have the patience to style it every day so it ends up all frizzy and bumpy looking. Honestly, it never occurred to me that short hair will help with a baby (I guess they like to pull hair), but now that everyone has pointed out how much easier it will be with short hair and a baby, I am going to make an effort to keep it cut! My hair grows insanely fast, so it will be long again within six months if I don't keep getting it cut.

This week Ethan and I had our last baby class. We toured the hospital and we learned about breathing techniques. We also went to an infant car seat/safety class. I actually didn't want to go to that class - I just wanted Ethan to go and figure out how to install the carseat. That's because I'm lazy :) However, I learned a lot that I didn't know. For example, I learned that babies can't go in a boat until 18 months because they don't have life jackets for them. Who knew. Of course I guess it's common sense. We also learned all about how to install the carseat. We'll probably put it in next weekend so that it's ready just in case Caleb comes early.

Other than the classes, we didn't have too much going on this week and it was nice to have some down time. On the weekend I just relaxed and then we went to dinner with my sister and her husband Neil, and also Neil's parents. Neils parents got us the cutest wooden toys for Caleb:


It's awesome how generous people are and how many people want to do something nice for us and the baby.

This week we have another hypno-birthing class. It's also Purim on Friday and we are going to shabbat and the Purim carnival at the temple. That should be pretty fun :)

Here is the baby update for the week from baby center:

How far along? 34 weeks 2 days

Sleep: Sleep was ok this week. It is starting to get a little bit uncomfortable, but not that bad.

Best moment this week: Probably just the whole weekend we got to spend relaxing.

Movement: Yeah, but Calebs movements have definitely changed. I don't feel him moving as often, but I feel him moving pretty consistently after meals. Also, he always used to be most active at night, but now he is more active during the day after I eat, and seems pretty chill at night. When he does move he isn't kicking as often, it's more rolling and nudging. I think he just doesn't have much room since he's getting bigger. He does get the hiccups a lot lately though! My doula said that getting the hiccups is part of their neurological development, so I guess that's a good thing!

Labor signs: Nope. Lots of braxton hicks.

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: I miss being able to do what I want physically, like going on a hike or whatever. Especially during beautiful sunny weather.

What I am looking forward to: Long-term - Caleb getting here of course. Short term, not too much going on this week honestly

This Week: (from BabyCenter)
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

33 Weeks - Thoughts on birth

33 weeks down, 7 to go! I had my midwife appointment this week and everything is going really well. Caleb is growing right on track, and his heart rate is perfect. I am also doing well - my blood pressure is back in the normal range (it was elevated while I had my cold) and my weight gain is still on track. I'm not +22 for the whole pregnancy. I feel fine about that. Like I said before, I just want to keep it under 30. Obviously Caleb is getting bigger right now, so 1 pound a week is expected for the next few weeks. 1/2 of that goes straight to baby, who is gaining .5 pounds a week.

This was a busy week. Of course it was Valentine's day. We had a great V-day. Ethan got me delicious chocolate covered strawberries which were delivered on Thursday, and then on the weekend, we made a very tasty meal together with steak, twice-baked potatoes and a chocolate cake for desert:


We also had our hospital led birth class this week, which covered c-sections and post partum recovery. Basically the class reinforced my idea that I don't really want visitors for the first week after the birth, because honestly, I'm probably going to be a mess and visits won't be fun for anyone. If any of you have seen me when I'm sick or just tired, you'd know that I'm not pleasant to be around :p

We also had our first hypnobirthing class with our doula. Hypnobirthing, in case you don't know, is basically a relaxation technique to help women relax and deal effectively with contractions without tensing up. Tensing up during labor is bad because it can slow the rate of labor and cause additional stress on the baby. Hypnobirthing is useful whether you are planning a natural labor or whether you plan to get pain meds, and the techniques are good for any scenario. I really like meditation and relaxation, and so far I'm finding the classes valuable. My doula also teaching the hypnobirthing, so it's a good way to get to know her better and bond with her before the birth.

Speaking of birth, it's obviously something I've been thinking and researching a lot about lately and I definitely have some opinions on the matter :) I'm about to get up on my soapbox now, so if that bothers you you might want to stop reading.

One thing that I've noticed a lot since becoming pregnant is that our culture surrounding birth is pretty screwed up. No offense to anyone out there, but almost everyone I talk to describes birth as a traumatic, scary, and painful event. It's interesting, because I really don't think it has to be that way. I think it can be a beautiful experience, although of course bad things can happen as well. I get frustrated with hearing birth stories sometimes, because often it seems like a lot of the choices are left out. For example, I might read a birth story about someone who planned to have an intervention free birth, but then their water broke at home, so they went to the hospital and within 1 hour of being checked in, were put on pitocin. The pitocin made the contractions too strong to bear, so they got an epidural. The epidural made them unable to push effectively, which lengthened the time of pushing. That combined with the strength of the pitocin led contractions caused the baby to be in distress, so the baby was sucked out with a vacuum extractor. That's an example of someone's birth plan going out the window right? But hey, the baby was born healthy so it was a successful birth, because ultimately the health of the baby is more important than the type of experience the birth mother has.

Uh...I guess it was a successful birth, but it was also a lucky birth, because as soon as pitocin is introduced to start labor that has not started on it's own, the risk of c-section goes up to 50%. I don't want to take those kind of chances for no good reason! (by the way this is not based on anyone I know - I read this birth story on a message board today)

So I would ask the mom, why did you let them put you on pitocin right away in the hospital? Was the baby in distress, or did they just want to speed up labor to get the baby out sooner because your water broke? Hospitals routinely start pitocin within a few hours of a woman's water breaking, whether or not she is experiencing contractions. This is because they want to deliver the baby within 24 hours. Studies have shown that after 24 hours the chance of uterine infection goes up. What they don't tell you is that the main reason that the incidence of uterine infection goes up is because bacteria is introduced, primarily through internal exams. On the other hand, if left alone, 85% of women will go into labor on their own within 8 to 12 hours of their water breaking with no additional intervention. Part of the reason I'm choosing a midwife and a doula is because I know that they won't push those kinds of interventions on me and in fact will support me in my choices not to have interventions unless the baby is in distress.

The whole water breaking = pitocin story is just one example. There are several of these scenarios. Another common one is inducing a woman at 41 weeks because it's hospital policy. Another one is that the baby is going to be too big (based on a growth ultrasound) to be delivered normally if he or she is allowed to continue to grow. It's really kind of shocking how many women are induced, or "augmented", in this country. There are OBGYNs out there who have delivered thousands of babies and only seen a handful of successful natural births!

I think it's because our culture sort of espouses the theory that women's bodies are not actually capable of giving birth, and if left to their own devices, we'd just all suffer gruesome births and even death. The reality is that most hospitals have a 30% + c-section rate and despite all our interventions, we have one of the highest maternal/fetal death rates in the developed world. On the other hand, countries like the Netherlands, where 1/3 of the women have home births, have much lower c-section rates and better outcomes for the mother and baby.

So anyhoo, I will get off my soapbox, but it's just something to think about. It's not even that I really feel that strongly about experiencing a natural birth (Although I'm genuinely not scared of labor. Even though I accept that it will be painful at times, I think it's a meaningful type of pain, and it's necessary, so why waste time being scared about it). The truth is I hate the idea of getting a c-section, I'm scared of pitocin and what it could do to me and my baby, and I really don't want to be stuck in a bed on an IV drip and unable to move my legs and walk around. Also, the recovery time is faster during a natural birth. If I all my plans go out the window, then so be it. I'm not going to be depressed over it, as long as Caleb is healthy. But at least I'll know it's not for lack education about the process.

It's getting late now and I have to work tomorrow, so I'm skipping the baby update for the week. This coming week is our last baby class and we'll be taking a tour of the labor and delivery section of the Birth Center! We also have a home and car seat safety class where Ethan will learn how to install the car seat. Should be an interesting week!

32 Weeks

I can't believe I have less than 2 months to go!! I'm so excited! I have a feeling the next month or so is going to drag on - not because of discomfort, but because it's like the night before Christmas x100. The more you anticipate something, the longer it seems to take to happen.

I actually really like this pregnant picture of me. I don't usually say that about pictures of myself, but this one is cute...the belly is popping out! I feel like I finally look "obviously" pregnant. I was in the "is she or isn't she stage" for a long time, mostly because I'm so tall and my belly really didn't pop out as much as some women. I admit, I did get a little tired of the "you're belly is so small for XX weeks along!" comments (because having gained like 20 pounds, what does that say about the rest of me?? haha) - but I think pregnant women also get tired of the "OhMiGosh you're so big!" and (god forbid) "Are you sure you aren't having twins??" comments. You just can't win with us. :p

This was kind of a crazy week for Ethan and I. We are dog sitting my sister's six month old schnoodle, Napolean. He is so cute, but he's definitely a handful! He's the type of dog that needs to be entertained, and he doesn't seem content to lay around and sleep all day like our lazy dog Abbey. Fortunately, Abbey does a pretty good job of keeping him busy. It's pretty funny to watch them together because Abbey is just about the most relaxed, chill dog you'd ever meet, She let's Napolean jump on her back and chew her ears for hours. Unfortunately, poor Abbey got really sick this week. She got Giardia of all things, which is an intestinal infection caused by a parasite that usually lives in stream water. I don't know how she got it because we haven't been hiking in months! She was really sick, and I had to stay home from work (or work from home that is) to take care of her. She went to the vet twice and took lots of meds and she's finally better. It's hard when a pet get's sick, and it makes me think about how sad it will be watching Caleb get sick someday with his first cold or flu. C'est la vie I guess.

Caleb had a busy week inside my tummy. He flipped over multiple times, judging by all the different locations that I feel him getting the hiccups. He also spends a lot of time rolling around and wriggling his body in there. He doesn't kick me hard all that much, mostly he just squirms, but when he does kick me, it's pretty intense! He's a strong little guy. I can tell he's getting big too, because I can feel his body under my skin, all along my waist from top to bottom when he is stretched out. Sometimes he is in the "transverse" or sideways position, and his head is above my right hip while his feet are above my left hip. That's pretty funny because he kicks me in the side and my side pokes out. I think he's almost to the point where he is too big to keep flipping around, so I hope he gets himself head down at some point in the next few weeks and stays that way! Hospitals rarely deliver breech babies anymore, so if he doesn't eventually go head down, that will be an automatic c-section for me. Fortunately most babies flip around by themselves by 36 weeks or so.

Pregnancy is fine right now. My only complaints are the tiredness, and the off and on nausea. It seems like recently my brain has forgotten how to be hungry, and only gets mildly nauseas. So as soon as I start to feel nauseas, I eat and that helps. Except then I get heartburn. Oh well! I'm betting I gain a lot of weight over the next couple months, but I'm just totally beyond caring at this point. I figure I've done really good up to this point, so even if I gain more than a pound a week, I'll still be fine overall. We'll see if this attitude holds up after my next weigh in. hehe.

Overall, I'm so so grateful that things are going so well with my pregnancy, and all my complaints are so minor. As long as Caleb is growing and healthy, I hope he stays in there as long as he needs to. I have a couple of friends that delivered really early, and I have experienced only a fraction of what they are going through via pictures and visits. I can't pretend to know what it's like, but I wouldn't wish that kind of stress on my worse enemy. It has to be one of the hardest things in the world to watch your baby in the NICU, hoping that he is going to be ok, and being powerless to do much to help him, not even being able to hold him when he is in pain. At the same time, it is incredible how strong babies are, and how much they can survive and still come out OK. Life really is a miracle!

In other news, we got an AWESOME (it deserves to be in caps) present from Caleb's God-Mother and honorary Aunt Stephanie. We knew for a while that Steph was making something special for Caleb, but we were so surprised when we got it in the mail this week! She made him a memory box. It's so cool! She decorated it with all kinds of cute stickers:


Inside the box is a photo album just for Caleb to put the pictures of all the fun things they are going to do together:

She also wrote him a beautiful note and got a little Precious Moments figurine that is on display in the nursery for now, but can eventually go in the box for Caleb to have when he is older. The doll is holding a picture that says "My Godmother and Me". This is definitely hands-down the most thoughtful thing that anyone has done for Caleb so far. I can't wait until Stephanie and him can start filling it up with all their fun memories that they are going to make together.


Caleb is lucky to have such a wonderful God-Mother!

This week in baby class we talked about labor and delivery some more. They went over all the options for pain medication, which was good to hear about even though I hope to avoid it. Next week will be about post-partum recovery, and then we only have one more class! Also next week we will have our first hypno-birthing class with our doula, and I will have my midwife appointment on Wednesday. It's going to be a busy week!

Right now, Ethan and I are just relaxing at home after our morning errands (grocery shopping and laundry) and watching the Super Bowl. I guess we are rooting for the Colts, but since the Seahawks aren't in, I don't care too much. I mostly watch for the commercials :)

Here is the baby update for the week:

How far along? 32 weeks 2 days

Sleep: I'm over my cold/sinus problems, so sleep is back to "normal" for pregnancy. I still have a little bit of pregnancy insomnia, which means that sometimes when I wake up during one of the half dozen bathroom breaks I take in the middle of the night, I can't fall back to sleep. But it's not horrible.

Best moment this week: Getting the present from Stephanie in the mail.

Movement: Yup! Caleb is full of energy this week (see above)

Labor signs: Nope - not yet!

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Not being tired.

What I am looking forward to: Lots this week! I have my mid-wife appointment on Wednesday and I'm going to ask lots of questions about labor. We also have our first hypnobirthing class this week.

This Week: (from BabyCenter)

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.