We're Almost Ready!

Miguel and I have been readying the baby room. I read advice somewhere that suggested getting the bulk of the work done before the 3rd trimester so you could relax and focus on the easy details during the last few months. I'm feeling really good that we've done that. We've taken our time too, which is nice. A few months ago we emptied out the nursery-to-be and dealt with selling or donating the contents. Miguel touched up the walls and readied the room for painting. We picked out the furniture and ordered it in early November and it arrived in early December. We painted a few weeks ago, after going through some color decision-making issues. We started out with various shades of blue and ended up with two shades of green. Finally we brought the furniture in from the garage and set it up. Fun, fun, fun.

Here are Miguel and I showing off the room. We plan to use the bassinet as the little man's nap spot during the day in the living room. Here's one of me in the glider.

I put a diaper on that little bear and he's been our stand in baby ever since. Miguel has worked so hard, seeing this picture reminds me that we used to have curtains up for closet doors and he painted and installed those new white wood doors. You can't really tell in these pictures but the lower part of the walls are sage green and the top part is a lighter green. I love it, it looks gorgeous with the dark wood.

So we have a ton more stuff to get, mainly clothes, bottles, diapers, a high chair, a stroller, carseats...the list seems to be never ending. Oh, and I would love to get some books, like Dr. Seuss and some baby books or whatever. I know you don't really need some of these things but.... Whenever I go in and look at this room I'm filled with gratitude at how fortunate I feel. Fortunate to be having a little baby, fortunate to be able to prepare a space for him, fortunate to be warm and safe with a loving husband and family. So many people in the world have so little. We're not rich, and yet we are as rich as I could hope for.

Change of subject... I've had a secret fear creeping up on me as I've watched my thighs get bigger and how out-of-habit I am when it comes to exercise and counting points/calories, etc. I found myself wondering the other day, "How will I get back to where I was?". Then I stopped myself and made the same deal I made when I first started on this journey back in February of '07, all I need to do is get back to meetings. I don't have to get on my bike and ride 50 miles, I don't have to run out the door for a 45 minute jog, I don't have to stick to my allotted points all day every day. I just need to go to meetings. The rest will fall into place. And I know I can make it to meetings. Realizing I will start at the beginning and not have to suddenly be back near the finish line eased that creeping feeling of dread.

I can't tell you how much I weigh right now because I don't know. I'm only weighing at doctor's appointments. But here's a pic I took yesterday of me at 30 weeks pregnant. I feel like my belly is so much bigger than it looks. And with 10-12 weeks to go I get nervous thinking about just how big it will get!

So I'm dutifully reading my hypnobirthing book and am looking forward to the class. I don't have any illusions about not feeling any pain in labor but I am building up my confidence in being able to manage it. I need to start listening to I Am Woman as I drift off to sleep. That part about pain seems particularly relevant :)

♫ Oh yes I am wise

But it's wisdom born of pain

Yes, I've paid the price

But look how much I gained

If I have to, I can do anything

I am strong (strong)

I am invincible (invincible)

I am woman ♫

Merry Holidays to All!

I am huge believer in what the Holidays represent. For me it's about love, peace, family and gratitude. I wish everyone the best Holiday season and a fancy, schmancy new year!!

My 3rd Tri

3rd Trimester that is! Thank you all for the supportive comments. It's nice to know I haven't been forgotten :) Wow, time has really flown by lately. It seems like the first trimester crawled by, I'm sure because I was waiting to tell my mom and post it on my blog. And I hear that something similar happens in the 3rd tri, that the growing discomfort coupled with excitement to meet the new little human makes time slow down. I guess we'll be finding out.

We've been slowly readying the house. When we bought this condo 5+ years ago we took down the stair rail with a plan to get a new one. That never happened so we painted and reinstalled the old one and it doesn't look bad actually. In the nursery we installed new blinds (with blackout lining!) and have purchased new closet doors that need to be painted and installed.

Miguel is painting the room as we speak. We went round and round on colors, starting with blue ideas, but finally settled on two shades of green, a light green on the upper walls and a darker green on the lower. I love the colors! I can't wait until we can get the furniture in and all the cute bedding and stuffed animals and just everything! I purchased a pre-loved Dutailier Glider & Ottoman on Craigslist. I washed the cushion covers so those are air drying now. I think it's going to look so cute in the room. I splurged on an Organic Crib Mattress and that's supposed to arrive early next week. Man, times are getting exciting around here.

My boss is off for the next two weeks so the office will probably be really quiet. We don't have any big work projects coming up and a lot of my colleagues are off. That, coupled with all the holidays, will make the end of the year fly by I'm sure.

I started taking little walks during the work day. I'm not kidding when I say I haven't been getting any exercise. Each day on Thursday and Friday I went for a 15 minute walk. I'm going to make that a daily routine and want to add in some after work walks on the gym treadmill too.

On the birthing front we picked a class. We're taking a hypnobirthing class in January. I am really looking forward to both the education and the confidence-building that I'm sure will come from it. Hypnobirthing does not involve being hypnotized in the Las Vegas sense. It's basically a deep state of self-induced relaxation. At the birth Miguel will be there to help reduce distractions and to communicate our preferences to the medical folks.

As far as what type of medical folks will be there, well, that depends on where we give birth. As of now I'm with an OB group here in Marin and, if we stay with them, I'd give birth at Marin General, our local hospital. But we're considering moving care to a Midwifery group in San Francisco and giving birth at their birth center. That would be a compromise on the home birthing option and would have the added nicety of our little guy being born in San Francisco like I was.

We went on a hospital tour this past week and I have to say I was impressed with the nurses description of what they (the medical staff) are like there. She basically said they are very supportive of moms having whatever type of birth we want, with the ultimate goal to have a healthy baby of course. She said they don't push pain meds or interventions, etc. Of course she encouraged us to talk to our doctors since they are a big influence in all this. The maternity wing was nice and comfortable looking, though the "delivery rooms" were a little intimidating. The bed with the big stirrups and lights just doesn't seem so inviting.

We're going to an orientation in early January of the birthing center in SF. I am looking forward to hearing what they have to say about a lot of this stuff and seeing how it all fits with what we hope to have. I'm not fixed on any certain birth, I know the ultimate goal is to have a healthy baby and I know there might be cause for interventions if things happen. But I do know I want to avoid the epidural, which is another reason I need to keep moving and maintain my fitness level up to some minimal standard at least.

A Slightly Overdue Update

I guess that's a bit of an understatement.  I've just been in my own little world lately, feeling somewhat disconnected from the rest of mankind.  My therapist tells me it's a natural phenomenon in pregnancy, that we turn inward and sort of tune out.

Anyway, on to some updates!  I am 27 weeks pregnant today, and by some accounts this is the first day of the 3rd trimester.  Can you believe time has flown by that fast?  Seems like just a few weeks ago I was posting about being pregnant.  My belly and baby have grown, along with my thighs.  More on that in a bit, but first, some pictures!

Here's the little guy at 25 weeks, who is still nameless, by the way.

That's a 3d image of him.  We have so much fun speculating about whose body parts he's inherited when we look at this picture.  I'll wait until he's born to make any final determinations :)

Everything is developing normally and we couldn't be more thankful for that.

Speaking of things developing, I started my new job.  It's so much new and different to learn and that alone makes it pretty exciting.  I work with a great group of professionals who are all interested in the work, which only adds to the feeling that I'm in a good place.  It's a little odd to be in a new job with the knowledge that I'll be gone for a while before too long but I'm just putting one foot in front of the other and trying not to think too much about that.

Ok, back to baby stuff.  My family threw a baby shower for me last weekend in Southern California.  It was a beautiful day and I received some of the most adorable gifts!  I also received some needed basics, which was nice too.  I can't wait to dress him up!

The tables were set with beautiful flowers and little babies and pacifiers.  So cute!  And the food was too good, I ate way too much!

 

Here's a glance at the little man's gifts.  That's a diaper cake on the table and a bassinet in the background.  I can't wait to set the nursery up.  Miguel's taking classes this weekend so we won't be able to paint and get the furniture up until next weekend at the soonest. 

Here's a good shot of my growing belly!  That's my cousin who is preggers with her third little one!  She's given birth naturally both times and was very inspiring to me.  Most women get a scary look on their faces when I tell them I want to have a natural childbirth so her reassurance was much needed.  I'm on the hunt for childbirth classes.  We're either going to take a Bradley Method series or a hypno-birthing series. 

And finally here I am opening presents.  I have a Boppy on my lap.  It's a pillow that you use when breastfeeding to help support the baby in case you don't have a bionic arm :) 

The whole day was just wonderful.  I still can't really believe we're having a baby.  Talk about a mind blower.  The little guy moving around is a constant reality check though.  He shocks me sometimes with his kicks!

Let's see...oh, weight.  Ugh.  It's going okay.  Could be better, could be worse.  I've gained 20 pounds so far.  And I was reading in my pregnancy book the other day, "Now we're entering into the period of serious weight gain."  Great.  I'm 184 and really hoping to stay under 200 just to keep morale up.  I won't lie, my eating's been marginal and my exercise nearly non-existent.  All I can say is I can't wait to get back to Weight Watchers.  But I took my gestational diabetes screening the other day and thank goodness that was negative.  My blood level was only 102 and you have to go over 140 to screen positive.  Phew!!

Nothing much else going on I'm sorry to say.  I've just been sitting around gestating :)  Thank you to all of you who have hung around and asked about me, I'm sorry I've turned into one of those bloggers who leaves everyone in the lurch wondering what the heck's going on.  I hope to not wait so long to give an update.  But before you know it I'll be posting tons of pictures and going on and on and on about how beautiful and amazing and perfect my baby is.  At least that's what seems to happen to people who have babies!

I Am Proud to be an American

I normally avoid politics on my blog but I am overwhelmed with pride in this country.  We can hold our head up high.  No matter your political persuasion, we have been a part of history tonight, we rose up and looked past race, past difference, past one of the most painful parts of our history.  This doesn't fix everything but it sure is a massive surge of Hope.