Showered with friends, family, love, and generosity!

My family (and some friends that might as well be family) held a baby shower for us on Saturday, Sept 20th and I'd like to blame the lateness of this post on the fact that I have been too busy organizing (and admiring) the wonderful gifts we received. It was a beautiful get together at my sisters' house in Lindstrom and I was surrounded by family and good friends... my Mom and Cliff's Mom, all of my sisters plus an in-law, three of my nieces, two cousins, three of my friends, a baby, a dog, two cats... and even Cliff stopped in for a bit! I felt so special and so honored to have such wonderful people in my life. ...and who else gets to make shrinky-dinks at their baby shower! The guests created shrinky-dinks that will be used to decorate a photo frame for the baby's room. It's a little bit of a souvenir from the day and something special that we will have to remind us of all the people who care so much!

We did a baby name crossword puzzle and enjoyed a delicious meal of hors d'oevres and delectable desserts! I came home with a car packed full of the most thoughtful baby items (and even some things for the Momma!) Cliff and I spent one entire morning trying to figure out the car seat and the pack-n-play. The carseat ordeal confirmed for us that our truck was not made with babies in mind. We had done a bit of research ahead of time and had determined that we couldn't put a carseat in the backseat of the truck, but thought we could still put one in the front seat if necessary. After a couple of hours of reading and re-reading both the new carseat manual and the truck owners manual trying to figure out why the carseat, even when all latched in, still moved about 8" in any direction, we determined it just wasn't going to work. So, we have spent the past week car-shopping. The pack-n-play was another story though! Cliff got it all put together on his own and set it up in our bedroom with the raised bassinet insert installed and the diaper changing station all set up! We had to do a bit of furniture rearranging, but it fits nicely in our room near my side of the bed and amazingly, the colors actually coordinate perfectly with our bedding!

We have been washing newborn size clothing in baby-sensitive detergent and organizing it all by size and non-gender vs. gender-specific so that when the baby gets here, we have a bin of clothing that is ready to go no matter what and another bin of things that we can wash once we know if we have a girl or boy. The bigger sized clothing is sorted by size and in the closet, ready to go when we're ready for it. We've washed all of the crib sheets and blankets and put all the rattles, teethers and other toys in another basket. We've put the bigger diapers in the closet and stocked the smallest diapers and wipes on the pack-n-play's diaper changing station. We mounted the mobile on the crib and hung up the window valances. Our baby is getting quite a collection of yellow and green clothing decorated with duckies, frogs, and giraffes! That's good because I love all of those critters!

I am getting more and more excited to meet this little one ...and to find out if it is a girl or a boy!

33 Week Newsletter (7 1/2 Months)

Hiccups

Baby has the hiccups... again. For several months, the pregnancy newsletters I get have suggested that I probably feel the baby hiccupping, but I didn't. I thought that I must just not feel it. Then suddenly one day a couple of weeks ago, I felt hiccups. Very clearly... hiccups. Then again a couple of days later. It seems like the baby has had the hiccups at least every other day lately! Maybe it's just because the baby is swallowing more fluid. Who knows why all of a sudden this baby got the hiccups, but it's a little bit funny. ...and I feel a little bit bad because I know how annoying it is when I have the hiccups over and over again. I hope baby doesn't mind the hiccups as much as I do!

32 Week Newsletter

Dr. Appointment Update - 32 Weeks

Tomorrow marks 32 weeks gestation, or about 7 months and 5 days. If the pregnancy goes exactly full term, which is 40 weeks, then we're 80% there! We have less than two months left and now is when things get really interesting!

This morning was our 32 week doctor appointment. Dr. Hallman says all is well! He began by asking me if I had any questions, concerns, or anything specific I wanted to talk about. As usual, I couldn't think of anything at the moment, but once we got to talking, a few things did come up.

We listened to the baby's heartbeat, which was right on track. He measured my belly, and said that was right on track as well. I don't know what that measurement is technically called, but they use a tape measure to measure from the top of your pubic bone to the top of your uterus and my understanding is that the distance is centimeters matches your weeks of gestation, give or take 3 centimeters. So, my belly measurement should be roughly 32 cm - although I always forget to ask him exactly what mine is. He just tells me that it's right on! He also told me that it's a common misperception that taller people have smaller pregnant bellies because they have more vertical room for the baby. However, he said the measurements are actually about the same, that's it's just an optical illusion.

My wieght was up another 2.4 lbs from my last visit, so I've gained a total of 16.4 lbs from my lowest weight during pregnancy, which is right on. (my scale at home says I'm up 3 lbs from my last visit, but I think it rounds up, since it doesn't have decimal points).

I keep hearing and reading that a pregnant woman should sleep on her left side and should specifically avoid sleeping on her back (and on her stomach for obvious reasons). I have been fairly comfortable sleeping on my left side, with the helpful support of a body pillow, but I do wake up every night around 2:30 pr 3:00 AM and can't seem to go back to sleep. It sometimes helps me fall back asleep if I lay on my back or my right side. So, I asked why we're told not to sleep on our back or our right side. Dr. Hallman said that the womb naturally tilts one way (I can't remember which) and that there is a theory that laying on your back or on your right side can put additional pressure on your aorta, which can decrease the blood flow to and from the womb. However, this theory hasn't been proven and he suggested that as long as I feel comfortable and the baby's activity continues as usual, it's okay to lay in whatever position is most comfortable.

Speaking of sleeping, There have been few nights that I was not able to go back to sleep at all after waking up during the night and only ended up getting four or five hours of sleep. One or two nights of little sleep are okay, but after three or four consecutive nights I get pretty tired out. I've found relief in Tylenol PM a couple of nights and it's been really helpful to take that before bed on the weekend when I know I can sleep in. Tylenol PM contains 25 mg of diphenhydramine, which is an antihistamine with sedating properties and is the same drug in Benadryl. 25 mg of Benadryl has the same sedative outcome as the Tylenol PM, without the pain relief. Dr. Hallman says this is okay to take occasionally to help me sleep, as is Unisom.

"An active baby is a healthy baby"
I've started counting kicks. Most books say that a baby should move about 10 times in two hours. Dr. Hallman said that about 7 movements per hour is good, and that anything from a distinct kick to a little tickle counts as a movement. Some hours are a little slower than others, but I often get to 7 movements in ten minutes or so and then stop counting. He said that baby is on about a 90 minute sleep cycle, so that if I don't count 7 movements in one hour, wait a half hour or so and then try counting again - it may just be that the baby is sleeping. I notice that the more active I am, the less the baby moves - I think my movement must rock it to sleep. The more restful I am, the more the baby moves. We don't know right now which direction the baby is facing and it's likely still rolling around quite a bit inside. We won't worry how the baby is positioned until 36 weeks, or about 4 weeks from now. That's when we want to make sure that baby is head down.

All in all, things are going very well and we're happy the pregnancy has been relatively "uneventful". Until early November, it's safe to say "no news is good news".

Watch for a review of our first childbirth prep class coming soon!

31 Weeks (7 months)

Our Hospital, Our Community

Many people are now asking the question, "Where will you deliver your baby?" A few are surprised when I tell them we'll be delivering at the River Falls hospital, which is just 6 miles from our house. They've asked why we wouldn't want to go to a bigger hospital. Many other people immediately understand our wish to deliver at River Falls. There are several reasons, but they all sum up to one word... Community. Communities come in all shapes, colors, and sizes, but the communities that make me feel the most comfortable are the ones that are relatively small, open, and friendly. I like going into a favorite restaurant and hearing the staff greet me by name. I love seeing people at church or the coffee shop that are also in our Harley Owners Group. Seeing "neigbors" at auctions, weddings, etc. creates a sense of community, a feeling of belonging and mutual understanding. I know that I am never alone, and that's comforting to me. I am happy to open my doors and my self to those around me from whom I may some day need support. And I hope that in the interim I can support them in their daily lives as well. I feel that truly belonging to a community, whether it is a geographical community or otherwise, makes you accountable to that community and the rest of the community accountable to you. After all, if you're a doctor or a nurse and you know that you may see your patient in town next week, it seems you may feel more accountable to provide the best possible care than if you think you may never see your patient again. Maybe that's not true, but either way, I am so glad to belong to the community of River Falls and am so happy with the wonderful, caring friends, neigbors, and care providers surrounding us.

Let me introduce you to the Birth Center at River Falls Area Hospital.

http://www.riverfallsareahospital.com/ahs/riverfalls.nsf/page/The_Birth_Center

We begin our Childbirth Preparation classes next week. Here's what we're going to learn...

Childbirth Preparation
Basic Labor: Choices to make before labor, signs of labor, signs of danger, potential labor interventions and cesarean sections.
Comfort Measures: Topics covered include nonmedication comfort techniques, conditioning exercises, birth balls, positioning and movement and coping mechanisms. Also covered are labor medications available at River Falls Area Hospital, including intrathecal and epidural.
After the Baby: Initial recovery time for both mom and baby is discussed. Baby-specific topics include general care, feeding, security, circumcision, jaundice, bathing, back to sleep and comforting. Mother-specific topics are postpartum depression and after-delivery recovery through the first 6 weeks.

Meet Our Doctors

Dr. Rita Raverty is our Family Practice doctor who will be delivering our baby if all goes as planned. We've been seeing Rita throughout the pregancy until she went on maternity leave in July. Since July, we have been seeing Dr. Kevin Hallman, who is an Obstetrician and will help out with our delivery only if we run into unexpected complications. Both are fabulous Doctors and we feel so fortunate for the great care we're receiving.

Dr. Raverty: http://www.rfmc.org/Staff.cfm?ID=398
Dr. Hallman: http://www.rfmc.org/Staff.cfm?ID=403

Seems Autumn is Early

Today we are 29 1/2 weeks pregnant, which is about 6 1/2 months. We have just 2 1/2 months (or 10 1/2) weeks to go. Just a few days ago, November 14th seemed so far off, but today we awoke to cool temperatures outside and a feeling of fall in the air! It felt like we should be out picking apples, tasting wines, and carving pumpkins! Okay, so I might not be visiting the wineries this fall. Although I could still go pick the apples at Aadmodt's / St. Croix Vineyards and leave the wine-tasting to y'all! Suddenly, November seems right around the corner, and the baby reminds me each day, just how close we are! Last night I crawled in the tub to warm up before getting into bed and the baby definitely reacted to the temperature change from the cool outside air to the warm water of the tub. Baby was tumbling all around in there, letting me know that it preferred being warm to cold, I think! If it got any of my genes, it will definitely prefer the warmth of the bathtub!

When I looked outside this morning, I wondered if the birds had all left for warmer climates already. There wasn't a winged critter in sight. I was a little saddened at the thought that I may have watched the golfinches hanging from the drying sunflower heads for the last time, that I might not be able to watch the hummingbirds chase eachother around the yard, fighting over the feeders, again until next spring. That the last oriole sighting may have already passed... Then the sun came out and started warming the air. The breeze settled a bit and the heat of the day moved in... and the birds came out. Today, I have seen... a bunch of goldfinches, wrens, juncos, bluebirds, hummingbirds, and one downy woodpecker. I know many of these guys won't be here much longer and I am hopeful that with their departure will come the arrival of our snowbirds... the cardinals, chickadees, flickers, and blue jays.

The purple coneflower have lost their petals and the brown seed heads are drying out for finch food this winter. The sunflower heads hang low, the seeds maturing to feed the cardinals. The black eyed susans, mallow, and sedum are holding on, hoping for more warm days. But, it's evident that Fall is right around the corner. September will fly by as kids get back in the swing of school days, the garden produce is harvested and canned or frozen, and we gear up for our autumn traditions... October brings pumpkin carving, apple picking, hay rides, bonfires, and halloween parties. ...and November brings babies. One special baby in particular... we can't wait!

P.S. Glucose test was normal. No sign of Gestational Diabetes. Yay!