33 weeks

I am 33 weeks yesterday!  We had a very eventful week this past week.  There will be two posts.

Here are the fruit comparisons:

Eli

• weighs a little over 4 lbs (~ the weight of a pineapple or an adult duck (I wonder if he's a witch))
• is ~ 17in long (ladies, think of the length of your favorite collarbone length necklace)
• has hardening bones and he is gaining more fat and looking less wrinkly 
• has an almost mature respiratory system
• can tell the difference between light and dark/night and day (I'm sure he'll forget this knowledge as soon as he arrives and sleep all day and fuss all night)
• kicks and punches with more force now.  

Mom: 

• has to pee all the time.  Frequently rushes to go and then the bladder only releases about 3 drops.  It is obnoxious.  
• has started waddling a bit.  My hips and pelvic bones are sore, especially going from laying/sitting to standing.  
• has been reading a ton about labor and delivery, so I'm starting to feel much less nervous about it.  I'm trying to go into it with an open mind about what I want since things will happen how they happen and I will just adjust accordingly.  Although an epidural scares the bejeezus out of me.  
• Heartburn...yay
• My fingers have been swelling a bit.  I wear my wedding rings on a chain as a necklace.  
• I'm tired.  Naps are frequent and frequently unintended!  

Dad: 

• is doing well in school and has been looking into an alternative to the UMD fire protection degree.  This other option is Capitol College and is a degree in Astronautical Engineering.  Either one would be pretty awesome.  
• has been taking over a bunch of chores for me (vacuuming the stairs, taking the dog out, carrying the laundry up and down the stairs, etc)
• has been procrastinating on learning about labor :)  I think he thinks 7 weeks max is a long way away.

Mika: 

• pees, poops, eats, and demands attention.  What good practice!  
• got many many treats this week

So I started washing baby clothes and prepping the hospital bag this weekend.  I have all the 0-3 month clothes washed and sorted.  I might do the 3-6 months in a week or two.  We are also going to give the cloth diaper thing a try and we have a good starter stash built and prepped.  We have pockets (bumgenius and fuzzibunz) and prefolds with covers (thirsties, flips and 1 econobum).  I got almost all of them used and almost all of them will last through potty training, so if we keep up with it and don't switch back to disposables, we'll be spending a max of around $300 for diapers.  If we don't, they have a great resale value, so I'll just sell them for about what I paid for them.  Not much risk there.  We plan on using up the disposables we have received first while we get settled with Mr. E and find a general routine.  

I had an appointment on Friday and everything was great.  Heartbeat was 143.  Fundal height (my belly) measured right at 32 weeks and the doc told me to keep up the walking and my eating habits.  My pelvic bone hurting is normal.  That was really it.  I go back the first week of December (36 weeks), then again two weeks later (38 weeks), and then every week (39, 40 weeks...they won't let me go past 41 weeks).

We took an infant care class and learned a bit about diapering, bathing, things that happen at the hospital, skin care, sleeping, swaddling, dressing, nails, etc.  

People have been asking us what we need so I'll list it here.  This isn't a request for items, I just can't think of things on the spot when asked because we really are good to go for the first few weeks.  I've been trying to think about it, but we really do have the basics to get us going.  We could probably use a few more bottles for when I start pumping.  We have a few Avent bottles and some babies r us brand drop ins (like the Playtex nursers), but a few more probably wouldn't hurt.  I know many people swear by the Dr. Browns, but we would prefer not to have bottles with a ton of parts to clean and worry about.  (I've heard the Dr. Browns leak if they aren't put together just right).  We could also use a bottle drying rack and dishwasher container.  We don't have many socks or mitten things.  We could probably use more crib sheets.  

Things we have a ton of: heavy blankets, 0-3 and 3-6 months clothes, bath time stuff (shampoo, soap, lotion, towels), teether toys.  

Larger items we have: car seat, play pen, swing, bouncer seat, boppy pillow, bumpo seat, crib, dresser, stroller, bassinet, diaper caddy, backpack (diaper bag)

Here is our registry again in case anyone wants to look.  Again, this isn't a request for items.  People just keep asking.   http://www.amazon.com/registry/baby/3C6NTSMZVLTNU

Scary Happenings: It was a dark and quiet night after the election

So we had quite the excitement this week.  At least one guy came into our house while we were home sleeping and attempted to steal things.  We are all safe and well.  All of our stuff was recovered and one guy was caught.  We think the front door wasn't locked after Mika went out for the last time.  Lock your doors.  Apparently many thieves just walk around checking for unlocked doors.  Here are the details from my point of view.  

We went to bed and watched the election results for awhile on Tuesday night.  I fell asleep early, but Brian didn't go to sleep until about 1/1:30am.
At a bit after 2:30am, I woke up to Mika barking and coming into our room.  She does this sometimes, so I didn't think much of it at first.  She'll do this when she sees a raccoon or a cat outside.  She is barking while sitting on the cot we have for her in our bedroom.  I wake up B and tell him to just go downstairs and look outside because that usually calms her down.  Then I realize that she isn't barking at the window, she is barking while intently staring at our bedroom door.  We get quiet and B tells Mika to "go to your house" which is her command to go down to her bed where her crate use to be.  She refuses, which is strange and never happens.  That is one command that she always follows in the house, even if you can tell she doesn't want to.  B gets up and goes to the open bedroom door and we listen.  We hear creaking downstairs.  Anyone who has been in our house much knows that we have creaky floors. I hear crickets, which is odd.  Our windows provide great sound proofing.  Brian closes the bedroom door while I call 911.  I'm hiding, crouched down, on the side of the bed away from the door and B and Mika are at the foot of the bed away from the door.  We hear creaking around.  

The 911 guy was super calm.  I know they are trained, but his confidence was very calming.  I tell him we think there is someone in our house.  He asks some questions: 2 of us live here, we have a dog, yes the dog is with us, we hear creaking, yes we still hear someone/thing moving around downstairs, no we don't have weapons.  He lets us know that the police officers are on the way and that we should stay on the line with him.  I'm shaking and feel completely terrified but stay calm enough to talk quietly.  I'm thinking about how I can't hide under the bed...I don't fit...and there is no where else for me to go without crossing the path of the door.  B tells me afterwards that he was trying to think of something to use as a weapon, but we didn't really have anything.  

It only takes a few minutes.  It felt like a long time, but it wasn't really.  We see lights near the walking paths behind the house (the officers looking for people) and hear a dog (the canine unit).  The 911 guy keeps us on the line and tells us that other units will be there shortly and to stay in our room until they announce their presence (and to keep hold of the dog).  A couple minutes later, a cop announces he is an officer and B goes down.  I keep a hold of Mika and stay in the room a bit longer.  After getting better dressed and going downstairs, we answer a bunch of questions about what happened.  We are asked not to touch anything if at all possible and to start looking for things that are missing.  They won't let me do anything because I'm pregnant and they have called the EMTs to check up on me.  The guy took a computer monitor, my purse, B's keys, our digital SLR camera, the camera bag, our PS3, and laptop.  The police found things ditched throughout his path of escape up to a few blocks away.  My purse was on a neighbors car with nothing missing from it.  B's keys were found under my car the next day when I left for work, other stuff was found in bushes and under cars.  All of it was found.

After awhile, the EMTs showed up and took my vitals (big surprise, my blood pressure was a bit high).  I haven't felt any movement from Mr. E at this point and I'm worried, but at this point I remember that I have a home doppler thing and grab it and find his heartbeat before the EMTs leave.  His heart rate was also a bit high, but within the normal range of 130-170 that I'm always told at the doctor's office.  Poor little dude probably got a ton of the adrenaline and other hormones/whatever that were running rampant through my system at that point.  EMTs couldn't do anything else for me.  So they left.  

A detective comes and asks us again about what happened, what was missing, did we know anyone by the name of the guy they caught and had out in their police car.  We write formal statements.  We get some of our stuff back.  A crime lab lady came and took fingerprints off all the stuff he stole and certain places around our house (door knob of the front door and lock of the sliding door (it was open and most likely the door he left through) and a clear fingerprint on a speaker that was otherwise covered in dust).  We answer some more questions and provide our contact information.  

At some point, probably around 430ish, an officer comes in and says that someone should probably take the suspect down to the station because he was in the back of the squad car crying about the cuffs being too tight and having carpal tunnel syndrome.  The thought makes me smile.  That sounds mean, but it's his own damn fault.  Also he was apparently intoxicated.  

The officers finally leave around 5am.  I call into work and take the day off.  Brian emails his professors to get excused absences so he doesn't lose points.  Mika receives a bunch of treats and peanut butter.  She did a good job.  Some people have mentioned that she should have attacked, but I don't think that is really her personality.  She came to us and alerted us, and she probably couldn't have done anything better.  We still don't know what she would have done if he would have come into our room or come after us.  I have a feeling she may have attacked then.   We would have slept right through it if it wasn't for her.  We sleep with our bedroom door open.  The thought gives me chills.  I've decided Mr. E may be sleeping in our room until he is old enough to wield his own baseball bat.  I'm only half joking.  I can't imagine what I would have done if he was already born and in a different room. The rest of this crazy story isn't scary for me to tell anymore...that thought is still heart-pounding terrifying to me.  

We slept until noonish and called our families and insurance and all that and just tried to relax all day.  I cleaned house to get out some energy.  We walked Mika to get some of her energy out, you could tell she was still on alert.  I've checked the locks a billion times since then.  We had already planned to get a new front door and floors put in soon.  I was thinking before about how I wanted to get rid of the creaky floors.  Now I'm not so sure.  We probably wouldn't have heard anyone moving around after Mika woke us up if it wasn't for the floors creaking.  

I was extremely impressed with the Howard County Police (we don't have city police, just county police).  They got here so fast.  The officer that stayed with us and asked us questions was very good at keeping us relaxed.  They caught the guy and found our stuff in the dark hidden in bushes and under cars.  You could tell they were pumped up by actually catching someone.  I'm not saying they were happy it happened, but breaking and entering isn't usually noticed while its happening so they rarely catch people.  I felt kinda bad for the detective and crime lab lady, you could tell they had to get out of bed for us.  The other officers were already on shift. I still feel very grateful for how fast they got here, how they kept us calm and relaxed, and that they got the guy and all of our stuff.  We received a letter in the mail today about victim assistance.  It provided phone numbers to call for different things, our detective's info and case number, and information about how the judicial process works.  I'm sure it's an automatic thing to send to people, but I feel like we were completely taken care of.  Seriously impressed with our police here.  

Because I'm an internet stalker: 

We saw the court case in the Maryland court system online system already.  His preliminary hearing will be later this month.  I told someone that he was about 28, but he is 23ish.  He is being charged with Burglary-First Degree, Burglary-Third Degree, Burglary-Fourth Degree-Dwell, and Theft: $1000 to under $10,000.  I know it is the weekend, and this may only be due to a backup in data entry, but his bail was set on Thursday and it still doesn't say he was released.  

This isn't this guy's first run in with the law.  He has had multiple instances of driving on a suspended license, a second degree assault charge, public intox/reckless endangerment, theft of under $100 (found guilty), a few other charges that I would consider minor, and one of the officers recognized him from some vandalism at a convenience store.  A few of these cases were closed out due to the prosecution choosing not to pursue, probation, or a suspension of the prosecution (they could reopen it for a repeat offense in a reasonable amount of time).  

That's all I can think of for now.  It was scary.  It a way, it feels like it didn't really happen even though I know it did.  We still haven't gotten all our stuff back, so we don't know what condition it is in.  I did get to keep my purse though.  

The moral of the story is: Lock your doors.  

Beautiful fall day!

Brian and I went to a friend's cookout today which was a blast!  The weather was great!  When we came home to feed Mika, we hung out in the backyard playing kickfetch with Mika and chillin' in our hammock.  It is just awesome weather today.  Not too many updates with baby.

I'm 30 weeks!  EEEK!  10 weeks / 69 days left (yes I know this isn't a set day, but here's hoping Mr. E stays in until ~40 weeks).

Mr. E:

• ~15.7" long
• ~3lbs
• still moving around like crazy.  
• Fingernails and toenails are pretty much finished developing
• his bone marrow is completely in charge of red-blood-cell production
• is opening his eyes sometimes, but his vision is only about 20/400
• has spent most of his energy on brain development
• has eyebrows

I am: 

• sleeping a lot
• suffering from swollen hands.  My rings have been moved to a necklace chain.  I'll probably just quit putting them on my hands even when they are not swollen.  I might also drop them off to get them cleaned. 

Here are some pics from today's trip to the backyard:

Brian fixing the camera for me.  But he got my belly so I thought you would want to see!

Brian's feet

Mika says, "Throw it!"

Zzzzzzzzzzz

Eli and Mika playing kickfetch

Chillin' in the hammock

I was trying to get a nice picture, but someone had to make a face

I got rid of my first husband to marry this mountain man I found while on a hike one day. 

We decided we wanted a family photo, but Mika wasn't working with us.

She was very ball-focused and couldn't figure out what we wanted her to do.

This was the best we could get!

I tried to get my belly, but my arms aren't long enough.  B is so serious looking with the beard and shades.

Taking a break from playing with her ball.

"I'm ready!  Throw it!"

I got it!

I'm ready!

I'm a terrible blogger: 29 weeks

Here, have some pictures first to appease the masses: 

29 weeks 3 days.  Not a maternity shirt so it looks weird.  I was feeling lazy, and you're lucky I'm even wearing pants.

29 weeks 3 days

29 weeks 3 days

Sorry I haven't updated (again).  I'm a terrible blogger.  I'll make up for it today by writing a thousand page novel.  I have just been tired and too lazy to bust out the camera.  And not having pictures was a great excuse to be lazy with typing.  Who cares about the pregnant lady unless you can see the bump!

Obligatory fruit comparisons and such:

Mr. E:

• is about 2 1/2lbs (about the weight of a butternut squash...mmmmm butternut squash is delicious and now is the season!)
• is about 15 inches long from head to heel.  That is long.  That is longer than a ruler.  I'm having a baby.
• is developing a ginormous head to cause me pain and make room for what will be his genius little brain.
• is further developing in his bones, lungs, and muscles
• is starting to grow his fat stores.  He will be less skinny from here on out.  
• has teeth under his gums
• is going to be cramped soon.  He's trying to get in all the movements he can before then.  Believe me. 
• can distinguish between bright sunlight and artificial light, not that he knows what it is, he can see the difference though.  

Me:

• I can no longer type in baby at ## weeks into google images.  This leads to pictures of babies born at 29 weeks.  I don't think of that.  I keep explaining to Mr. E that he isn't allowed to come out yet and to stop knocking on the door.
• I have started kick counting as advised by the doctor.  Even though Eli moves a ton, I don't have the attention span to make it to 10 movements at most times throughout the day.   So I do it when I lay down to go to sleep. 
• Heartburn is actually not as big of a problem this week as it has been the last month or so.  I'm telling myself it is because Eli is hanging out attacking my bladder and cervix instead of my ribs and stomach.  
• I'm pretty sure I saw an arm/elbow or leg/knee bulge out of my stomach the other day.  That was cool, although a little uncomfortable so I'm glad it didn't last long. 

Brian: 

• School is going well!  It is midterm week and he only had one midterm (how lucky is that!).  
• The spring schedule looks like we might not need full time childcare.  Who here can see Brian being a work at home dad two days a week?  It may just happen!!
• Has had two realizations that baby is coming soon: 
• He said, "What do you want for Christmas? Christmas is soon you know.......That means baby is coming soon!"
• He was emailing a hotel that he has been to before (about returning for a stay) and wrote something to the extent of "I will be returning with my wife and son."  He said that using the word son felt strange.  I am very excited for him.  He doesn't get all the bumps and kicks and heartburn and bathroom trips to remind him all day long.  So I am excited that I get to share more of the excitement/nervousness that I feel with him because I think he is feeling similarly. 

Mika: 

• Doesn't even know what's going on
• is currently snoozing like a rockstar because she went to camp today.
• has been licking my belly so maybe she does know something is going on.  
• loves bananas and applesauce and cheese and pumpkin and...

So for those of you who can't resist buying cute baby things and sending them to me (you know who you are...grandmas!)  We are pretty set on newborn and 3-6 month clothes.  Our neighbors are awesome and have a boy about 10 months.  We are getting tons of his hand-me-downs!

For those of you that are getting titles with this birth, we would love to know what you would prefer to be called.  I'm sure we'll have an Oma and a grandma and an Aunt (like ant) and an Aunt (like aunt) and such.  So if you know what you want to be called, let us know.  Also, if you have a recent picture you could digitally send me, that would be awesome.  I want to put family pics on his wall and start a picture book for him so we can "visit family" who we don't get to see often.  My older sister had a little photo album for her kids and I love the idea.

I had a doctor's appointment last Friday.  There weren't any real updates before then anyway (another excuse for being a terrible blogger).

• I do NOT have gestational diabetes which is great.  
• First off, that glucose stuff they make you drink is gross, I am so glad I didn't have to do it again for a 3 hour test.  It tasted like a flat orange syrupy soda.  I don't like orange soda and if you are a drink that tries to taste like soda you better have carbonation and a lot of it.   This weirdo husband of mine likes to shake his sodas so there isn't as much carbonation.  I glare at him.  Anyway, the orange stuff is gross.  Most of you know me well enough to know that I love my sweets, so you would have thought that I would have loved an uber-sugary drink.  
• Secondly, I'm hoping this will prevent a doctor from trying to tell me I'm going to have a 20 lb baby and demand a c-section and then baby comes out at 5 lbs.  
• I'm a bit anemic but I practically begged not to be put on extra iron supplements.  I'll feel fatigued a lot, that's fine. Most of you ladies that had to take prenatal vitamins with iron probably know the reason why.  Everyone else can just be left hanging. 

The doc at my appointment was great.  This was the first time I had questions and she listened very carefully and answered thoroughly.  Also she felt comfortable laughing with me.  That was nice.

• Laughter suddenly turning into uncontrollable sobbing is perfectly normal, even if you are still trying to laugh BECAUSE you are sobbing so hard you can't breathe.  She got a giggle out of me explaining the deer in headlights look Brian gets when this happens (poor guy).  
• Punches to the cervix area are normal and not a cause for concern unless it is consistent pressure.  I like to tell Mr E. to go away ("no one's home!") and come back in a few months.  I actually think I preferred it when he was exploring all the different ways he could hit my ribs.    
• Sadly, my left arm and hand has started to get tingling in it again.  This is a first since my surgery, so it scared the crap out of me.  I spent many moments trying not to cry about it (stupid hormones) during the three days between the tingling starting and my doctor's appointment.  
• The doc recommended going to a regular doc and getting my hardware checked on and anything else they might think is necessary.  
• She also explained that my progesterone levels are already on the higher side of normal so my tendons and ligaments may be relaxing quite a bit to prepare for birth.  This could be putting stress on the nerve going down my arm.  
• She also thinks I may be compensating for my belly with my back which could cause strain on that nerve somehow.  SOoooo (why aren't there various sizes of the letter o so I could make that soooo get smaller in increments?), she provided me with a pregnancy belt.  Now anyone sitting inside my mind during my plane ride home to Indiana would know that I made fun of the pregnancy belt advertisement in the magazine I read.  However, it made a difference just in the 40 minutes I wore it that day.  So I'm suppose to wear it when I have to walk a lot (in and out of work, renn fest (ooops, forgot it), shopping, etc).  And I get to be the dork in the pregnancy belt.

That's all for now (are you really still with me?  woooow!).  I'll update again this weekend.  If I don't, make sure you blame the photographer.  Or maybe the dog.

21 Weeks and a pic

Here is my pic that I promised.  Finally.  Sorry about that.  I'll try to get better ones when B gets home next weekend.

Anyway, I'm 21 weeks today.
Baby:
* is about 7.5-10.5" long (about the length of the carrot says BabyCenter.com)
* is about .75 lbs (12.25 oz)
* is kicking up a storm.  He's getting close to my ribs already.  I'm already seeing a pattern of kicking all night and resting most of the day.  (preparing me).  I still haven't felt him on the outside but they are definitely stronger kicks and I expect B should be able to feel them soon!
* has eyebrows and eyelids now, but he still can't see.
* gets a better sense of touch this week. Soon I will get to poke him back and he will feel it.

I'm:
* getting round ligament pains
* enjoying some hellish heartburn
* tired.  The fatigue is back full power.
* noticeably pregnant.  Someone cautiously asked me the other day.
* getting a bit short of breath at times.  I'm assuming I'm getting a bit of pressure on my diaphragm now.

Work is going great.  I'm doing some kick ass training.  It is a lot of information in a short period of time, but I'm enjoying it.  I can't explain how excited I am to have this job.  The people are friendly, helpful, and extremely knowledgeable.  I do my mission fit interviews this coming week so hopefully I should know which office/team I will be working on in the next two weeks.  I'll get a mentor to help me focus my training and prep to go on the client side to work.

Mika is doing really really well with some loose leash training.  Although strangely enough she barked aggressively at a dog across the street today.  Something I don't think I've ever seen her do.  Now the other dog started barking first, but I've just never seen her act that way.  She lunged a couple times and I had to hold her collar to get her calm.  She didn't pull like she does when she sees a bunny or deer, but it just caught  me off guard.  We might have to start going to the dog park and training a bit in there off leash with tons of distractions to get her to start paying attention to me and B more during distractions.    On a good note, she has been home alone for long hours without getting into anything.  She pretty frequently gets something or other while we are gone.  Something she doesn't do when we are home.  She has been going to campbowwow twice a week to run some energy out of her.  She will probably go less when B is back.

B is in Europe visiting family.  I'm sad I didn't get to go, but I think he is enjoying himself.  I'm glad he got to go though.  I can't wait to hear all about it!  We don't mess with international call fees.  We've been emailing, and I've gotten a few details, but can't wait to sit around and hear about it in detail.  (oh and I hear that I'm getting swiss chocolate!)

Maternity Ward Tour

Brian and I took a maternity ward tour yesterday.  We took it pretty early because it is only offered on Tuesdays at 1300 (1pm) and I don't want to miss work and I start next week.

So Bethesda is a pretty cool hospital when it comes to delivery.  I am pleased after the tour.  I feel like they are a happy medium when it comes to policy.  Here are the highlights.

I will labor, deliver and do a few hours of recovery in the same room.  All rooms have one bed, a rocking chair, a birthing ball, squat/birthing bars, a small fold out couch (the nurse recommended air mattresses over the couches), a few chairs, a spacious bathroom with a walk-in, sit-in shower, the baby's hospital bassinet thingy, TV, and probably anything else you can think of except for a birthing tub.  The rooms themselves are very spacious and could probably hold 4-5 people comfortably even with staff coming in and out.  They showed us how they take apart the bed for delivery and explained how it helps when baby comes out.  They have posters of suggested positions for the birthing ball, allow you to labor in the shower for a bit (not birth there), require 20 minutes out of every hour to be on a monitor (but I can move around when not on the monitor).

Since the staff is there on rotating shifts and you can't guarantee a specific provider for your delivery, no one is in a rush so they can go home, go on vacation, etc.  The surgeons and anesthesiologists are on the same type of shift schedule and most are military.  None are paid by the procedure so there is no pressure for epidurals or csections although their csection rate is close to all the other hospitals in the area.

Babies stay in the room with mom at all times except for a few exceptions:  weighing (out in the hall) and a few standard tests/procedures that we can accompany if we want.  All nurses and main staff members are trained to assist with breastfeeding, latching, etc and lactation consultants are available about 14 hours a day during the weekdays.  As a first time mom, I'll be required to stay for 48 hours before release even if everything is peachy.  They provide everything that is needed for baby except the take home outfit/blanket and carseat (which they inspect to make sure baby fits into correctly before we are allowed to leave.  They also highly encourage us to take the carseat with our car to the fire department just outside the hospital to ensure that the carseat fits right in our car and we know how to lock it in).   They even encourage that we take home all the diapers, bulb syringe/nose thingies, brushes (great for cradle cap apparently but are OR brushes so they can't be bought), wipes, pretty much everything but their shirts and blankets.

It is a training hospital so there may be doctors in training helping with delivery and any other procedures.  I get PAs, Nurse Practitioners, etc in training all the time so I'm not too concerned about this.  When anything complex or important is happening, the (attending? is that the right word?) fully qualified doctor is there to supervise.   For the less important stuff (asking questions, routine stuff like checking pulse and stuff) they might be there on their own, but the qualified doctor dude follows up.  Some people seem concerned about this (one person asked "Can we refuse a training doctor?"), but it doesn't bother me really.  I know I won't be their first patient.  It takes a lot to get to that level.  I don't know all the details of how, but I'm pretty sure every form of medical training requires education on childbirth.

Immediately upon birth, baby and mom get tagged with what they jokingly call baby Lojack.  Babies don't even leave the room for the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU) until this band is on.  These tags will cause an alarm that goes off if the baby leaves the maternity ward.  This alarm locks down the hospital and the entire post until all babies currently admitted to the ward are accounted for.  The NICU and csection operating rooms, etc are all right down the hall in the same ward.  So once mom is admitted she really doesn't leave the general area.

They reminded us all that they appreciate birthing plans, but that everything is driven by the mother's body and the baby and sometimes due to those two factors, they can't stick to the plan.  Their policies are pretty liberal.  I can have clear foods and liquids (Jello, sprite, popsicles, water, etc).  I can labor in almost any position and even when being monitored, the cord is pretty long and will allow me to reach the ball, rocker, etc.  We can rearrange the room in almost any way we want.  They encourage the baby be delivered to the mother's belly/chest, dad can cut the cord if he wants, they do everything possible to get baby breastfeeding within an hour after delivery (usually sooner and they highly encourage breastfeeding).

Overall I feel very comfortable with this hospital and the setup/policies.  I'm actually afraid I will be a bit spoiled with this, and with my next kid I won't have great facilities.  For all I know though, this stuff can all be pretty standard.  I just feel like I hear about some hospitals requiring a bunch of stuff to make life easier on the staff or because that is how it was done in the past and putting the mothers' wants at the bottom of the list.  (Hell, they even has a snack room where they keep popsicles, jello, etc for us to use during labor).

Mika and McKenzie

Cheryl and McKenzie stopped by for a visit from Europe on the way to visit other family.  They only got to stay one night, but it is always great seeing them.  Being the hermits that we can be, Brian and I didn't take advantage of them living so close.  Now I miss just knowing we have family in the area and I miss seeing them even more.

Poor...McKenzie?  Mika?  I'm not sure who scared the other more.

Mika is very tall as most of you know and she has a very very loud bark.  She use to be so afraid of children as a puppy that she would plant herself and pee on the spot when they were around.  We don't know why.  She has gotten better though.  She barked very soon after McKenzie saw her for the first time since she was full grown and Kenz is use to small dogs, but probably hasn't seen too many big ones.  I think a combination of Mika's size and the volume/depth of her bark scared Kenz right at the beginning.  So we kept Mika in her crate or in our bedroom while they were here.  McKenzie was still quite worried about the dog though.  After realizing Mika couldn't get out of her crate, she played on our keyboard (also known as a pinano, for those of you who may not know) most of the evening.  I think she liked controlling the sound of the notes.  She is getting very independent and learning to do most things on her own.  A stage I loved seeing my little sisters go through, but I'm sure it can be trying for the parents.  This morning, Kenz found the demo button on the keyboard so she got to dance around to music.  She loves to dance so much, and I love watching her do it.  


When they left for the airport this morning, I let Mika out of our bedroom.  I promptly sat down to write this blog about their visit and check to see what was going on in this world (woot woot the higgs boson particle discovery...I like positive news and I saw it yesterday, but it is big enough to enjoy today too).  Then I hear Mika doing something downstairs near her food bowl, which I know is empty (she has been training me for children all this time).  I go and check to see what she got out of the trash.  Already tossing around a few thoughts with Brian about Mika and diapers last night, I suspected a diaper was the target of her raid.  Sure enough, on the living room floor was a diaper that had been in the trash.  Thankfully, she heard me coming, and it was fully intact and closed (compared to shredded all over the living room floor which is what I mentally prepared myself for).  This has instantly changed our need for a diaper genie from a "like to have"/"nice to have" (and me thinking it was almost worthless since we have so many floors we could be changing diapers on) to a "must have" for at least the main floor.

Back Pain

Soooo, for about a week now, my back has hurt like crazy on the left side down near the bone.  I started sleeping with a pillow between the knees and that seems to help, but I also got really lazy with the excuse of "taking it easy".  Back to the grindstone today though.  I have cleaning to catch up on and projects around the house to complete and a lot less time than I think I have until 4 September when I start my new job.  I'll be gone to Indiana for a bit and then to Europe.  Busy busy Amy.

Brian is still doing school.  I think he is surprising himself since he didn't do well in high school.  It isn't like he couldn't have done well in HS, he just didn't try.  So he got an A in pre-calc and surprising even himself I think, he got a 100% on his final!  I can tell he is very proud of himself, but he hasn't told many others.  I think he feels like it is bragging too much.  Personally, I am very proud of him.  I love watching him do something he enjoys/wants to do.
Mika got a wading pool for the back yard yesterday.  She loves it!  She just goes and lays down in the water to cool off when we are outside.  She is hilarious though because she can be sitting in water almost up to her head and she won't let you spray her with the hose.  Also, she still hates the vacuum.  I'm deep vacuuming today (couches, pillows, dusting curtains, etc) and she looks like the most pitiful thing ever.  We did make a cushion fort for her though.  Brian took a pic but I don't have a copy yet or I would post it.

Speaking of pictures.  I have tried to start taking belly pictures.  But I hate them.  All of them.  Brian promises I don't look stupid, but I don't believe him yet.  I'll keep trying to find a place and a stance that doesn't make me look weird.  Hopefully by Saturday at 15 weeks I can find one and actually have a bump to show you.  I can finally feel the fundus (top of uterus), but I just look bloated still.  I'm still around my start weight though.  I'm not sure when that will change since I'm eating a lot.  Like 2pm, 7pm, 1am snacks.  Maybe I just can't eat as much at a time and that is the difference.  I do know that my body forces me to stop when I get full.  Maybe I don't have as much room in there anymore with everything squishing around.  Oh, and let me just say...I'm kind of angry about the 1am snacks (sometimes 3am snacks too).  I'm tired before that.  I turn off the TV and the phone and the computer.  Normally I'm asleep in about 5-10 minutes.  NOPE!  Sometimes an hour later I'm still there.  I rarely have problems getting to sleep, so this is probably the most annoying change that has happened so far.  I am not looking forward to when baby can punch, kick, and roll where I can feel it and it keeps me awake.  Ok, enough rambling!  Back to vacuuming.

Ultrasound 2

I was 10 weeks 2 days on Monday at my 2nd OB appointment and the little bean has grown 10 times its size since the last visit from .54 cm to 5.3 cm and looks more like a gummy bear now! The heart beat was 169 beats per minute and was awesome to hear again! The morning sickness is mostly gone and I'm feeling much more energetic! hooray!




This picture has the heartbeat. The heart is between the two yellow lines. The head is at the orange arrow and the length is between the two red lines. The green boxes show the measurements.

This picture is a little closer up, the length is between the two red lines and I think the nose is at the yellow arrow.

The midwife at the appointment was awesome.  She couldn't find the heartbeat with the doppler, so she gave me an abdominal ultrasound!   She was friendly and paid attention and this was a great change from the last "midwife" at my orientation. I plan on sticking with Walter Reed Bethesda through the entire pregnancy, so I'm glad that this experience was much better than my last visit. The midwife was great because she listened to me about my thyroid, showed me a little squishy model of what our baby looks like right about now, and was generally just nice and friendly and cool.


Brian and I have been working really hard on our registry since Jill is throwing me a shower in about 6 weeks! We know nothing about bottles or strollers or swings/bouncers or other baby related stuff other than what I remember from Kendra and Abby. I'm sure we'll figure it all out though. We have decided to do it through Amazon though.  The link is http://www.amazon.com/registry/baby/3C6NTSMZVLTNU


Mika is just being Mika. She saw a young groundhog today on our walk and pulled so hard that I had to let her go. I have been working with her a lot on loose-leash walking so that she doesn't pull that hard, but she lost control a bit. Hopefully she'll keep getting better or I will have to stop walking her eventually. We are also working on her stair etiquette because she frequently pushes up against me while I'm going down the stairs and we don't want any falls.