2008: A year of change

Okay, so I know I'm not the only one to use the 'Change' slogan this year, but I do believe it is 100% appropriate in our case as well. While this year certainly seemed like it was only about six months long, I still can't believe all that has happened. I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have believed in January that the year had so many changes in store for us, but it certainly has.

Obviously deciding to start our family this year has been the biggest event of our year. Who would have guessed that the first of many conversations last January would lead me to be laying here (yes, everyone, I'm laying down like I'm supposed to), nearly 34 weeks pregnant, a mere 12 months later? Pregnancy has been quite a journey and certainly not the journey I envisioned, but every hick-up has been for the best and things are going to work out just fine. And besides, very soon (but not too soon! ;) we are going to be able to meet this new little person face to face:

29 week ultrasound: That's his face, front and center, if you can't already tell...and yes I know its also mildly kinda creepy, but its nice to see those chubby cheeks and chin. Hopefully he doesn't really have marbles for eyes ;-)

We also took a couple nice road trips this year, one to Mammoth Mountain in March to snowboard (and ended up getting my credit card number stolen at the motel - stupids) and our bigger vacation to Utah in May/June. Both of these trips also marked big turning points this year, as we decided to "officially" start trying for our family the week we left for Mammoth (which led to lots of silly name discussions on the ride up). And we brought back the best souvenir of all from Utah...the microscopic beginnings of our new family. I was also able to sneak away to Hawaii in September for Shan's wedding, which was so much fun! (She can also vouch for the massive changes this year has brought ;-)

As for the economic changes this year - all I can say is: wow. Belts have been tightened and my rock solid job, is currently anything but. However, despite the occasional money freak-out, all I can do is count our blessings. We still have a roof over our head and food on the table. We have health insurance and all of our basic needs met. We also settled into some good money saving routines, including our continued and very free Sunday outings to the park. Both of us (I can't yet speak for Jenny) are super excited to return to this weekly ritual with baby in tow.

And while this year has been absent the normal year-end wrap up queues (Thanksgiving and Christmas were anything but ordinary!), here we are at the end of the year regardless. Once again, I am so thankful for all the kindness and thoughtfulness that has been shared with us over the last few weeks. Its so easy to get lost in our regular lives and times like these are an excellent reminder of why it is so wonderful to surround ourselves with cherished friends and family. We've received so much strength from others in these weeks and know that it would have been infinitely more challenging if we didn't have you all in our lives.

So, with that, I will wrap up this last post of 2008 and wish you all the very best in the new year.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone the very Merriest of Christmases!

(and yes, Christmas trees really do make good back scratchers...just ask Jenny!)

Brief Photo Update

I've been meaning to post these photos for some time, but one thing that I've learned since being on bed rest is that everything takes longer to do. Not that I haven't had the most awesomest of care-takers ever, but its just that the little things get pushed to the side. I find this especially true when I need to ask other people for stuff. Is it absolutely necessary that I get my camera battery out of the charger this instant? No. Is it absolutely necessary that I get my wallet from my purse so that I can complete an online purchase right this second? No. So some things just go a little longer.

However, the camera battery is officially back in my camera and the camera cable has been plugged into the laptop long enough for me to get these off...we won't discuss how long it may take for me to get the photos I took at the hospital off my cell phone ;)

First up, I wanted to share what my constant bed rest companion looks like. This:

Or this:

The big red thing on the right is my belly - hee, hee

Needless to say Jenny is completely in love with my body pillow. I also feel that she could totally be a certified therapy dog. Not as they usually come, but specifically for bed rest recovery. She's nursed my grandma through a bought of stress fractures and she had previously nursed me through a couple wicked colds. But she has officially earned her place in doggy fame since I've been home from the hospital. She is next to me all day every day. There may be brief respites to eat, drink, potty and scratch her back under the Christmas tree, but otherwise, she is right there next to me...as she is as I write this. I really can't thank her enough...except when she steals my body pillow before I get to it!

I also sneaked a little belly progress photo the other day, just about at the 32 week mark. I figured this wasn't cheating since I was on my way to one of my sanctioned bathroom breaks and I took the photo in the bathroom mirror.


I feel way bigger than I probably look to most moms who've been through it all already, but since I haven't felt what its like to be 'really big' yet...this feels big. I also know he has about double his body weight to gain in the next 7 weeks, so I know I've got tons more growing to do.

That leads me to another point. As he's gotten bigger, his movements have obviously gotten stronger. They are still more cute than uncomfortable, but he's given me a couple good ones now that have actually hurt. (He of course loves to kick under my right lower rib that has been sore for most of the pregnancy.) We can also see a lot more movement through my tummy. I'm anxious to get some of it on video. So hopefully I will have a video to share in the near future.

Week 32!

Well we made it! Week 32 is the first of several very important milestones in our quest for a full-term Lloyd! Week 32 was where the perinatologist at Mary Birch wanted me before I was sent home from the hospital. (Fortunately, my doctor was not as conservative in that department!) Week 32 also marks a major point in health for a pre-term baby...healthy lungs and he's going on 4 pounds now!

Our follow up visit this Thursday was also a very good one. The OB said that while I was down to 70% effaced last week, I was basically not-effaced this week at all! I also have been gaining my requisite weight on schedule (up exactly one pound from last week and about 18 pounds over all). My tummy also measured 30 cm, up from 29 cm the week before. I had read that at this point, your tummy, a rough measurement of the baby's growth, should measure about the same number of cm as your pregnancy week. This puts me a little under 2 cm behind schedule. However, our OB also said that with low carrying babies, this measurement isn't as consistent and that as long as I'm gaining weight and my tummy is growing, she is happy. The last thing she did, more for my reassurance than anything else, was a very quick ultrasound to check the level of my amniotic fluid (more about this later) - which was really good. All this made her comfortable enough to let me skip next week's follow up appointment - yay!

This news came at a perfect time. The previous week had been very challenging for me. I had several bouts of paranoia about various issues, the biggest one was that I was leaking amniotic fluid. The books (which I have been reading lots of recently...which may or may not have been a good thing) provide enough information to confuse the heck out of you and just when you think you have something resolved, they usually end up saying...'but, it could also be Scary Thing X, so be sure to talk to your doctor ASAP.' All this and given that this entire scare came as such a surprise to everyone, left me second guessing every ligament pull, belly soreness, back ache, and stiffness. The thing is that regardless, I am still growing a baby in my tummy (during one of his biggest growth spurt periods) and this doesn't exactly happen without ligament pulls, belly soreness, back aches, and stiffness.

I also knew that we were coming up on the 32 week mark. And my paranoia started making me scared for the worst case scenario. I hated the idea that after going through all of this, I could still possibly give birth now and Lloyd would have to live in the NICU for weeks. Don't get me wrong, I am very thankful that the NICU is there and I know that if he needed to be there, it would be the best place for him and he would be cared for by the best people possible. But we obviously would want him home with us.

These things left me more vulnerable to some other common issues also encountered with extended bedrest. I'm a planner. And I found all my plans turned upside down. I had to cancel the other baby classes we had signed up for (Baby Care Basics and nursing), since they are unable to make accommodations for people on bedrest. I've also felt pretty lost when it comes to reading the pregnancy books and even the updates I get from Baby Center. While they are obviously still helpful for the purposes of marking Lloyd's progress, a lot of the things no longer apply to me. I've also felt a little lost related to our planning for the birth itself, since there are now a lot of things I can't do. All the exercises are out. (I'm not even allowed to do Kegel's!) A lot of the HypnoBirthing birth preparation practices are out. And this is frustrating since practice is really the key to the whole method. I can practice relaxing, but is that enough?

Anyway, it was all of this all rolled together that was hard last week. I do feel much better now though and I feel that while things are certainly not as we planned, everything will be fine. And as Brad says, regardless of what happens at this point, we are still going to have our baby in the end of it all. And that really is the most important thing of all...everything is just details.

A little meme

Sometimes these are fun to do and I liked this one, so here are my answers:

Things I’ve Done (In Bold)

Things I Want to Do (In Italics)


1. Started my own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii (good timing for this one, right?)

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than I can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland/world (in FL and CA)

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sung a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched lightning at sea

14. Taught myself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown my own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitchhiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping (I'm going to count this...even though it was more topless, than the full monty)

27. Run a marathon (well, walk one at least)

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught myself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had my portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had my picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby :D

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a lawsuit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Rode an elephant

Things are good!

We went to the doctors yesterday and it looks like being off my feet is doing what it is supposed to do! My OB said that I was less effaced than before, which means that my cervix isn't as thin as it was. This doesn't mean I can go back to normal activity. She said he is still really low and putting a lot of pressure on my cervix. But at least it means that what I'm doing is having a positive affect.

The plan now is to have me officially on full bedrest and on my nifedapine until 35 weeks. She said then, she'll take me off the meds and that I can go about my normal activities. However, this means that I could go into labor at any point. So Brad's and my plan is for me to stay on bedrest for a few more weeks after that. We want this little boy full term if we can do anything about it! And really what's a few more weeks at that point anyway! But I won't deny I have fantasies about being able to go get the mail or go to the grocery store again! ;)

The other good news is that I'm having very few contractions now and I haven't had to use the terbutaline at all since I've been home. Each day is better than the previous day and as long as I stay hydrated and go to the bathroom often, I don't have any contractions at all! Plus, like at the hospital, I'm getting a little routine down and it almost doesn't seem like I don't leave the house. Although, going out for the appointment yesterday was really nice! We may have even stopped for frozen yogurt on the way home to make the most of it. Don't worry I stayed reclined in the car while Brad got them!

Home Sweet Home!

Fortunately things went really well on Thursday and Friday morning...and after asking the on call doctor what was next, he decided to send me home. I have a very sneaking suspicion I'd still be there if I hadn't asked how my doctor was supposed to find out my progress. He checked the doctors orders and then did a quick check on my cervix. And since it was the same, if not better than when my doctor had checked last, he said I was free to go!

I'm on the same restrictions here as I was there...laying down except to go to the bathroom (and the occasional shower), but I'm home! Brad's already looking into various options to be able to handle the positions better. What makes things tricky is that I can't be on my back because the weight of the baby rests on a major artery and can actually reduce blood flow to my heart...and Lloyd. I have to be tilted all the time. This is what kills my shoulders and my hips depending on where I'm laying. So Brad's doing some investigating. I'm certainly fine for a few days while we sort pillow or lawn chair recliner options. Its just hard because I hate to spend money right now on stuff that can't be used later as well...which is why we are taking some time right now to see what might work the best for the investment. Because I do know that two months will be a long time if I can't get comfortable! The hospital let us take the air mattress from my hospital bed home and that helps a ton when I'm on the futon...the pad for which we have had since 1996.

My mom, aunt and grandma came over yesterday as well and helped me get all the crafting paraphernalia put away. We also organized my knitting bin and put away all the random balls of yarn and unfinished knitting projects I had laying all over the place. Except for the coffee table and a good clean, the living room and dining room look great and make me feel much more at peace when I'm out there. Cora and Ichun also stopped by yesterday (leaving me with a knitter's paradise of projects to keep me busy - thanks again guys!) and picked up the few sewing projects I had hoped to finish before Lloyd's arrival. I was 1/2 way through another 6 bibs and I had had hopes to sew up a couple receiving blankets as well as my sling. Cora, Ichun and Marisa have offered to finish up those projects for me, which was wonderful! I was especially anxious about the sling...because clearly a shower pre-baby at this point (Shannon, Susan and Meagan where looking at having one for me the middle of January) may be a bit of a challenge and while I'm totally fine not having a stroller or any of that other stuff before he gets here, my sling was a key carrying accessory while he was still too small for the other baby carrying options. And yes, I know I could have ordered one, but I had already picked out some great fabric from my stash that matches the diaper bag I bought on deep discount in October. So yeah, very relieved on the crafting front as well!

Anyway, before I get too far away from my days in the hospital, I wanted to describe a bit of my daily routine for the curious as well as my own recollection down the road.

7:15 am - wake up, breakfast delivered, eat
8:00 am - day nurse comes in to take my diagnostics (temp, heart, lungs, blood pressure, leg swelling, standard questions - any leaking or bleeding? baby moving ok? any pain?) and give me my morning dose of niphetapine and pre-natal vitamin. I had them open my window as well.

(read until the doctor comes in)

9:30 am - on-call doctor comes in and says I might either be able to go home soon or I will be there awhile.

(read until monitoring time)

10:00 am - on the baby and contraction monitors for at least one hour...maybe longer if I either had more than 6 contractions or Lloyd falls asleep. I usually read or looked at magazines during this time.
11:30 am - lunch is delivered...as long as I was off the monitors by then, I could eat, otherwise had to wait until I was done.

(Brad usually arrived between 11:30 and 12:30. We usually watched a little TV while we ate lunch.)

2:00 pm - afternoon dose of niphetapine.

(internet, knitting, reading, talking, visiting until dinner)

5:00 pm - dinner delivered

(read until 7:00 - the time I decided I could have the TV on for the evening...any earlier and I found I got depressed and yucky feeling...TV really sucks by the way...I had 100 channels and there was still almost never anything on I wanted to watch...I did discover however, you can watch Law and Order all day long with cable - so crazy!)

(Brad usually left anywhere between 5:00 and 8:00 depending on his schedule.)

8:00 pm - Night nurse comes in and does my diagnostics, same deal, and gives me my evening dose of niphetapine.

9:00 pm - on the baby and contraction monitors again, same deal...only these didn't seem to usually go as well as in the morning and I was almost always on them for a couple hours.

(go to sleep between 10:30 and 11:00...or try to...one night my loud, bored roommate's water broke, so that was really scary for me).

2:00 am - Night dose of niphetapine.

(get up and go to the bathroom every two hours until breakfast the next morning)


So there you have it! That's how I kept my day full while in the hospital. All those little milestones during the day really kept it from being too much...there was always something to do in a half hour or so.

My overall impression of the nurses and doctors at Mary Birch is a very positive one. Despite different philosophies, all the doctors were very concerned about me and Lloyd and what was best for us. The nurses were awesome...except one night nurse that I had only once and happened to also be taking care of my roommate the night she went into labor-labor. Her biggest thing was that she was acting like it was the middle of the day even though it was 3 in the morning - slamming into our room, flipping on the hall light, talking at full volume, etc. None of the others did that. They were very conscientious of our sleep and being as quiet as possible for us. They also tried to assign us the same nurses as much as possible, which I also appreciated. There were a few I had several different days that I really liked and always was happy to see them come into my room.

And finally, I just wanted to say thank you for everyone who called and came to visit (both there and here). It's meant a ton to me for you guys to take time out of your days and busy schedules to bring me treats and things to do, but most importantly your company whether in person, over the phone or the internet. Its made a world of difference and I know I'll be continuing to need your company over the coming weeks, so I will thank you in advance as well!

Okay, well, I think the laptop is about ready to self-combust, so I'm going to say goodbye for now. Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!

Bathroom Privileges

So, sorry to leave anyone hanging...but its taken until today for me to have internet access from my hospital room. Yup, that's right...hospital room. It's funny because I still can't believe this is something we are going through. I never in a million years expected to have anything but the most run of the mill, normal pregnancy. And in about 5 minutes on Wednesday, my normal healthy pregnancy turned into a high-risk pregnancy...with the possibility I could deliver at any time.

We made it to triage at Mary Birch on Wednesday about 4:30pm and by the time they had me on the monitors, they found I was having several contractions each hour in addition to the advanced state of my cervix (I'm supposed to measure 3 cm and I'm measuring 6 mm). The doctors prepared my body for labor (antibiotics for strep B) and Lloyd for birth (steroids to help his lungs mature) in case they couldn't get things under control. This meant that I spent the first couple of days being intermittently hooked up to an IV and had round the clock fetal and contraction monitors.

Fortunately, the perinatologist is very happy with Lloyd's condition. He is estimated at 2 and 1/2 lbs, head down, and his heart rate and activity levels are excellent. The specialist said that if I were to go to into labor now, he had a really good survival rate...although this would require a lengthy stay in the NICU. He now only needs to be on the monitor for a hour each morning...during which time he spends most of the time kicking the monitors and the bands that hold them on.

I've also been doing well, I'm off the IV and my contractions are monitored twice a day. Unfortunately, while they haven't been bad enough to necessitate the more extreme magnesium treatment to stop them, they aren't always within the threshold the doctors like to see. Basically if you have less than 6 per hour, you can be usually be maintained with an oral drug niphetapene. But if I hit 6 or more (and I seem to hit exactly 6 when I do have too many), they give you a shot of tributalene. This is not something I like. Not only does the drug make my heart race, but it means that they are less likely to feel I will be stable at home.

So, that brings me to where I am today. The perinatologist wants me to be here until I reach 32 weeks (I'm 29 1/2 now). Each OB that rounds each morning has had a difference philosophy about how to manage patients in my situation. Some say it doesn't matter if I'm here or home, others are more cautious and would only want me in a hospital. And since they are all so different, they are all differing to my doctor...who hasn't come back from Thanksgiving vacation yet. Right now, it sounds like she may be here on Thursday, but I'm not holding my breath.

What makes this okay with me is that I know I am getting good care and I feel that we've made the best medical decisions we could for both me and Lloyd to ensure his survival. I also know that the irregularity of my contractions scares me and I'm sure my doctor would want me here until they stabilize regardless. I just hope to stabilize soon so that I can avoid the tributalene shot as much as possible, since I can't imagine my heart is the only thing being affected by the drug. (And no, I'm not going to Google search it and please don't tell me what you find if you do.)

There are also pros and cons for being both here and at home. I miss being home terribly, but I also know why I'm here and that provides a lot of comfort. Being here is also easier for Brad because he would be completely overloaded caring for me as well as the entire house and his own obligations...because if I'm home, I can't do anything. I can't get my food, I can't let the dog out...in fact, all I can do is go to the bathroom when I need to. Even my showers are carefully monitored so I'm not vertical for too long. Plus, I'm not tempted to do anything while I'm here. I can't see the fabric for the bibs that are almost done or the sling I never made. I can't see the pile of knitting stuff I had planned to organized last weekend. So again, for so many reasons, being here is a very good thing.

I also got a chance to meet a few of the other women staying in the unit with me today as part of a support group. I wasn't planning to go, but in the end it was a really great excuse to get out of my room and hear that other women are going through the same thing...and some have already been here for 3 weeks or more, so clearly it is possible. They also gave us newbees the hook up...I also found out there is a special menu you have access to after you've been here a week and you may also be granted wheelchair privileges, so trips outside might be possible at some point in the future as well.

So, that's where things are at the moment. We are fine and we are just thankful for that follow up ultrasound last week. (I can only imagine what all the cleaning and organizing I had planned for the long weekend would have done!) My goal is to have a full term baby, so I'm going to do whatever I need to do to make that happen.

Quick update

We had our follow up ultrasound today. The good news is that one of Lloyd's kidneys is normal size and one is only ever so slightly enlarged, so they aren't really worried about it. The bad news is that apparently my cervix measured short (it gets shorter as you progress through labor, so yeah, not supposed to be short at 28/29 weeks) and it looks like its pulling some of the amniotic fluid down a bit (the term funneling was used). So, we are off to Mary Birch to get a full check out. We just stopped home to grab stuff to keep us busy and I'm eating a bit since we have no clue how long we will be there. Keep your fingers crossed that they are just going to tell me to take it easy...since I'm sure this is just a result of all the stress of the last week or so.

So this week had to get better, right? Well, I guess it did. I still have a job (right now).I still have 80% of my income. I now have every Monday off. It appears I still qualify for my maternity benefits in January. I still work with 75% of my co-workers. Baby health insurance costs only $300 per month (by adding the 'only' I'm trying to make this a positive statement...which is really hard to do). We only had one small earthquake this morning.

And in the true nature of cosmic balance, for every blow I've received this week, Brad's received a boost. He received some amazing news this week and one of his lifelong dreams is now very much within reach. There are still hoops to jump but he is so close now!

And in the grand scheme of things: we have our health, we have a roof over our heads, we can still pay our bills, and we are expecting the amazing gift of our son in February. We will be fine.

And for another positive...it was 85 degrees last Sunday! Which means we could sit in the shade in our short sleeve t-shirts in the middle of November. Living in San Diego has its privileges.


Here's a progress shot at 27 weeks:


And here's a shot of my favorite 'maternity' t-shirt. Its super nerdy and totally not about being pregnant, but it sure does work...



So the positive thoughts will continue to flow and will be flowing out to all of you. This is a hard time for so many people, but we will all get through it and things will get better.

This Week

Wow. This has been quite a week. At work the news was bad (no bonuses, no raises, possible pay cuts and talk of layoffs) and then a slow tire leak turned into an unexpected (but needed) set of new tires (ugh!). If you don't mind, I'm going to take solace in the (also needed) $50 shoes I was able to bring home for $8. Next week has to be better, right? ;-)

HypnoBirthing

Following our hospital visit at Mary Birch, we decided to pursue HypnoBirthing for our natural childbirth preparation. We began our class series with Jennifer Lindeman at the end of October and are already more than half-way through the series.

For some background, the fundamental premise behind the HypnoBirthing method is that for the vast majority of women, pregnancy and childbirth is a natural and normal part of the life process. Our bodies are expertly designed to conceive and nurture a developing baby, so it follows that our bodies (as well as our babies' bodies) are expertly designed to birth. As a result there is no reason to fear childbirth. Unfortunately, culture, society and history have turned childbirth into something that is fundamentally feared by most women and this fear and stress and the resulting pain, serve to propogate this 'reality'. However, through relaxation, we can retrain our bodies to take back the birthing process and let our muscles do the work they were designed to do. The births we've seen in class are amazing. The women look like they are mostly napping and resting and many don't even need to push at the end.

In class we are learning to use self-hypnosis techniques to attain a very relaxed state. The class time as well as practice time also helps to turn feelings of fear and apprehension into calm and positive anticipation of the birth. I can already see a huge difference in my outlook over the last three weeks. I wasn't scared of the actual process of child birth per se (although before the class, it had been far enough in the future, that I hadn't thought about it as a reality yet), but I was very scared about being rushed and a (medically) unnecessary c-section. I already feel more confident that the birth won't be long, that we will be able to work with hospital staff and that we will be able to do this the way we want. As for the birth itself, I'm actually looking forward to it! The mind is truly an amazing thing.

The Great Registration

A couple weeks ago, my mom and I headed to the Babies 'R Us (conveniently located down the street from her house!) to officially start our baby registry. I had already narrowed down all the big things (stroller, car seat, sleeping arrangements) through a ton of online research (and review reading) and through the handy Baby Bargains book. This is a book I probably would have never even thought existed or thought to look into, so I was really glad my boss gave me a copy a couple months ago. It has been invaluable when looking into not only how things work (because frankly I had no idea what the difference was between a convertible and a hybrid car seat!), but what features are really necessary (and they seem to be pretty candid here) and how people can waste their money. They also review the common brands and provide real feedback about cost v. benefits and users' comments. I highly recommend this book for all first time parents.

Now, we are doing a few things different from what 'most people do'. First thing, which I believe I've already talked about, is we are trying to stay in our current place until we can buy our own place hopefully in a year or so. This means that we don't have a baby's room to decorate. Right here, we are saving a TON of money. Second, my friend has already offered to let us use her crib, which we have happily accepted. So when the time does come, that expense is already take care of. With a few choice pieces of furniture that Brad's parents got us when they were in town visiting in August, we now have plenty of storage space for the new baby stuff in our own bedroom (having a 'college dorm bedroom' still (i.e. not much bedroom furniture) really paid off ;)

Diapers are going in the lime bins, diapering 'essentials will go in the lime plastic tubs and the changing station will be on top of the lower dresser.

Here's a shot of one of the other dressers. There's baby blankets in the deep drawer and all of our stuff is in a matching lower/wider dresser under the window to the right of this wall.

Because of the space issue, a lot of our baby choices have been simplified. Things either need to be compact or need to be multi-functioning. The 'bassinet' will be a play pen (I mean, 'Pack 'n Play - see the things you learn! ;) Not only can we use the top as a bassinet that will sit next to our bed when Lloyd first comes home, but once he is bigger, we have a portable play area that we can take with us or use in another room once we have our own place. There will also be no highchair, but rather a convertable booster chair, that sits in a normal dining room chair and converts to a toddler booster seat when he's older. The activity center can be used for back and tummy time while little and a play mat when older - plus folds down like an umbrella vs. most of the others that need to be stored sideways.

The other thing that is different, is the amount of things I'm making. I'm making burp cloths and blankets and bibs, so most of those things could be avoided. I've already linked to several of the things I've made, but the latest (bibs and shoes) can be seen here. I'm also making most of the crib accessories (bumper, blanket, ruffle, etc.), so again, more things missing from the registry. We also already have the diaper bag thing handled as well as slings (although we did register for a basic Baby Bjorn for Brad) and a nursing cover. Given all these things, you should see the list of 'missing items' they printed out when we were done! It still makes me giggle.

But despite the simplification, the registry process was very overwhelming. Not only are neither my mom or I big shoppers, but the selection of each type of item was overwhelming. For example, I knew going in, that I was going to add some Dr. Brown's baby bottles to the list as they have come highly recommended by a couple friends of mine who have used bottles to give them some freedom with their nursing. However, what I didn't know what that there were many sizes of bottles, many sizes of nipples and many cleaning and drying accessories. There were starter packs, but since I plan to do most of his feedings by nursing, our needs will be different from someone who is feeding a baby exclusively from a bottle from birth. I haven't read anything about any of this yet, so I had no idea what we might need. We are planning to take a nursing class and I'm sure a lot of that information will be discussed there, but for now I'm in the dark.

Fortunately, despite the overwhelming nature of the experience, I think we came away with a good list of things to get us going. And regardless, at least we now have the list of 'needed items' in one place for our own reference if nothing else!

OB Update

We went to our OB check-up visit yesterday. It was pretty routine: weight (I'm now up 13 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight - which I was surprised about - I thought for sure I would have gained more than the 5 per month I'd been averaging), blood pressure, heartbeat, and tummy size checks. Everything was normal. And the doctor was the most pleasant she's ever been, which was an even more pleasant surprise for me. She also referred us for a follow-up ultrasound sometime within the next 2-4 weeks to check how Lloyd's kidneys are doing.

I also got the pleasure of taking my 1 hour glucose tollerance test yesterday. Yum! I had to fast for 2 hours before, then drink an orange bottle of glucose. They then took my blood an hour later. I've been crashing lately, which hasn't really happened much for the last few years since my metabolism slowed down. But now that Lloyd is bigger, I think he is stealing some of those energy reserves and I've had a couple low blood sugar freak-outs and crashes lately. I was afraid I might get a bit 'crashy' during the test but I was fine and Lloyd seemed to really like the sugar rush after I drank the glucose drink. I'm assuming unless the test comes back abnormal, they will just go over the results at next month's appointment.

Dogs and Babies

There are a few things that we've done in the last couple weeks or so that all merit their own posts. So, while the posts haven't be as timely as I would have liked, there will be a few over the next few days talking about the classes we've taken and the baby registry we started.

The easiest place to start is the short afternoon class we took through Sharp Hospital called Dogs and Babies. When I was reviewing the booklet of offered classes, I was most excited about this one - mainly because it never would have occurred to me that such a class was available.

For almost 11 years, Jenny has been a significant member of our little family. We aren't concerned about her being mean to Lloyd when he comes. But we were concerned about potential jealousy issues (she's been known to be jealous when we give attention to other dogs or cats - she'll come over and say 'hey look at me now, look at me!!' - when normally the last thing she wants is to hang out with other dogs.) as well as fear issues (she hasn't exactly spent a lot of time around kids).

However, we were comforted last Thanksgiving when our nieces and nephew were visiting from France. At first, she wasn't exactly pleased they were there and would mostly avoid them when they came round to check her out...That is, at least, until she realized that people that close to the ground have a tendency to drop more food. Once this light bulb went off in her head, she turned the tables on the situation and began to chase our Nephew around the living room rather than the other way around as had been the case earlier in the week. We've already noticed the change in her when we are at the park and she's much more interested in the small kids, but then, they are usually eating.

Anyway...the class. Our instructor is a dog trainer for the San Diego Humane Society and began to teach the dogs and babies class when she began her own family. Her goal was to develop a program to help avoid the potentially bad things that can happen between dogs and babies that result in the dog needing to find a new home. In the vast majority of situations, these 'bad things' are completely avoidable as long as the parents know the warning signs.

The fundamental thing, which I will 100% admit that I had never thought about like this, was to understand that babies and small children are not able to have the same relationship we have with our dogs until they are about 5 years old. They just don't have the abilities in their tool chest yet. So this means that the relationships in the house form a sort of open-ended triangle, with a strong relationship between the parents and the dog and a separate strong relationship between the parents and the baby, but not a direct relationship between the baby and the dog. Furthermore, the role of the parents is to keep the baby (and subsequent toddler) from becoming sensitized to the dog. This not only helps with developing a relaxed relationship between the dog and the baby, but also keeps the baby from being overly drawn to other people's dogs, thus preventing potential biting accidents.


The end goal is a house where the baby/toddler can do its thing without involving the dog in its uncontrolled and uncoordinated games and the dog can feel safe and secure that it isn't going to be pulled, pinched, yanked or otherwise involved in the baby/toddler's play...and thus be calm and happier around the child. We both think this method will be perfect for Jenny given that she has a tendency to worry. We aren't worried at all about her being aggressive toward Lloyd, however, she also does not need to spend her golden years always concerned about what that mini-human is going to do to her. Hopefully she will just enjoy the fact that she will likely have food at her disposal at all times once he is walking around...can hardly wait! ;)

This Weekend in Pictures

Since Friday was Halloween, I thought I'd start the weekend there. Even though I worked Friday, my office had a good Halloween turnout both in costumes and with food, so I'm glad I had made the schedule change so I could work that day. I was Mother Earth, transforming last year's toga with some brown and green tulle and some flower garland from the dollar:


Saturday afternoon we went to a Jack and Jill baby shower for a co-worker and his wife. Since the guys were there, one of the activities was a beer drinking contest...out of baby bottles...

Lloyd, don't worry no beer will be in your bottles!

Sunday was somewhat rainy and overcast, so we made it an early walk and 'park in the car' day. When we got to the end of the Balboa Park promenade, we discovered a new art installation called Cool Globes. Each of the many globes were focused on a different effort to live more environmentally responsible.


This particular globe was covered with a knit rope sweater and was about the small things we can do to save heating and cooling expenses...like putting on a sweater instead of instantly turning up the thermostat.


I thought the globes also served as a nice background for a belly update photo:

25 weeks

Well that's it for us, we are trying to adapt to the time change and going to have a dinner of chicken enchilada casserole. Hope you had a lovely weekend!

This Sunday

A little knitting...

A little doggie...

A lovely day.

Popped

As I alluded to in my last post, I've seen some steady growth changes the last week or so and mid-week last week I do believe I've hit that milestone referred to as 'popping'. The growing belly ('is she gaining weight or is she pregnant?') has clearly turned into a round pregnant belly.

23 Weeks

Although, I have to admit this photo makes me look huge (or at least I think so!) and I really don't feel huge yet. I actually feel pretty amazing. I've passed through that icky body image stage and I love the way I look. I know that there will probably be a time when I start to feel like a whale, but for now, I'm enjoying this.

(We also discovered that black t-shirts aren't the best to wear when trying to show belly progress ;)

Things are a-changing

I've been regularly attending my spin class since the beginning of the year, which has been a major accomplishment for me. The last few years, my attendance has dropped at the beginning of the year and it has taken me from anywhere until April or June to get back on the bandwagon. So in an effort to bribe myself (which works entirely too well), I get a paper clip to add to my chain every week I go. If I have to miss for something I can't help (illness, travel, etc.), I'm fine. But if I flake, I loose all my paper clips. The idea is that at some point, I get to cash in my paperclip chain for a prize. The problem is, I never did settle on a prize this year. I'm contemplating buying a share of a yarn CSA through Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm (mostly for the feel-good factor, but also because this is such a rare thing to be able to do, too), but there are other things we need to be spending money on right now. And more yarn is not one of them! (I know - gasp! ;) So for now, I'm still officially prize-less.

Regardless, I've been finding the motivation to go to my spin class on my own. Unfortunately, when I went to class this last Wednesday, I realized that I have taken my last spin class for awhile. I've needed to monitor my heart rate in class for a while now, so that hasn't been a problem, but unfortunately, the angle I have to ride at does not bode well for a growing belly. I noticed it last week, but this week I was uncomfortable and the last thing I want to do is ride with bad form (not good on the knees!!). So, I'm going to have to find something else to do now. I've been walking periodically - obviously every Sunday at the park, but also on and off during the week. But I really need something else to make me feel like I'm working out.

I'm going to use the next few weeks to try out a couple things. My gym offers a water aerobics class Thursday nights (taught by my favorite spin instructor :) and they also have a pool for lap swimming. Sharp also offers very reasonably priced prenatal yoga classes three nights a week, but I still have to pay for an entire 8 class series up front. Given that we just shelled out almost $300 for our birthing class, yoga may need to wait for another week or so. I like that for each of these options, I can do them through the rest of my pregnancy or at least until I'm just not comfortable doing anything anymore. I'll keep you posted on what I decide to do!

Random Updates

I've been remiss in updating this week, but wanted to pass along how our hospital tour went last weekend as well as the latest update from our OB appointment on Monday.

The hospital (Sharp Mary Birch Hospital) tour went well. While they aren't able to offer everything we were hoping for (no water tubs, only the traditional birthing position), they were pretty flexible about most things. The facilities were also really nice and private. Even for those of us whose insurance only pays for 'semi-private' recovery rooms, they make an effort to only have one person per room whenever possible (which apparently is usually the case). As for labor and delivery, you are assigned your own room for everything. You are there from the time you are admitted until about 2 hours after the birth. You can have whoever you want in the room with you whenever you want them there. Once the baby is born, the baby stays with you the entire time (except for the first bath, which you can also do if you aren't too tired), so there is no nursery in the hospital (except for the NICU).

After our tour, we stayed behind and talked to the nurse about our specific questions regarding having a natural birth in today's hospital settings. She said, while indeed the epidural rate is high (like most facilities), people do have fully natural child births there. She also suggested that at the time we are admitted to ask if we can be assigned a nurse who would be interested in assisting with a natural child birth. In her experience there were definitely people who were more into it than others...and we do want someone who will be more into it. She also mentioned that we might want to think about hiring a dula, which we are considering...but of course don't really know where to go, since we don't know anyone who has used one and I'm not a big fan of picking names from a list.

All in all, we both felt much more comfortable going there for the birth and it also made selecting our child birth method easier as well. We decided officially to go the HypnoBirthing route and plan to start a class with a certified hypnotherapist (Jennifer Lindeman) in a couple weeks. We are then going to supplement what we learn in that class with a Bradley method book that Brad's sister gave us. We are also thinking about taking an abreiviated child birthing class that the hospital offers, so that we are familiar with the hospital practices and philosphies as well.

As for the OB visit, we did get a chance to meet the other OB in the office, only to find out that she is scheduled to begin her own maternity leave at the beginning of November. Apparently the OB we have been seeing (and don't really care for) will have an nurse practitioner available on Mondays to help with patient load and we may try to schedule our appointments then (since we prefer to go on Mondays anyway). I am also set for my glucose one hour test next appointment (beginning of November) which sounds fun (bleh). As for progress, this was the first time the OB measured my tummy since I now have one :) I think she said I was 21 cm, but I'll know for sure next time. I'm also up a total of 10 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight. As for Lloyd, she had trouble finding his heart beat because he was moving all over the place (which I thought was pretty cute). She'd catch him for a couple seconds, long enough to hear the beat, and then he'd be gone. It took several tries before she was able to catch him still long enough to hear him for her count. I was also reassured that the pain I've been having in my ribs is normal and as a result of my ribs expanding (sexy! ;) Who knew!?!

We also went over the ultrasound results from the 20 week ultrasound, she said that the only thing they had noticed was one kidney measured slightly enlarged (vs. they two the second ultrasound found). She said that normal growth usually takes care of this issue and that maybe at the next visit they will talk about refering us back to our ultrasound facility for a follow up. I also heard from a blog friend that her son had a similar issue and was fine by birth, so that was reassuring to hear as well. So for now everything seems to be progressing as it should.

Lloyd's turned into quite the wiggler and started some regular good kicks as well. Beginning with Sunday night, we've gotten into a nice little routine at bedtime. When I first lay down and while I'm reading (although, I should probably be reading out loud...I still can't quite bring myself to do it...), I or we'll keep a hand on my tummy and he'll give a good kick periodically. Brad has had more trouble feeling him since I get the bonus sensation of knowing where he is moving before a big kick comes, but last night we hit pay dirt. He had quite a few big kicks that Brad was able to feel. His movements during the day are getting pretty predicatable as well...especially after some of his favorite foods (we discovered yesterday that he is a fan of popcorn - who would have guessed! :)

Finally, I thought I'd link to some of my most recent baby projects: a new sweater, some burp bloths and a simple blanket. I've also pulled out a patchwork quilt I started on vacation last year (its been siting in a bag on the floor of our bedroom since then and needs to be finished and put away as part of the 'making room for baby project') and I'm almost done! I starting putting on the binding this morning, so I should have a finished quilt pretty soon - talk about getting a monkey off my back!

Our Little Lloyd

We met with the genetic counselor on Wednesday this week regarding my AFP screening results. Basically there are four hormones that are in my blood because of the pregnancy. In comparing my numbers in each of the four hormones to the average pregnant woman (1), they've found that when two are higher than 1 and the other two are lower than 1, that it correlates to an increased risk for Down Syndrome. Of the two 'lower hormones' mine were just slightly lower. Of the two 'higher hormones' one was somewhat higher and one was almost to 2. These results are what made my test screen positive for Down Syndrome and increased our risk from 1 in ~500 to 1 in 98 for my age. The test also showed that my results tested negative for the other 3 conditions they were screening for (a very good thing!).

We then had a more detailed ultrasound done in which all sorts of measurements were taken to look for Down Syndrome markers. I got to watch this entire ultrasound with a separate monitor, so it was really fun and interesting to see his anatomy in so much more detail. We tried to video this second ultrasound, but they wouldn't let us for legal reasons (they don't keep video records themselves, so they don't want us to have them either :-P ) Besides moving around a LOT, everything looked normal except his kidneys were slightly enlarged.

Look at that little nose!

The doctor then came in and explained that the larger kidneys (the cut-off for 21.0 weeks is 4mm and Lloyd's were at 4.1mm), were a soft marker for Down Syndrome. Because of this, they bumped our risk for Down Syndrome from 1 in 98 to 1 in 49. However, she also explained that the enlarged kidneys are seen in normal babies and that generally it clears itself up during the pregnancy and if not, the baby has a tendency for urinary tract infections once born. Apparently this trait is also usually seen in boys probably due to the way that their urinary system is built. She then asked if we wanted to have an Amniocentesis to analyze his genes and see if he did in fact have Down Syndrome. And that was pretty much all the information we got. These weren't exactly the results we expected.

We had to decide that day if we wanted the Amnio. We could come back and do the test, but we needed to do it within the next few days because of the timing of Amnio test results. However, after we were done with the doctor and started talking (in the hall by the way), we had a ton of questions, the answers to which would influence our comfort level with the idea of the Amnio. The risk of miscarriage due to the Amnio procedure were 1 in 1000, so definitely something to be concerned about. We also had a lot of questions about soft markers and their prevalence in children with Down Syndrome (do kids that end up having Downs show more than one? are there certain ones that are more commonly seen? is their a separate risk factor for each marker?).

With the information Brad was able to get online through his Mom while we were in the hall, we decided we didn't want to do the test. We then went home and did some additional online research, including searching through peer-reviewed journals. Basically our decision not to proceed with the Amnio, came down to the fact that what was triggering the 'soft marker ruling' was just 0.1 mm. We also discovered that besides soft markers, there are also medium markers and strong markers. We felt that if there had been several soft markers, a single soft marker that had a stronger tendency to be associated with a Downs case, or we had medium or strong markers, then we might think about the Amnio. We also felt pretty confident that since our one soft marker is also seen in normal kids and that it has a prevalence in boys, that it wasn't something we were going to worry about as being overly 'abnormal'. Finally, given the mood of the office (not directive and very protective), we felt that our risk results were being increased more for legal reasons that for actual cause (God forbid they tell someone not to worry and they end up having a child with Down Syndrome).

We feel really good about our decision. This is not something that we are stressed about or are going to worry about for the rest of the pregnancy. Our guts tell us he is just fine. We will, however, likely have a follow up ultrasound in about two months to check on his kidneys, but other than that, it is back to business as usual for us.

And like the previous Wednesday's ultrasound (when we saw The Raconteurs later that night), we saw Sigur Ros later Wednesday night (wonderful show btw!!!). Lloyd seemed to take after his parents and was a big fan of those gents from Iceland and rewarded both of us by letting us feel his first kicks. I've been feeling him moving around a lot more consistently lately, mostly after I eat a meal, but this was the first time Brad's felt him and I've felt him from the outside. He was also funny last night when I went to bed. I noticed that not only was he all the way at the bottom of my stomach (so it looked almost flat above my belly button, but he was all on the right side! I was like - what are you doing, silly!?! And pretty soon, he evened himself out, but for a little while my stomach looked seriously messed up!

Finally, we got the video of our 20 week ultrasound compressed so that you can see it here. It's about 6 minutes long and you can hear the technician (mostly explaining what you are seeing) and Brad and me (being amazed). I think these are so much fun to watch!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend this coming weekend and talk to you soon!

Back from Hawaii!

I returned today from a wonderful trip to Honolulu to see our friend Shan get married. It was such a beautiful wedding (and beautiful bride don't you think!) and everything went perfectly :)

I arrived Thursday late morning and started off the food journey of the trip with a 'plate lunch' from the Rainbow Drive-In followed by freshly made (i.e. piping hot!) Malasadas from Leonard's Bakery. My friend Matt and I spent the late afternoon and early evening on the beach.

On Friday morning, Shan and Brian took us on a drive up to the North Shore where the waves were anything but huge. Turns out the big 60 foot waves roll in during November and December.

Waimea Bay

After making a couple stops to take beach photos, including the famous Waimea Bay, we went into town for shave ice at Aoki's - yum! I had pineapple, melon and lilikoi with ice cream on the bottom.

After that we headed to one of Shan's favorite beaches which was actually one of several small bays within a very lovely resort. We hung out a bit here and even went for a swim:

20 weeks - on the beach

That afternoon we met back up with our friend Susan who flew in that day and made it to a super yummy 'friends' dinner at Phuket Thai.

Saturday Susan and I spent the morning and early afternoon helping Shan put together the favors for the wedding...which were super yummy brownies. We were also going to help her uncle with the flower arrangements but he was just too fast! Once we headed back to Waikiki Beach, Susan, Matt and I made a mad dash (literally!) to hike Diamond Head crater (before it closed at 6:00).

View of Waikiki Beach from the top of Diamond Head

We hiked up through the bowl of the crater and made our way through two of the steepest stair cases I've ever seen as well as a really neat tunnel. When we reached the summit we could see over the whole city from on top of an old WWII bunker.

I also took a little video of the 360 view:

Here's a view of Diamond Head from Waikiki Beach:

Sunday morning to afternoon was the wedding at the Halekulani Hotel, complete with some really great food (including a whole Kobe beef thigh!) and cupcakes for the wedding cake, which made me very happy. We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around the Halekulani pool (our hotel pool was under renovation so we were allowed to use the pool across the street...which was way better!)

Monday we were able to get a late check out so we were back at the pool for the morning and early afternoon, then it was shopping and walking the city until our airport shuttle arrived for our red eye flights back to the 'mainland'.

All in all a very wonderful trip! Lloyd was also a trooper and except for reminding me a couple times that I was squishing him, he seemed to have a good time as well. He was particularly fond of Red Mango frozen yogurt and would wiggle quite a bit after I had some...and I did have it on a couple occasions ;) This trip also marked the first time total strangers asked me about being pregnant...so I guess it must be obvious enough now!

Lloyd is a...

a Lloyd!! That's right, our little baby is a boy! Now we have the fun job of picking out a name :-)

We had my regular 20 week ultrasound this morning. The technician said everything looked good, but our doctor will go over the specifics of all the measurements she took at our next appointment. We are still scheduled for the genetic screening and follow-up ultrasound next Wednesday, but I know we both feel really good after the preliminary comments from today's scan. One thing I forgot to ask - how big is he?

Here are some of the shots from today's ultrasound:

Full side view of Lloyd on his back

Full side view on his tummy
(you can see his spine in the top middle and his legs tucked under on the left)

Frog legs :)
I LOVE this photo, we could see him stretching out and kicking around

One little foot

We have about 6 minutes of video of the ultrasound that we are in the process of loading and shrinking so that we can either email it out or upload it here. But in the meantime, I am off to Hawaii tomorrow morning! Talk to everyone soon!

Ugh

Today I'm sick. It sucks because I haven't been sick in a long, long time. And the worst is that its because someone came to work sick. I could hear her coughing last week and avoided her. I took my Emergen-C, but I still managed to get stuck in the break room with her on Thursday for about 10 minutes. Unfortunately, that is apparently all I needed. Ugh.

Yesterday, I just felt stuffy but functional, today I feel crappy. I am however super glad that I came down with this sickness this weekend, since I am flying to Hawaii for Shan's wedding on Thursday. I'm sure if I take care of myself, I will be just fine by then, but it sucks that I will have to make the call of going in or staying home tomorrow (since I am already scheduled to be out for a week for the wedding and I'll need to take some time for the ultrasound appointment once I get back) because I sure as heck don't want to give this to anyone else...

I also wanted to share that I finished my first knitting project for Lloyd. You can see photos here. I'm almost done with another sweater as well, but my cold has slowed the progress on that one as well...plus all the sewing I had planned for this weekend.

Boy or Girl?

In anticipation of our ultrasound...that now looks like it won't happen until October 1st...I added a little pole to the side bar at the right. Please make your best guess! I'm curious if it will be biased more than the 50:50 odds it should have.

Kinda Scary

I got a call from my OB today (which honestly was at first very shocking in and of itself - I kept thinking that she doesn't exactly seem like the kind of doctor who calls her patients). Then she told me that they received back my AFP results. She said that normally someone my age should have a 1/4% risk for Down Syndrome. My results said my risk was 1%. Still low, but enough that she has referred me to a specialist. So next week instead of my regularly scheduled 20 week ultrasound, we will instead be meeting with the specialist. I will have some sort of genetic screening and then the ultrasound. Ugh.

The good thing is that apparently these tests have a high rate of false positives. And not only the nurse, but also the doctor said that there was no reason to 'freak out'. That most of the time, everything is just fine, we just have to go through the hoops of double checking - hoops I have no problem going through!

No Hurricane in San Diego

In the wake of Hurricane Ike, its amazing that our part of the country can be so radically different. Here are a couple photos from last Sunday's trip to the park.

fallen yellow blossoms under a tree

Jenny's tongue

Brad's parents and his aunt and uncle were able to ride out the hurricane with only minor plant life casualties. Very fortunate indeed!

17 weeks

We went to our 17 week OB appointment today and things are on track and where they should be. Besides giving some blood for the AFP screening, it was pretty routine. I'm up 5 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight, which is actually a little more than I was expecting...although I don't know why, given all the ice cream I've been eating lately :P

We also got to hear the heartbeat again and Brad got a little video to share:

Here's also a little tummy status photo I took this morning as well:

17 weeks

One thing we did realize with this doctor visit, is that we don't really care for the OB I've been seeing. I don't feel comfortable asking her questions because I feel like she's bored hearing them and answering them. And she just stares at me like I'm stupid while I'm talking...which is not exactly the relationship I'm looking for during all this! I'm scheduled to see the other OB in the office next month (the woman I actually originally selected as my OB) and so hopefully we'll mesh with her better. She's younger and I'm hoping not as jaded. And if that doesn't work, we'll have to start looking because I'm sure as heck not comfortable talking about a birth plan with an OB that got defensive and strange after my question about the success rates of natural child birth at the hospital where we are currently supposed to go for the birth.

After seeing the documentary Business of Being Born and playing on feelings I've had for a long time about current birthing in the U.S., I'm very concerned about not getting railroaded into making choices that are unnecessary or not what we really want. The problem is that my insurance is both good and bad. Great if you want a 'normal' hospital birth (the entire pregnancy and birth would cost $300), but my options appear to be pretty limited for other alternatives. I did find out that the insurance covers midwives within my network, so the next step is to find out if there are midwives in my group and then whether the insurance also covers any portion of a home birth. So we'll see! I'll let you know what I find out and what we decide to do!