Attending a Delivery

November 21, 2007 at 8:44 pm | In Doctor Visits, Expectant | No Comments

No not me! My midwife.

The receptionist from the OB/GYN just called to reschedule my exam which was supposed to be in an hour. A woman went into pre term labor and the midwife had to rush over to the hospital.

My appointment is now set for Dec 5th, 2:45

I don’t mind too much. But it is weird. Here midwives are in charge of first and second trimester prenatal care, in the third trimester a doctor takes over and, when the time comes, he delivers the baby. Then the midwife comes back into the picture as postpartum caregiver for the duration of the new parent’s hospital stay, which four days in most cases. On the last day new mom is introduced to one of the lactation consultants who will be on call for any help needed after the mom and babe go home. It’s a pretty good system.

Perhaps the mother had already been through it all before and figured that her after care would be better if the midwife were at the birth to see how everything went. Before I know it, it’ll be my turn to go into labor and be at the birthing center. Just six months!

I feel you, Baby

November 20, 2007 at 9:15 pm | In Expectant | 3 Comments

Last night as I was laying in bed waiting for sleep I felt the baby moving. Seriously! A lump just a little bigger than my palm, right below my belly button moving just a little. When I put my hand over the place the bump moved a little more. I asked Darren to look and he just said, “Well, leave the little thing alone, would you?” Oh happy day! Er, night.

Did anyone experience feeling the baby this early? I didn’t think it was possible.

Half a cup and a half

November 20, 2007 at 8:55 am | In Expectant, First Trimester, symptoms | 2 Comments

This morning we went out for breakfast with our friends from NY.

Everything served at the diner we went to looked so good. I asked Darren what he was thinking of having because he usually has good ideas. He asked if it would be weird to order “what that guy’s having”…Yeah, I think that would be strange. I looked over at the man whose dish Darren had noticed, across the way and two booths down. I couldn’t tell what it was, but yes, it certainly did look good! Darren ordered the Royal Feast. It had EVERYTHING! Everything breakfasty and perfect–yum yum and yum again! I ordered banana pancakes and out of choice of ham, bacon or sausage I had the sausage. I felt very good about my order because I had thought of more than myself while choosing, how wonderfully motherly of me! Deeder loves bananas and I knew he’d enjoy their soft fluffy pancakes. He’s had sausage once in his life and adored it, so that’s why we had that.

For beverages I ordered milk for Diederick and, to my surprise, I heard myself order coffee for myself. “One milk and a coffee, please.” I told her to just give me half a cup–half a cup, half the evil. She gave me a full cup and I drank it. Caught up in listening to the grown-up’s conversation and on demand shoveling of banana pancakes into Deeder’s mouth it just happened. And that nice waitress lady kept coming back and filling my cup up. again and again and again. I drank three cups of coffee. I wasn’t happy at all with myself. Because I liked it. It was yummy! Bad bad. Tam told me not to worry, “It wasn’t very strong anyway.” True. The bad bit is that I enjoyed it!

I’m 12 weeks and I haven’t puked, and now coffee tasted good. Well, 12 weeks is nearly past morning sickness time all together.

Perhaps coffee being distasteful is only a part of morning sickness. Since it was so appalling I just assumed with Deeder that it was totally gross the whole nine months. It must have been one day postpartum that I was too tired to lift my head (let alone my body) off the bed of pillows on which I slept. Perhaps that morning I weakly cried out for a cup of caffeine. Darren probably brought it in and I was hooked again. Maybe that’s how it went.

I was just looking today at the babystrology image on my main blog. It’s supposed to show what the baby looks like in this stage. So beautiful! Tiny legs and arms, perfectly curled waiting inside for 28weeks to tick by. Daily getting stronger, internal organs already beginning to practice for the big environment change that will change his or her world forever. It’s written in on my calendar for June 2nd 2008.

Stay inside until then, Baby. I promise to be good and feed you healthy foods and beverages until you’re to be born. Hmm, well, after you’re born too. You have to nurse for at least 12 months. No more coffee, or anything else on the bad list.

Pregnancy Calendar Week 12

November 20, 2007 at 1:06 am | In Expectant, First Trimester, GaGa Preggo Calendar | No Comments

Week 12: Your uterus? Yeah, it’s a softball now

Fetal development in pregnancy week 12:

Even though your little Einstein’s body is still growing quite rapidly 2 inches long right now, the overall super-speedy growth of their amazing brain continues to leave the head proportionately larger than the body— and is actually slightly more than one third of their total body mass! The head and neck are still straightening at this point as can be seen by their little chin lifting off of the chest. Your baby is also actively rehearsing “breathing” by using amniotic fluid to prepare the lungs for future air respiration.

The big news: your little pooper is now officially going to need diapers! Although a majority of the waste produced is transferred to the mother’s system for discharge (to avoid having it linger in the amniotic sac), some urine is released to the amniotic fluid and your baby will actually breathe it in before it passing it on to your for discharge. Not to worry, urine–in this particular form, is completely harmless to your baby.

And how’s mom doing?

Logically, as your baby is growing bigger, so must your uterus. By now, your once-flat and relatively small uterus is stretched to the size of a softball (12-14 cm), but that’s nothing: by the time you deliver it will have grown to 15 – 17 inches (37 – 42 cm). Your uterus is slowly increasing at a rate of approximately one centimeter per week rate of approximately one centimeter per week. If you’ve got a burning sensation that extends from your breastbone to your throat, you’ve got heart burn or acid indigestion. To lessen this unpleasant experience: eat smaller meals and avoid fried, spicy, and fatty foods. Otherwise, there’s always TUMS, but check with your healthcare provider first

As your pregnancy becomes more physically visible, you’ll have to adjust to people asking you when you’re due and giving lots of unsolicited advice from women who’ve “been there.” Additionally, this is probably the right time to share your pregnancy news (if you haven’t already) with close family and friends and anyone you want to have involved in your pregnancy. Allowing your friends and family to have role in your pregnancy encourages participation and support for the future—when you’re really going to need it!

Fish and Chips

November 17, 2007 at 8:55 am | In Belly Pics, Expectant, First Trimester, symptoms | 2 Comments

My hands smell like cat litter. Is that normal after having a greasy heap of fish n chips? Boy were they good though! Deeder and I went to a local eatery today and knew exactly what we were in the mood for. I ordered Deeder a glass of milk too, because fish and fries are usually smoking hot. He laughed when he saw me dipping his portion in milk before giving it to him. He proceeded to follow my example, and before I knew it he had four fries and one piece of fish in the milk!

I scooped the stuff out of his milk and told him to eat it. “Hot. Ffffff.” Hmm. Well, it used to be hot, but good that you’re careful, Deeder!

We ate nearly the whole plate, I’m still full and he didn’t eat much of his before bed snack either.

Since I was feeling, and looking, so bloated I thought I’d seize the moment and take my first belly picture.

So I guess this one would be 11 Weeks.

I expect to get a lot bigger than I did with Deeder since I still have a bunch of extra skin (or whatever it is!) hanging out on my back.
I have to figure out how to use the camera that has a tripod. It’s tricky taking pictures in the mirror because somehow you have to avoid getting a big flash–eh heh. just look at my Deeder belly pics to see how lousy they turn out!! If you turn off the flash the lighting is dim and yellow. Anyhow, sorry I haven’t written in a while.

While we were out I went to the lab and had my blood work done ( also had to pee in a cup ). I hadn’t read the slip from the OB/GYN before I went to the lab, but once there I noticed that it was the test that tells them if the baby may have down syndrome. I wondered what the pee was for, the nurse said she didn’t know why it was ordered. HEH! “Ordered”

She took four tubes of blood which seemed odd to me since all I needed was the Lamictal level (one tube) and the slip from the OB had just one box checked off. Oh well, they know what they’re doing.

With Deeder I refused to have any testing done that would tell me about ‘problems’.

Pregnancy Calendar Week 11

November 13, 2007 at 1:21 am | In Expectant, First Trimester, GaGa Preggo Calendar | No Comments

Week 11: Just plum cute!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 11:

Maybe you’ve noticed… your baby is a super-duper grower! Your lil’ fetus will be gaining a substantial amount of weight this week and has already achieved fruit-size-status comparable to a plum. What’s more, your little scientist is already starting to explore their body, focusing most intently on touching their head, and especially their face and mouth. Their mouth in particular will provide them with hours of entertainment. This happens not only because your baby is gaining coordination, and is therefore able to move a hand on command, but also because their palms have gained sensation and can actually “feel” what it touches.They’re also developing their swallow reflex this week. And lastly, your baby’s smelling and other olfactory senses will begin developing this week, which when combined with the maturing taste buds, will provide your baby with their first experiences of taste and smell.

How amazing! I can’t believe how much is going on in there!!

Sorry that I haven’t written in awhile, all this stuff with Deeder being sick has thrown me for a loop.
I got to barf, but I think that was the stomach virus not morning sickness puke. Oh well.

the world around me stops, when it’s time to blog

November 8, 2007 at 7:17 am | In Doctor Visits, Expectant, First Trimester, General, Plans, symptoms | 5 Comments

Is that how it is for you? There are shoes on the floor in the kitchen, the highchair tray needs to be cleaned off and dishes unloaded from the dishwasher. The bed that I stripped earlier needs to be made, and it’s comforter put in the dryer. It’ll take me at least an hour to complete all the little things that need to be done before I pray and close my eyes to the world. But first, I must blog.

So…

today’s topic: OB visit number 1. 10 Weeks gestation!

My appointment was at 9:30. The bus picked me up at 8:40 and had me to the hospital by 8:55. The OB/GYN office is really close by the hospital so I decided to pass the time in the hospitals cafeteria, maybe find something good to read. I had a muffin and a nice hot drink. It only cost me a dollar and twenty cents! There weren’t any newspapers or magazines laying around so I just read the hospital information packet.

It’s really not a bad hospital, very family friendly…it doesn’t have a starchy clean feel to it, like big efficient hospitals. As I sat there waiting for time to pass my thoughts helplessly fell back on the hot summer days surround Diederick’s entry into the world. The food from the hospital’s kitchen is quite delicious and I got to have three meals a day for free while there for our four day stay, it was so great. And in the birthing center they had a refrigerator stocked full of upset tummy settling treats available for devouring between meal hours. No outside hospital food allowed in. Oh and the room was so nice too, being half conscious at best I was thankful to have such a friendly helpful staff. All the same, I did wish my mom was there.

Shaking myself out of memory lane I headed over to the OB office. I checked in five minutes before my appointment and settled down with a magazine. I think read the better part of four mags before my name got called.

I’m so happy to be ten weeks! Ten weeks means the outside of the baby looks like a baby, a baby hardly over an inch long, but one all the same. A baby that has earlobes and finger tips, a baby that will have it’s first bowel movement in just one week.

Good news on the cramps, well encouraging thoughts anyway.

The midwife who I saw today, Raine, said that it could be a type of morning sickness. Instead of the internal upset and sensitivity to smells and tastes being manifest in nausea my body is reacting with periodic abdominal spasms. I’m not quite sure if there’s scientific research that says that the two are interchangeable, I know I hadn’t heard anything like that before. However, it was nice to see Raine so confident that I’m OK. She said that I’ve been doing the right thing to take it easy when I feel pain, but not to worry myself about it. If there’s blood then I have permission to worry–fair enough.

We just filled out paperwork. She did it really quickly, like some kind of machine without neglecting to talk as she did it. I appreciated that she was so efficient with it, especially since she’d been half an hour late to the appointment. You know, come to think of it…the same thing happened on my first visit with her when I was pregnant with Deeder. “I got an emergency call from the hospital” Hmm…Oh well, I digress. I’m not saying that she’s lying, she just must meet up with loads of emergencies.

Raine gave me a lab slip for some blood work and had me schedule an appointment to come back in 3 weeks for my physical. As I scheduled the appointment I recalled that that was the appointment I missed in August. The day before my physical I miscarried, that was August 15th. A shiver ran down my back as I cleared my throat and took the appointment card from the receptionist. She said, “Well, we’ll hope to see you then.” I said that I hoped so too. I think everyone’s holding off on the congratulations for another 30 weeks.

I met with the outdoor 40 degree weather just in time for the bus. What a relief to not have to stand out in the cold!!! The bus ride home took forever and a half, or that’s how it seemed to me…probably because I was anxious about Deeder and his mystery illness. The bus driver needed to fuel up the bus (he forgot to that morning!) so everyone had to get off. Then he took his lunch break, thankfully for that we were all able to stay on the bus where it was warm. Now that’s something you wouldn’t find in a big town–a bus driver who takes lunch during a route.

Raine said that at our next meeting I’ll get to hear this baby’s heartbeat. So I have an appointment card and a lab slip, and the hope of a heartbeat in three weeks.

I got another lab sheet in the mail today from Karen Gilbert my nurse practitioner at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical center, she’s my neurologist for less! We’ve only met the actual neurologist once, she doesn’t do office visits. I’ll have my Lamictal level drawn and my OB blood work at the same time, it’s always great to save a trip.

That’s all for tonight. Can you tell I’m bummed about not getting to hear the heartbeat? Well I am! Really though, if there’s a heartbeat today there will be one in three weeks, right? I can wait.

I’ll finish that for you!

November 7, 2007 at 2:26 am | In Expectant, First Trimester, symptoms | 2 Comments

Yum yum yum. It’s so great knowing exactly what you want to eat!

My mom used to finish people’s left overs, even soggy cereal. Really! I find myself doing the same thing now. I used to stick Deeder’s unfinished yogurt in the refrigerator, or cheese stick, or dinner of whatever sort. Who wants to eat something with sweet little baby bits of backwash? I DO! You don’t finish it, I will. Unfortunately this isn’t the case with meats. I can eat meat in a meal but never touch the left over scraps, it makes me want to throw up! Well, OK, I take that back partially. I eat cold pizza or a left over grinder. Just not meatloaf, casserole or a burger.

Diederick never lets me eat if he’s not being fed too. Perhaps he’ll put on extra weight during this pregnancy too Yesterday he helped me eat a salad. He’d get bites of the cottage cheese and eat off the croutons while I ate the tomatoes and lettuce and salad dressing. When he’d accidentally pick something out that he didn’t want he’d put it in my mouth, pretty cute!

Today he’s not feeling well. He’s hot to the touch but doesn’t have a temperature, his skin is also spotty looking. He’s under the impression that he absolutely must be held ALL the time, if he isn’t the whole world will crumble apart. Right now he’s napping. I’m not entirely worried because he is eating very well. If he does develop a fever and keeps the spots I’ll call his pediatrician. He had four shots yesterday, I know sometimes that makes children feel ill.

Off for now. Tomorrow morning is my 10Week visit with Rainy, one of the midwives at the OB/GYN.

Pregnancy Calendar Week 10

November 6, 2007 at 9:17 am | In Expectant, First Trimester, GaGa Preggo Calendar | No Comments

Week 10: Graduation Day has arrived!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 10:

Your astonishingly tiny baby has been hard at work growing as fast as possible—almost doubling in size in the past three weeks! Amazingly, you’re in for a repeat size doubling performance within the next three weeks! Your tiny champion still weighs less than a quarter of an ounce but has already completed the most critical stage of their development. Using Doppler technology, your doctor or gynecologist can let you hear their tiny rapid fetal heartbeats this week (145-165 beats per minute!). Chances for miscarriage are greatly reduced when the heartbeat can be detected, so take a sigh of relief if you’ve been needing one—it hasn’t been an easy ten weeks! What’s more, they’re getting ready to make their first baby poop! Your little one’s major organ systems are developing, including a functioning digestive tract capable of moving food all the way through their bowels. The final shiny gold star on their fetal behavior chart for the week: your little scrapper has already developed defense mechanisms to protect them on reflex!

And how’s mom doing? More good news for mom: the placenta has grown substantially in size and function and is now beginning to manage some of your child’s hormones, finally taking some of the hormonal burden off of you! Since the placenta has gradually taken over the hormone production for your baby, you should finally pregnancy is not a standardized procedure so much as an individual journey start to notice that much-awaited decrease in morning sickness symptoms. Like everything else, though, this is just a general guideline… if you have lingering effects for another couple of weeks, don’t fret (or fret, but don’t blame us)—pregnancy is not a standardized procedure so much as an individual journey

Aren’t these updates great? It’s so much fun to know what’s going on inside. I wish I’d been subscribed to something like this when I was expecting Deeder. I can hardly wait to hear the baby’s heartbeat…we should be able to do that at my upcoming OB visit.

Pregnancy Calendar Week 9

October 30, 2007 at 7:45 am | In Expectant, First Trimester, GaGa Preggo Calendar | 1 Comment

Week 9: An inch to grow on

Fetal development in pregnancy week 9:

Congratulations! Your amazing growing baby has been accepted into to the fetus-club, a very exclusive and exiting new stage in their prenatal development. Basically, this means the little sweet pea has graduated from swimming embryo creature to a recognizable human being! This week in particular, the irises of their little eyes can function, but (frustratingly for them?) their eyelids remain fused shut for a while yet. Their external ears are formed and their inner ears are now filled with fluid—so your little one is already developing their sense of balance. Your baby’s little swimmer legs are still relatively, although other bodily developments are going forward at a nice pace: their kidney is actually functioning now, which means they’ve started urinating (this might seem charming now but wait till you have to start buying diapers!).

And how’s mom doing? You’re nearing the end of the first trimester and while there are plenty of dynamic and noticeable changes going on inside of you, not many changes are noticeable to you, with the exception of a mildly bulging midline– which doesn’t look pregnant enough to stop people from wondering if you need to Having a baby is the ultimate test for your body—if you take care of your health now you’ll come out of the pregnancy on top of your health and ready to be an energetic mother lay off the donuts. Although your body might seem a little boring right now, you can expect the creeping-up-effect of weight gain as you will gain roughly 1-2 lbs gain per week (some more and some less). It’s not a bad idea to chart this to make sure you’re not over or underfeeding both of you. As you’ve entered into the Fetal Period, it might be a good time to evaluate your personal health regimen—that is, if you haven’t already. Are you eating enough protein? Remember, protein can be found in beans, soy products and nuts—it doesn’t have to be a 12 ounce sirloin! Are you sleeping well, exercising right, drinking enough (non-sugary) fluids and getting your vitamin C? Having a baby is the ultimate test for your body—if you take care of your health now you’ll come out of the pregnancy on top of your health and ready to be an energetic mother, if not, well, let’s just say, you’re increasing the chances of suffering from depression, osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity, and a multitude of little nasty viruses (think colds and flues) that good health could’ve beat before you even noticed they’d invaded.

Thanks for the warning, Baby Gaga on what will happen to me if I don’t take care on what I’m eating/drinking…this time I’ll try to be careful-er! How exciting to be at Week 9. I hope that I get to hear the baby’s heartbeat next week, that would be wonderful

If you’re wondering, yes I do have a bit of a baby belly. I didn’t with Deeder at this point yet, so I have a feeling I may be HUMONGOUS. Oh well, bring it on! I’m just praying that the baby will stay inside for those 40 weeks, that I’ll be able to bring you these baby gaga updates and that in June I can post baby pictures.