Preparing for Childbirth

This morning we attended our first Childbirth class at Kaiser. It's a 4-week class, 2.5 hrs for each session. First off, I have to say our instructor is quite unique. She would be talking about breathing techniques, and then all of a sudden go off on a tangent about the importance of skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth. Oh, and then she'd jump over to the topic of the best sleeping positions for pregnant women. Talk about random!

Adam told me after the class that it actually kept him awake. (Silly man, he took nighttime cold medicine before our 9am class). Just when he was starting to get drowsy and lose concentration....she'd launch into something totally different. Unfortunately I am sick as well, so it was hard for both of us to concentrate. Hopefully next week goes a little bit better.

Something in the Water?

OK this is getting ridiculous. I now know 10 other women who are pregnant! It's nice not being the only one over here in preggo-land, but this is crazy!

Here's a shot from the weekend that gives a more realistic picture of my giant belly. 27 weeks down, 13 to go!

Riley says hi!

Pregnancy Complaints

My good friend Danielle let me borrow the book Belly Laughs to read this weekend. It was such an easy read, I finished it in one hour. It is written by Jenny McCarthy and she really holds nothing back about pregnancy! It basically highlights all the weird/gross/uncomfortable things that she experienced during her pregnancy. It made me reflect on the annoying symptoms I have experienced thus far. There haven't been too many, but here are a couple that stand out for me:

Heartburn! I've heard the horror stories but up until now have not experienced its wrath during pregnancy. Well that all changed Friday night! I woke up at about 1:30am with a horrible burning in my throat. It was like everything I had eaten for dinner was trying to come back up and scorch my esophagus in the process. And I didn't even eat spicy food for dinner.....shrimp, steamed red potatoes, tomato slices and some sourdough bread. I think I just ate too late and then went to bed too soon afterwards. I'm going to have to start allowing a few hours in between meals and lying down. So after suffering for about 30 minutes, I started feeling nauseous. I eventually got out of bed, stuck my fingers down my throat and made myself throw up. It was the only thing that finally relieved the burning. That, and a small glass of milk.

Baby Brain! I never knew this was a real thing until I began to experience it a few months ago. Something happens when you get pregnant that makes you really ditzy at times. I will give you 2 examples, but trust me when I say there are many more! About 3 months ago I totally drove on the wrong side of the road, with my dog in the front seat. I'd like to think this is not something I would normally do. Secondly, just last week I almost brought a raw frozen chicken breast to work with me in my lunch bag. I have no explanation for this one....

So there you have it! Pregnancy has done some pretty weird things to me, but I know it will all be worth it in the end. And for all who are curious, NO, my belly button has not yet popped out! Adam asks me every day. Apparently he's pretty worried about this.

The Name Game

As my due date approaches, we have been putting some serious thought into baby names. I had a baby name poll up on the blog for a while, and for the past few months we had decided on the name Ryan, middle name James. But then Adam decided that Ryan sounds too similar to Riley. So while it's still an option, we're searching for a better one. We have a new name in mind that Adam really likes, and I also like. I just keep thinking that there's something better out there. For now I will not be sharing this new name with the entire blog world. You will just have to wait and be surprised!

Baby Boy Nullmeyer (can't wait until he has a real name!) is quite the active baby! I feel him kicking and squirming and moving all day long. At this point he can recognize my voice, react to light, and can even "breathe" in amniotic fluid! It truly amazes me how he started out so teeny tiny, and is now nearly 2 pounds.

These are the kinds of miracles that make it so easy to believe in God. One of my favorite Bible verses is from Psalm 139:

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."
~Psalm 139:13-16

How awesome is it that God "knitted" my little baby together? I feel comforted knowing that God personally created this little baby for a very special purpose. I do not know what it is yet, but God does.

Maybe There's Twins in There?

Lately that is the question I have been asking myself whenever I look in the mirror or step on the scale. My belly is growing by the day and I can't believe I potentially have 14 more weeks to go!

I'm feeling larger by the day and quite honestly, a bit uncomfortable. Rolling over in bed is a definite effort. And bending over to tie my shoes? Still possible, but kind of painful.

I've been trying to walk regularly and I've even done my Denise Austin Fit N Firm Pregnancy DVD workout a few times, but I am still rapidly gaining weight. As in, more than 1 pound per week! Which leads me to my question.....maybe there is more than 1 baby in there? At least that would provide an explanation for my hugeness! I think I am extra sensitive about the whole weight gain subject because I had a few pounds to lose before I got pregnant. And it doesn't help being harrassed by my Dr. about it every 4 weeks. It is frustrating to be outside of the "normal" range because it makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong, yet I am making a real effort to do everything right.

I am starting to get pretty sick of maternity clothes. I can't wait until I can lose the baby weight and start wearing normal clothes again.

My big belly is also making me wonder how big Baby Nullmeyer will be when he is born. Adam was just under 6 lbs at birth, and then dropped even lower afterwards. I, on the other hand, was an enormous 9 lbs, 11 oz. I really hope my birth weight is not an indication of my baby's future birth weight! If so, bring on the epidural!!

Scare

I had my first pregnancy "scare" the other night. In retrospect it wasn't too serious, but at the time I was pretty nervous. I had just gotten into bed and was laying on my left side like a good pregnant woman. Supposedly that's the side that allows the most blood flow to the baby. So I started feeling really light-headed and drowsy, much more so than if I was just tired. It was an effort to keep my eyes open and I just felt really fuzzy. Adam and I have a blood pressure monitor at home, so he grabbed it and checked my BP. Now, if you remember, it was 140/70 at the Dr. office and my Dr. was concerned about it being too high. My reading at home was 90/50, which is pretty darn low.

I changed position and took it again and it was 90/48. Sitting up it got a little higher, but not much. So I called the main advice line for Kaiser, but upon hearing that I was 25 weeks pregnant, they immediately transferred my call to Labor & Delivery. That's when I started to get scared. Labor & Delivery? I wasn't ready for labor or delivery! The nurse was really nice and basically said that I was either dehydrated (doubt it) or had just laid down too fast. She told me to drink some juice or water and call back if it got worse. But you know the very first question they asked me? "Is the baby kicking?". Yep, it's really not about me anymore. Their first concern now is making sure the baby is okay. I guess this is something I should get used to, because from here on out this little baby is going to be a top priority in my life.

On a lighter note, I have a new favorite song! Michael Buble's "Haven't Met You Yet". (If you watch the video, the girl is his fiance). I really can't get this song out of my head. And now I'm constantly searching for it on the radio. Don't you love it when you change the radio station and your favorite song has just started? It makes me really happy. =) I'm one of those people who sings along to the radio in the car and really doesn't care who sees me. Adam thinks it is pretty embarrassing. Hey, at least I'm not picking my nose.

Crazy Week

It's been a really crazy week for me so far, and it's only Wednesday! Work is extremely busy, which cuts into my relaxing time in the evening when I cook dinner, walk the dog, and catch up on mindless television. As a result, I'm feeling really run-down tonight. So I'll make this update quick.

I had my glucose blood test done on Saturday to check for gestational diabetes. They had me drink an orange glucose drink that actually was not horrible. Towards the end it got to be a bit much....it's basically a bunch of sugar! I then had to sit still for one hour. I wasn't even allowed to get up and walk. Then they took my blood. A high blood sugar level would indicate diabetes, or an inability to process sugar correctly. The "normal" range is less than 140, and mine was 97! Passed with flying colors. Take that, Doctor! I think she was convinced I had gestational diabetes, so I'm feeling pretty smug right now.

I have secret plans for Valentine's Day. I'm going to buy tickets for Adam and I to see Jeff Dunham with some friends in Oakland. Adam doesn't know about it, but he doesn't read my blog so I'm not too worried about him finding out.

Speaking of friends, I am so excited to announce that a very good friend of mine is pregnant! I am excited to have someone else go through at least part of this journey with me.

Cloth Diapering

Diapers have been on my mind a lot lately.

I originally assumed I would go the typical route and use disposable diapers for Baby Boy Nullmeyer. But I have started reading more and more baby/mommy blogs, and my eyes have been opened to the world of cloth diapering. There is a lot more to consider than I originally thought! I haven't made a decision yet (Adam also gets some input, as he WILL be changing diapers)

Here are some of my thoughts on the topic.

Disposable diapers are appealing to me as a first time mom. They are convenient because you can just take them off and throw them away once their job is done. With cloth diapers, you have to actually wash them. And without being too graphic, what is the baby has a particularly "messy" day? How do you wash the cloth diaper then?

Cloth diapers definitely have some advantages, though. They are known to help prevent diaper rash. My mom cloth-diapered all 3 of her children, and none of us ever got diaper rash. On the other hand, my sister has always used disposables, and none of her 5 kids ever really got diaper rash either. Hmmm

There is also the issue of cost. I recently read that while you can spend approximately $3,000 on disposables during the first 2 years of your child's life, you can expect to spend about half that amount on cloth diapers.

And cloth diapers are just so darn cute! See for yourself:

Honestly, you could stick a baby in a potato sack and it would still be cute.

I would like to try cloth diapers and see how I like them, but becaue they require so much money up-front, that just doesn't seem realistic. I don't want to spend a lot of money and then end up not liking them. What to do?

Any riveting thoughts on cloth diapering? Come on people, this is fascinating!

Not Good

So today started out well. I went to work as usual, ate some leftover split pea soup for lunch, went on a 20-minute walk, and left a little early for my monthly Dr. Appt. Checked in, and got my "stork" parking pass for the parking lot. (Allows me to park closer). Things went downhill from there...

I stepped on the scale to see that I gained 7 pounds over the past 5 weeks. Uggggg not good. Then of course that got me anxious, resulting in a very high blood pressure reading. Again, not good. I then got lectured by my Dr. for the next 15 minutes about my weight gain thus far and she started throwing around some scary words, like "water retention". She proceeded to poke and prod my legs, but determined I am not actually retaining water.

Basically over the next month she wants me to cut out some carbohydrates from my diet, walk 90 minutes every day, limit my salt and sugar intake, drink gallons and gallons of water each day, increase my protein intake, take an iron supplement, and "try to relax". HA

It sounds a bit extreme to me, but I am definitely going to make an effort to walk more, drink more water, and eat less sugar and salt. Overall the baby seems great, and I'm measuring right on target.

So I return home from the embarrassing errr informative appointment to discover this in my family room:

Yep, that's the bag of trash that Riley decided to eat today. Among the contents were coffee grounds and chocolate fudge. Again, not good!

I took Riley out for a 30-minute walk, both to relieve some of his sugar and coffee-induced energy, and also because it's Dr's orders.

Notice his dirty chin? That's what eating coffee grounds and chocolate will do to you.

So any tips for how to maintain a healthy pregnancy and not become a fat tub of lard? Seriously, I would appreciate any and all advice/encouragement/comments.

24 Weeks Pregnant

I've made it to the 6-month mark! Although I still have 4 months left until my due date. Funny how that works....pregnancy math is very confusing. You are pregnant for 40 weeks, so the whole "9-month" notion is actually wrong. I'm never quite sure what to say when people ask me how far along I am, because if I say 6 months, they'll say "Oh, only 3 months left!" Then I have to go into the long explanation of actually having 4 months left blah blah blah. So I just quote it in weeks, and let them figure it out on their own.

Here I am at 24 weeks. I feel like I had a major growth spurt this month, but the picture doesn't look much different from my 20-week photo.

I'm feeling the baby kick constantly. It's a very reassuring feeling, like he's letting me know everything's okay in there. I even think he may have had the baby hiccups yesterday. It was right after I woke up and was still laying in bed. I felt something like a kick, but it vibrated my entire stomach rather than just in one area. I felt the same thing again about 10 seconds later, and then again a few seconds after that. So cute!

On the downside, my belly is starting to get in the way of every day life. I'm finding it harder to roll over when laying down, and I really have to hoist myself up off of the couch from a sitting position. Other than that I really can't complain. I was experiencing some random hip pain in the middle of the night about a month ago, but then I bought this, the Boppy Total Body Pillow! I snuggle up to it every night now and haven't had any back or hip pain since. Again, I really can't complain. Let's hope I continue to feel this good!