Thursday, November 27, 2008

happy thanksgiving!

wow. so we've made it to thanksgiving! only 5 weeks left of this pregnancy, and i can hardly believe it. our holiday baby will be here so very soon!

a few things i'm grateful for:

1. my wonderful husband and soon-to-be daddy. dave is the best thing that can happen to this kid. and to me. =)

2. our family and friends, for their love, support, generosity, and serious excitement for these past months. i know they're just as excited as we are to meet baby block and to see what he/she is like.

3. elevators. man, do i hate stairs these days.

4. the movement of baby block. feeling him/her is the one amazingly bright spot in this pregnancy -- and i feel her several times a day, every day. it always makes me smile.

5. that this pregnancy is almost over!! ok, so i'm not the biggest fan of being pregnant. but really, i just want to meet our baby. i'm getting more excited every day.

happy thanksgiving everyone!!!

35 weeks -- baby block is a honeydew!

not exactly timely for thanksgiving, but fun nonetheless!


from babycenter.com:

How your baby's growing:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

See what your baby looks like this week.

How your life's changing:

Your uterus — which was entirely tucked away inside your pelvis when you conceived — now reaches up under your rib cage. If you could peek inside your womb, you'd see that there's more baby than amniotic fluid in there now. Your ballooning uterus is crowding your other internal organs, too, which is why you probably have to urinate more often and may be dealing with heartburn and other gastrointestinal distress. If you're not grappling with these annoyances, you're one of the lucky few.

From here on out, you'll start seeing your practitioner every week. Sometime between now and 37 weeks, she'll do a vaginal and rectal culture to check for bacteria called Group B streptococci (GBS). (Don't worry — the swab is the size of a regular cotton swab, and it won't hurt at all.) GBS is usually harmless in adults, but if you have it and pass it on to your baby during birth, it can cause serious complications, such as pneumonia, meningitis, or a blood infection. Because 10 to 30 percent of pregnant women have the bacteria and don't know it, it's vital to be screened. (The bacteria come and go on their own — that's why you weren't screened earlier in pregnancy.) If you're a GBS carrier, you'll get IV antibiotics during labor, which will greatly reduce your baby's risk of infection.

This is also a good time to create a birth plan. Using our form will help you focus on specifics — like who'll be present, what pain management techniques you want to try, and where you want your baby to stay after you deliver. It will give you a starting point to discuss your preferences with your medical team. Childbirth is unpredictable, and chances are you won't follow your plan to the letter, but thinking about your choices ahead of time — and sharing your preferences with your caregiver — should take some of the anxiety out of the process.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

pediatrician, bugaboo, and all other things baby

so i'm trying my damdest to get things done today, since i wasn't feeling well over the weekend or yesterday (cold). i seem to be succeeding, which is exciting!

first of all, if you guys didn't know, we had a huge issue with our bugaboo cameleon stroller that FINALLY got resolved. basically, the company it was ordered from shipped us our stroller and fabric, or so we thought... the box that was supposed to contain our stroller parts was missing the chassis and wheels. basically, the stroller part of the stroller! after over a month of going back and forth between the company that it was ordered from and bugaboo's nyc headquarters, we finally received the chassis and wheels last week. i had the opportunity to take them out today, do some minor assembly, and try it all out. it's so great to have all of it, and it's so awesome! thanks again barb!

second, i got the opportunity today to call for a pediatric consultation. we're going with dr. cao at park slope pediatrics, who comes very well recommended and is supposed to be wonderful. the consultation is friday, dec. 19th, so i'm hoping that goes well -- it's so close to the due date!

now i'm just getting my thank you notes ready to mail out, washing the baby's clothes and blankets, and trying to just get everything put away in this apartment.

just about 5 weeks now kids! scary!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

midwife visit today, and the handing-over of the birth plan

so i'm finally handing over a birth plan to my midwives today for review. should be interesting... i'm hoping to get their input on some things.

the hospital tour went really well. it was very informative and really helped our confidence level with the process -- the staff was great, friendly, and very willing to answer our questions in an honest but amusing way, which i really appreciated. the birthing rooms at methodist are quite nice (well, for birthing rooms). they try really hard to make them homey and welcoming, with traditional-wood-faced furniture that hides all the equipment and such. they're quite large too. not that i need all that much room, but it's nice to know that i can walk around and not feel cooped-up or claustrophobic.

the maternity nurses were great and the nursery looks sweet and welcoming. methodist is also very "pro-baby", so they're good about encouraging breast feeding, rooming-in, etc. it's nice to know i won't have to fight for any of that.

wow. only 6 weeks. panic is starting to set in...

34 weeks -- baby block is a cantaloupe!


i love cantaloupe! especially with prosciutto. mmmmm....

from babycenter.com:

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

See what your baby looks like this week.

How your life's changing:

By this week, fatigue has probably set in again, though maybe not with the same coma-like intensity of your first trimester. Your tiredness is perfectly understandable, given the physical strain you're under and the restless nights of frequent pee breaks and tossing and turning, while trying to get comfortable. Now's the time to slow down and save up your energy for labor day (and beyond). If you've been sitting or lying down for a long time, don't jump up too quickly. Blood can pool in your feet and legs, causing a temporary drop in your blood pressure when you get up that can make you feel dizzy.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

drumroll please... office/nursery photos, complete with crib!

yay! the crib arrived! when mom and dad purchased it for us, mom ordered assembly with the delivery -- so the gentleman arrived today and assembled it for us. it's all together and looks awesome in the room.

since dave and i have done so much work on the office/nursery space in the last couple of months, and i hadn't taken any photos yet, i just decided to take pics of the whole room together. there are a few things left to do, like getting the graphic for the wall above the crib and finishing off the closet so we can store more items in there. but other than that, we're done! and i am so happy with how it came out.

check it all out below!

a look inside the office/nursery from the living room.

when you open the door, you see my work space directly in front of you. we got a new desk to fit in the smaller space, and i scored a great chair that i'm totally in love with. the area rug is made up from floor tiles from FLOR. it worked out perfectly.

if you turn to your right, you'll see the baby's chest of drawers in front of you. the curtains are on both the windows and the closet, since there wasn't enough space to constantly open/close a door. all the curtains and the chest are from ikea.


putting together the items on top of the chest has been fun! the lamp was mine in the space already, and has a fun drawn city scene on it. the piggy bank is from aunt loren, the growth chart is from aunt carrie. the dark basket on the left is filled with books, all of which are from the syracuse girls. and the basket on the right has our froggy and duckie sock puppets in it (thank you uncle howie and aunt helene!) as well as a couple of other fun items from the shower.

YAY!!! OUR CRIB!!! i'm so excited about this. the crib is the oslo crib by berg. we got it in a cognac finish with white gates and nobs (that's a storage drawer underneath, handy for bedding and blankets).


the crib skirt and crib blanket (which is backed by a soft fleece) are custom-made by etsy seller swell-by-stephanie. the fabric is from ikea. i just love that it's gray and white, nice and neutral and looks great with all the colors in the room. thanks for the bedding aunt joan!


this shot is just to show what's left to do -- the wall above the crib really needs the graphic. as soon as we get that, we'll be set.

i'm so excited to have this room together, and it looks even better than i thought it would. yay!

NYC shower pics!

ok, the much awaited NYC shower photos are finally here! sorry for the delay -- it's been ridiculous around here in the last two weeks. but i stole some time today and i'm ready to post.

these are not ALL the photos that were taken -- and of course, a lot of them came out blurry. but it's a good smattering of images from the day to tell the story. enjoy!

carrie and loren putting together the centerpieces -- flowers in colored baby bottles. fun!


kelly and suzanne's gift -- a HUGE diaper cake with all sorts of goodies. kelly made it herself.

centerpieces.

centerpieces.

my kick-ass cake. if you can't read it, it says "welcome to the block!" hehehehe... lucy came up with that. and it was super-yummy too.

my pile o' gifts. there was a lot to get through. everyone was TOO generous.

enjoying the opening.

my shawl (a gift from carrie last summer) matches the wrapping paper! funny!

the blanket from the bedding that i had custom ordered, and aunt joan bought. the fabric is from ikea.

the piggy bank from loren. it's orange with white polka dots!


my mom had already given us a gift (she purchased the crib for us), but she decided to give us a more "adult" present at the shower. ha! i think this one was really for dave. =)

tara, rachel, and me.

loren and carrie taking the opportunity to do a snapshot with my camera. =D

danielle, jen, me, and michelle.

inna, loren, me, and carrie.

mom and i took photos together at her house after the party, in front of my bassinet (which is still at her house). i really enjoyed the series of photos...

thanks again mom. it was a great day.

there are some special gifts that are missing in these photos, such as a handmade knit turtle from michelle, a growth chart from carrie, and a scrapbook/album from aunt susan. of course, the pics of the crib from mom and dad will be taken as soon as it gets here!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

so much to do, so little time...


ok. i'm now 6.5 weeks away from the due date. and i definitely feel like i'm running out of time to do everything that needs to get done. besides baby-readying to do around the house, i have about 5 projects to tend to, as well as other things to get done.

dave and i did a lot of work around the house this past weekend, which i'm still rounding out. we put up some more artwork, finished patching the wall in the nursery (which i've since painted), put up the curtains in the office/nursery, etc. i'm still painting our shoe rack in the entry way so that it's colorful and bright. and tomorrow the crib arrives!!! this is why we really wanted to get some of this big stuff done and out of the way, in time for the crib arrival. when it's here and set up, i'll take pics. =)

we have our hospital tour this evening at 6. i'm pretty happy to be doing this -- we have to get it done, and i have a lot of questions that need to be answered. such as...

1. how much does a private room cost?
2. do you have an easy way to donate cord blood?
3. where do we park/enter on our arrival for easiest access?
4. can we put in an immediate request for a lactation consultant (either now or upon our arrival) so that we can have one right away as soon as the birth is over?
5. are there any forms that we can fill out ahead of time so that we don't have to do it when we arrive?
6. rules for family/friends/general visitors?
7. what kind of birthing equipment is available (birthing ball, squat bar, bath in room, etc.)

i already know that there are questions about my hospital stay that i'll ask my midwife about, such as intermittent vs. constant monitoring, eating, etc.

does anyone else have ideas of what to ask tonight?

Thursday, November 13, 2008

33 weeks -- baby block is a pineapple

ok, we like pineapple. not very seasonal, but...


from babycenter.com:

How your baby's growing:
This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood. See what your baby looks like this week. How your life's changing:
As your baby fills out even more of your belly, lots of things might start to change: Whereas before you were sashaying, you may find yourself waddling. Finding an easy position to sit in — let alone sleep — is becoming more of a challenge. And bumping into chairs and counters is par for the course.

Monday, November 10, 2008

baby shower yesterday!

i will be back later with details and photos from my NYC baby shower yesterday. but i wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who attended and made the day so special. and a BIG, HUGE thank you to my mom for throwing the shower. she is clearly a proud and excited grandmother and i'm so grateful to her for everything she has done.

thanks mom. you're the best. =D

Thursday, November 6, 2008

32 weeks -- baby block is a large jicama.


aw... too bad this is not a very ethnic child. LOL...

from babycenter.com:

How your baby's growing:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

See what your baby looks like this week.

How your life's changing:
To accommodate you and your baby's growing needs, your blood volume has increased 40 to 50 percent since you got pregnant. With your uterus pushing up near your diaphragm and crowding your stomach, the consequences may be shortness of breath and heartburn. To help relieve your discomfort, try sleeping propped up with pillows and eating smaller meals more often.

You may have lower-back pain as your pregnancy advances. If you do, let your caregiver know right away, particularly if you haven't had back pain before, since it can be a sign of preterm labor.

Assuming it's not preterm labor that's ailing you, you can probably blame your growing uterus and hormonal changes for your aching back. Your expanding uterus shifts your center of gravity and stretches out and weakens your abdominal muscles, changing your posture and putting a strain on your back. Hormonal changes in pregnancy loosen your joints and the ligaments that attach your pelvic bones to your spine. This can make you feel less stable and cause pain when you walk, stand, sit for long periods, roll over in bed, get out of a low chair or the tub, bend, or lift things.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

i think baby block is secretly saying this today...

... in the womb. that's right. chip off the ol' block...

Sunday, November 2, 2008

only 2 months out...

yep. we're only 2 months away from welcoming baby block. i can't even express how excited and scared we are at the same time.

lately i've been doing a lot of watching of my belly. you can watch the baby move around in there, trying to get comfy. it's really very entertaining! i never ever get sick of feeling baby block move, kick, or hiccup. if i could feel her every day since the beginning, it would have made this whole roller coaster ride a lot more enjoyable. =)

i'm growing all the time now, and so begins the things pregnant women speak of all the time. i'm having trouble putting on socks for my shoes -- and most of my shoes worn now are slip-ons so that i don't have to bend over too much. ha! i'm not able to see my feet when i look straight down. there's a little one constantly sitting on my bladder, which is a pain at night. and i'm certainly getting tired more easily, and small things wear me out that never would have worn me out before.

overall, i'd say i'm still kinda small, but apparently not to everyone. the other day i went into motherhood maternity to get a couple more items for the winter, and grandma maria joined me. there were only 2 other people in the store -- another fellow preggo and her aunt. at one point, i stepped out of the dressing room with one of the tops i was trying on, and the aunt looked at me and said it wasn't good, because it accentuated the belly. i'm 8 months pregnant, of course it accentuated the belly! so i laughed that off... but THEN, she asked how far along i was. when i told her, she said, "wow, you're HUGE!" you can imagine how my face fell. the poor fellow preggo in the dressing room next to me started to yell at her aunt, and apologized to me for her. but damage was already done... i pouted my way around the store for the rest of the time. =(

here's a good lesson -- never tell a pregnant woman she's huge! i in fact know i'm not, and that i've been carrying rather small overall. but still, it hurt. stupid woman...

anyway, i'm feeling rather nervous most days now about what's coming. dave and i have a lot of studying to do, and we have a lot of questions to ask. but we're moving forward -- as if we have a choice -- and are really looking forward to meeting our little one.

2 months!