Ninja Baby

Getting Ready for Baby

Well, what can I say, it's 6 am and we just got back inside from a fire alarm experience. That's right, people! I walked down 12 flights of stairs in my present condition. Anyway, I was already waking up every hour or so for various reasons - I messed up my schedule by taking a humungous nap yesterday afternoon, I was hot, I was uncomfortable - that's what happens when you're 9 months pregnant in the summer time... anyway, I decided to use this opportunity to update you on our further preparations for Baby Grover's arrival.

Monday we met with our doula, Tuesday was Childbirth class, Wednesday we stocked up on everything imaginable at Costco, Thursday was our doctor appointment, and yesterday we attended an Infant & Child CPR class. I thought it was very useful - especially the parts about responding to a choking infant. We installed the car seat and Lane, being the super handy daddy that he is, hung up some stuff on the walls.

Here are some pics so you can check it out. I think we might get some little stick-on decorations for the walls so Baby has interesting stuff to look at when she's getting her diaper changed. Goodness knows, we'll be spending a lot of time there!

How Sweet!

I just love surprises in the mail. Today I got an especially sweet one from our friend Sarah Crawford in Modesto. Sarah had the sweetest baby boy in February, so the whole birthing experience is still very fresh in her mind.

Imagine my surprise to receive a box full of wrapped items from her in the mail today! It was a hospital care package. She gave me all sorts of things I'd need at the hospital, and each one had a little note explaining why I'd need it. Too clever and too cute.

I immediately updated my hospital bags and now feel even more prepared for this adventure. Not only was this super duper sweet, it's also very impressive (and comforting) that the mama of a 4 month old infant has time to prepare something so thoughtful!

Thank you oodles and bunches, Sarah!!!
XOXO

Delivery Concerns

Everything seems to be going great with the pregnancy. I still don't feel yet like I need to get this baby out of me, but ran into a few little concerns yesterday at my doctor appointment.

My doctor talked about scheduling an induction date, just in case. She said the hospital likes to schedule them two weeks in advance, and I could wait as long as a week past my due date, and it's okay if we don't need the appointment after all, but we should still make plans for it. Here I was, calm as could be about going for the whole natural childbirth thing, and the next thing I know, I'm picturing myself hooked up to pitocin and constant fetal monitoring - exactly what I'm hoping to avoid. Not only that, I'd have to pick a date that is right after my due date because I really, really, really want the baby to be born by the time my mom gets here (July 21st).

Second concern is that as I was making my doctor appointment for the week after next, I found my doctor wasn't available for any of the days I needed. So I asked the appointment scheduling lady what was going on. She went and asked the doctor who confirmed that she'll be on vacation from July 7 to July 11th. Uh, thanks for letting me know, lady. I understand that people go on vacation - it's summer after all. But finding out directly from the doctor would have been nice. Especially since Lane and I were discussing her on call schedule with her just that very afternoon so we'd have an idea of who we'd be working with depending on what day we went to the hospital. It's not like she doesn't know when I'm due. That really annoyed me.

Instead of worrying about which doctor will be there, I just need to focus on what I can do to make it the best experience I can. I'm really hoping to encourage this little girl to arrive early rather than late. Wish us luck!!

A glimpse into my world

When Katie and I met up last week for sushi and pedicures, she caught a glimpse into my world. Before she even met me at our patio table, she found me answering a stranger's questions. "Yes, I'm due soon - July 15th; No, it's just one; Yes, I'm sure, it's just one." Katie arrives, sees me answering all these questions, I stand up and she gives me a long hug, we greet each other, sit back down at our table, and this lady who had waited so patiently, continued to ask me questions. "We're having a girl, and no we haven't decided on a name yet". Katie was witness to multiple nearly identical exchanges that happened throughout the evening. This is what my life is like these days.

My favorite is when people tell me I'm having a boy, and the look of utter disbelief they have when I break the news that it's a girl. This has happened about 3 or 4 times in the last week.

Just last night as I waddled through the aisles at Costco, a lady told us we were having a boy. When we said it's a girl, her head tilted in disbelief, she had a questioning look on her face, and asked, "really?" like, are you sure? She almost looked like she felt sorry for us for so foolishly believing this. Because, after all, the scientific way of determining the sex of your baby is by looking at the belly. We told her that's what the doctor said and we'd had ultrasounds, and then Lane said the baby would have a lot of problems if he was a boy. I thought he meant because we have a lot of girly stuff. But no, when the lady asked why, his response was, "because he doesn't have a penis".

We all, including the nice lady, had a good laugh at that one.

Week 37

It's Week 37 - that's when the baby is officially considered "full term".

Today I noticed that it's easier for me to breathe and walk. Maybe I'm just crazy, but it seemed like my belly button was lower too. I tried comparing my belly to previous weeks pictures to see if it was lower, but I can't see any difference except that it's still growing.

Everyone in my child birth class is saying we might not be there next week. I think it's a combination of the baby possibly dropping and my stories of wanting to get rid of tons of stuff over the weekend. We did just that - Lane and David made a monster good will donation run and we put away ALL the baby stuff. We also hung a cute shelf up above the baby dresser. And I started cleaning out my desk at work, making notes for whoever will be replacing me while I'm out.

Our doula came over last night and gave us some good things to read. We discussed things I should talk to our doctor about and she also gave us lots of tips that we can start using to prepare for getting the baby in the right position and to help encourage labor as we get closer.

Baby Grover still has her head down. And there are still a ton of things I feel like we need to do. But I'm still very calm and collected about delivery and I'm starting to get more excited - it's just around the corner.

How my pregnant mind works

The other night I had a dream that I was walking and just got so tired I had to sit down in the middle of the sidewalk. When I got back up people were in a big hurry behind me and I just turned around and yelled at them, "give me some space and be patient! Can't you see I'm 8 months pregnant?!?!?"

I was so excited about our successful pediatrician visit and also about scoring a(nother) steal of a deal from Craig's List. We bought a hardly used Tiny Love Gymini Play Mat (regularly $60) for $15. I felt like we were making so much progress, we came home and I cleaned up a little, and wasn't tired at all.

When 3 am rolled around, I was wide awake as can be, worrying about "urgent" things such as making sure we put sheets on our fold out bed for when my mom comes, and putting a hairbrush in my hospital bag and what we should stock up on at Costco before the baby comes so we don't have to worry after she's born.

This is much different than my Sunday which was spent taking three, yes THREE naps, falling asleep during a movie that night and then sleeping through the entire night.

and tonight I'm exhausted.

Pediatrician? Check!

Phew, one more thing (and a big one) off the list of things to do - especially since the hospital won't let us leave without having selected a pediatrician. Lane and I met with Dr. Welman today and were very pleased. Her office is just 2 miles away from us. We met with her and a nurse; they both were very friendly and gave us lots of good information.

Before meeting with Dr. Welman, I did what any sane person would do, I googled her. Here's what I found: http://www.americaspromise.org/APAGallery.aspx?id=6916 Click on her picture to watch the video and you'll see why I knew I'd like her before we'd even met.

She went to UC San Francisco, provided care to migrant workers in Salinas, CA for a while, and just has a huge heart and desire to help everyone have the right foundation and health care. Much different than the doctor who wanted to charge me $90 just to talk to them about whether or not I wanted to go to their practice.

Relief. Now if only we can cross some of these other items off our list.

Week 36

On the one hand, I feel like I have a month left to go, which is comforting because there are still many things to be done before this baby is born - finish up our room, install the car seat, find the pediatrician, take a load of stuff to goodwill so baby items fit in our closets, cook and freeze food so we can eat after baby arrives, clean, clean some more, etc.

On the other hand, it could really be much less time. Our child birth class instructor had her baby when she was 36 weeks and 4 days pregnant! It's so hard to believe that we could have our baby any time now. So yesterday I did the only thing that seemed reasonable and necessary given this impending deadline - I got a pedicure. Heavenly.

Over the weekend I (mostly) packed our bag for the hospital. There are a few more things I need to get together, but don't worry, I have a list inside the bag of the last remaining things we need. We also made a huge trip to Babies R Us and bought loads of things that we'll need and thanks to our generous family and co-workers, we paid for it all with gift cards!!

Baby Grover was "head down" at my last doctor appointment. I start going every week from now on. It's so amazing to think that she already has hair on her head, her finger and toe nails are all done, and that she probably has little dimples on her arms and legs. We're excited to meet her.

Staying Cool

It was pretty warm over the weekend, though nothing like last. We stayed cool by going to the pool at our apartment on Friday and Sunday. It's so relaxing to just hang out and read by the pool. The water is super comfortable. I'm usually a giant sissy about getting in water, but I just step right in. And, my big belly feels so much smaller and weightless, although the second I step out of the water, it feels like I'm carrying a giant bowling ball.


Since I never posted a pic of my bathing suit wearing shennanigans in the Outer Banks, here's one before we went out to the pool yesterday. When I sit down, I can't see my bikini bottom at all. I guess I just have to trust that it's there.

Baby Preparations Update

Thursday night the weirdest thing happened. I woke up around 3 am and realized I was starving! Maybe it was because we had an early dinner the night before, but this has never happened before. I layed in bed for a while thinking, "I can't eat in the middle of the night, that's too crazy!" But I was wide awake, and after much deliberation, got myself out of bed, ate some string cheese, and happily drifted back to sleep. That was a first.

The other day I started looking into some daycare centers in Crystal City. One of them emailed me letting me know their wait list for infants is... (you're going to love this)... ELEVEN MONTHS! Fabulous! I'm going to check out some other places also, but I thought this was kind of ridiculous. I'm really surprised at myself. I'm usually totally OCD Planner Girl and this whole pregnancy/baby thing has kept me really laid back. I'm much more easy-breezy and not really worried about things coming together (SOOOO unlike me). Even now, I figure there are other places, and anyway, it can't hurt to get on a waiting list. I bet people have to give up spots because they aren't ready when their turn becomes available. Plus, there are some family home day cares I can look into as well.

Our infant carseat arrived in the mail yesterday. I really like it. We found out already though that there's a voluntary recall on the base. There are two ways you can attach it in the car - with this LATCH system that doesn't use the seatbelt, or with the seatbelt. They've found a potential problem with the LATCH system, and the carseat is perfectly fine to use with the seatbelt. But we've already arranged to be sent a new base. Here's the link if anyone wants or needs more info: http://www.chiccocarseatrecall.com/

This weekend I will be doing Take 2 for Hospital Bag packing. I've made a list of what we need to bring. Now I just need to do some laundry and get it done. I've already packed our new diaper bag with a few items for the baby including a cutie outfit to wear home and some of Auntie Theresa's burp cloths just cos.

My friend Jessica's niece was born at Sibley on Wednesday. She was in Michigan at the time, and couldn't get in touch with them. When she texted me asking for visiting hours at Sibley, I cleverly decided I'd give her the number for Labor & Delivery so she could be transferred to her sister's room. I suddenly realized I had no idea what that phone number was and spent a while looking it up on the hospital website, thankful that we weren't in the midst of labor while we were finding out this information. Now, the number is safely stored in my cell phone. phew. I also stored the number for my short term disability claim at work. Seriously, when you're thinking about the people you're going to call after the baby's born, MetLife insurance just doesn't come to mind.

We may venture to Babies R Us this weekend to use our gift cards and stock up on more baby supplies. I also have high hopes of us donating a load of stuff to the goodwill to make more closet space for said baby supplies.

Lots to do, and not much time left!

Week 35

35 Weeks pregnant, only 35 days to go, and I still need to get that hospital bag packed. Baby Grover's physical development is practically complete, but she's still putting on the finishing touches. She continues to put on weight, which will help her regulate her body temperature after she's born.

The temps here have been a little out of control. I've been managing well by staying indoors as much as possible and drinking insane amounts of water.

My work had a very sweet baby shower for us three pregnant ladies yesterday.

I'm due on the 15th, Phebean's due on the 17th, and Kristin is due on the 18th!!

Wish Me Luck

Well, it appears the summer is upon us. Temps this weekend are expected to be in the 90s with a heat index of about 110. I have a feeling I will be putting our swimming pool to good use.

Week 34

If this little girl were born today she'd be a-okay. But I'm really hoping she'll stick around in there for at least several more weeks. By now her fingernails have reached the ends of her fingertips. And within the next week, my total blood volume will increase in anticipation of birth. This increased blood volume will add two to four pounds of weight!!

Lately, my hips have been hurting at night time and (this is really hot) I'm a sweating machine. You know it's bad when Lane is putting on sweaters, trying to turn off the air conditioning in the house, or rolling up the windows in the car because he's freezing, while I'm complaining of it being hot and stuffy.

I hope to pack my bag for the hospital this weekend and finish putting away all the new baby stuff we've recently acquired.

Lopsided Belly

Here's a pic from last week or so. This is what my stomach looks like most of the time. Baby Grover really prefers to chill out on the right side.