- I'm 11 and a half weeks along. The due date is August 25. Donations of cute, maternity sundresses are gladly welcomed.
- We don't know the gender, and don't plan on finding out until he or she comes out. We're hoping it's a pony.
- Yes, we have names picked out. No, we won't tell you what they are. For now, we are calling him/her "Auggie."
- Yes, I have been taking a prenatal vitamin with folic acid. Except every time I look at the bottle my brain anagrams it into a "parental vitamin," and it makes me giggle.
- Yes, I have a copy of "What to Expect When You're Expecting," and I absolutely hate it. It makes me feel horrible and terrified and Jeremy has banned me from reading it anymore. I also have a copy of "The New Pregnancy Week-By-Week," and we love reading it together every Sunday night, and I get all teared up at Auggie's milestones. My baby already has fingers!
- We are using a certified nurse midwife for the prenatal care and delivery. My midwife is awesome, as are all of the other midwives I've met at the practice. I don't know which one will actually be at my delivery, but she will stay with me throughout the entire labor and delivery, and will help me to cope with pain without drugs if I so choose. I believe that birth is a natural process, and only when there is a problem should it become a medical process.
- Although I would love to have a home birth, Pennsylvania law and our current living arrangements do not make it a viable option. The hospital we will be delivering at supposedly has very nice Labor/Delivery/Recovery suites, which (for my medical professional friends) are immediately adjacent to the surgical unit. My hospital also has a Level II NICU and is not far from the only Level III ICU Nursery in the county. So you're not allowed to be paranoid; I'll be in good hands.
- No, I don't want to hear your opinions on my birth choices. We've spent a lot of time thinking over, talking about, and making these decisions, and if I want your advice, I will ask.
- No, I haven't had an ultrasound yet. I will get my first one at 20 weeks, unless there is a problem before then.
- I'm not really showing yet, although I have already grown out of all but two pairs of pants. I feel a little silly buying maternity clothes this early, and am hoping to wait at least a couple more weeks until the third trimester. Just this week my belly popped out above my pelvic bone, so I'm anticipating that I might make some more significant (and cute?) growth over the next few weeks.
- I am feeling rather nauseous, and utterly exhausted, thank you for asking. I do pretty well with the nausea as long as I eat something every 3 or 4 hours. Still trying to work out how to deal with the tiredness, aside from taking a nap every day and lying down in the car on my meal breaks at work. People keep telling me that I will be less tired in the second trimester, although I don't know if that will do anything to help the back pain, which is sometimes so bad by the end of a shift that I am almost in tears. Advice on dealing with back pain without drugs when your job keeps you on your feet is hereby welcomed.
- I find myself craving red meat and milk. I expect it's the protein (and iron and calcium). I also eat a lot of peanut butter sandwiches made with white toast. I know I should eat wheat, but white tastes so much better to me right now, so I allow it. My aversions include anything too sweet (like cake) and anything too salty (like bacon). I stopped liking coffee the day I conceived (or within a few days, anyhow), but so far, I still like the smell. Except for French Roast. For some reason, that particular coffee smells horrible to me. Fortunately, we hardly ever brew it.
Well, that about wraps it up for now. I promise I will eventually get back to blogging about other things, but bear with me for a while, as I have been keeping this in for two months. Thanks for all of the congratulations and well-wishes. It is so nice feeling connected to you all through this site!
14 comments:
CONGRATULATIONS YOU TWO!!! It's so awesome seeing all the cousins having babies:) What a neat idea to answer all those typical pregnancy questions on your blog. ENJOY! Melody
I agree with Melody....great way to answer all those questions! And hurray for you on not finding out if it's a boy or girl!! At the 20 week ultra sound, the temptation will be there, and if you succomb, it's OK! Really! You two need to do what's right for YOU!
Love you!
It was really nice reading all of this. And even though you said to hush, I will say that I really like your birth choices. I hope you have a wonderful experience! I don't remember my cravings the first 2 times but this last time I was definitely wanting to eat meat all the time.
Are you going to bronze the placenta? I think I saw a picture of a bronzed placenta once. It was kinda weird.
For back pain, I suggest prenatal yoga and also one of those rice filled packs that you heat in the microwave. I have one the size of a pillowcase so I can drape it across my entire back from shoulders to tailbone, and I love it. And the yoga would really help because it helps strengthen your core which will support your back.
I second the prenatal yoga - strengthening core muscles will definitely help, and going to prenatal classes keeps your muscles/joints from being overextended.
I would also suggest the following two books which I've both enjoyed. They focus more on labor than the pregnancy process, but are really informative:
Birth: The surprising history of how we are born
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth
Oh, and the documentary that just came out - The Business of Being Born, it will be released on Netflix on 2/26.
Hooray again!!
It does help if you have to stand to use a little foot stool like that book you hate shows (at least in the older version). I tried it while doing household chores like dishes and it does help. I also take naps and sleep on the couch as much as possible when pregnant on one side or the other...I actually have had heart decelerations during labor when on my left side and it worries me that I have a weird blood vessel on my left...I had one baby who used to feel like she was seizing when I was on my left side in the third trimester. I figure something's up with my left, so I don't always trust it. I find sleeping with the couch to support the back really helps my back pain in the day. You can also get body pillows or, if your man doesn't mind, have him spoon you while you sleep and use him for back support. Also, put a pillow between your legs as you sleep, I used the "top leg in front of the bottom leg" method.
Christianlady (Dawn)
Also, since you'll probably read TONS of books, I recommend Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. It's really great for calming any fears about labor, and it shares POSITIVE birth stories from women using midwives. I'm not even worried about labor anymore! Best of luck, and can't wait to meet our new niece or nephew.
Funny thing: When I was reading this, "prenatal" anagrammed to "parental" for me, too, even before I read your comment.
All of my pregnant friends are making me want a belly of my own...one that isn't made of pizza I shouldn't have eaten.
OH WOW - what great news!
Congrats to you both!
Jeff & I are expecting baby #2 in late July!
I would recommend investing in some good supportive shoes like Birkenstock (I found they are best when standing alot - and I did alot of it as a surgery resident) and seconding the rice bag idea...these are ideas born purely from someone who has spent up to 36 hour shifts in a job where I had to stand alot. Foot massages and foot soaks are also incredibly helpful.
Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(I'm quite excited for you two...)
oh yeah, for what it's worth- i did prenatal yoga at least three times a week and felt great throughout the whole thing, even when I was working with my kiddos all day, running around after then. Then, on our (almost) month long road trip I didn't, and I felt achy. So I started again and felt great again.
for what it's worth.
Yay!! It's so exciting that you and Jeremy are having a baby.
Everyone is always full of "great" advice, but you just need to listen to your body and the baby and a good pregnancy book.
Tiredness and all that fun stuff can last a lot longer than your first trimester. It's kind of weird that you're having back pain already, but I would suggest finding a good chiropractor (who has the maternity table) and get yourself aligned properly. There are heat pads that might help or just sit and take a break when you need to. Definitely catch a nap or lay down in the car on your breaks and don't worry about what you're eating so much. As long as you're taking your vitamins and mostly eating well, indulging a craving or avoiding foods is okay. Just think of all the people who don't do all the good things you're doing and their babies turn out fine. He/she will take whatever he/she wants and make the best of it.
Just enjoy each phase!!
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