Body after baby week 2

Tuesday- 4.5 mile walk
Wednesday- yoga and 1ish mile walk downtown
Friday- 2ish mile walk at Woodard Bay

And thats it! It got hot over the weekend and I got lazy. Still hot, still lazy. More soon. Too hot.

Body after Baby One week in

Monday-Last day of rest
Tuesday- 1+ mile walk with the baby mammas
Wednesday- 1 hour of mom and baby yoga, short ~1mile walk downtown, and 2 mile walk in the evening with my aunt and our new to us jogging stroller
Thursday- 1 mile walk downtown
Friday- 2-3 mile walk at nearby state park with the baby mammas
Saturday - 2 mile walk in neighborhood (after a way too big dinner)
Sunday- ~2 mile walk downtown

First date night and general blabbing about life

On Saturday we went out for the first time without Claire. It was my sister in law's birthday and we were going out for drinks. My first real drink in a year. We live with my parents so we had built in babysitters. The only problem was that my mom was out of town. Grandpa did not have any success with the bottle and had to call us home when he couldn't calm her down. It broke my heart to hear her crying in the background. We had planned to be home soon after so it was half of a success I guess. I felt like I was missing something, or had forgotten something the whole time we were out. When we got home I was able to get her calm and fed her about 3oz from the bottle with a bit of encouragement. Next on the to do list is practicing with the bottle and also practicing with getting other people to calm her down.

It was so strange to leave her. Chris works so much that I rarely leave her home even with him when I go anywhere. I hadn't left her for more than 45 minutes before this and generally she has been asleep during thos times. I need to let go a little bit I think and have daddy take charge a bit more when he is able. I think I have been the only one to put her to sleep at night all but maybe 3 times. I want her to feel comfortable enough to go to sleep at night with her daddy and maybe work up to grandma and grandpa too. I love that time together though. Not really sure how it's all going to work. I'm starting to think about habits more and more now that Claire is officially out of her 4th trimester. We are going to try to wean her from swaddling to fall asleep (starting with naps) and I hope to get that pacifier away from her too at some point. We have already been doing a modified swaddle where just her arms are wrapped and the feet are free for about the last month. She knows she is tired and she fights it and the swaddle and pacifier allow her to focus. To get away from the pacifier I am going to be offering the breast more for comfort. I think she has figured out how to comfort suck by now and we are both comfortable with nursing at this point. I do have an oversupply that she finds problematic but if we can get through the forceful letdown she can handle it.

She still has crazy hair. My favorite comment so far was a waitress who joking asked if her hair was a wig! Ha. We laughed.If we put her on her side or if we let her hold onto our finger with the arm that has to come over the top. it gives her the extra boost to shift her hips and roll over. So we aren't saying that she is totally rolling over yet.

She talks like crazy. Sometimes it sounds like singing. We wake up in the morning to her babbling and bopping me in the face with her crazy arms. Always super smiley.

She loves to be standing up all the time so she can see the world.She grabs for toys and always takes them straight to her mouth. Sometimes she misses and bops herself in the forhead. Loves to chew on her hands and also pluck at blankets or her clothes.

She has noticed the cats and dogs and laughs like crazy when one approaches her.

Now that she is four months old I need to get serious about losing this weight and toning my body. I only have five more months, lol!

Also she might be teething. Lots of bubbles and drool, had cold like symptoms for a few days (no fever), always chewing on her hands, gums puffy, and I really hope that teeny tiny sharp bit I think I felt isn't really a tooth. It's just too soon!

Body after Baby Challenge

Before I got pregnant I was not at an ideal weight. During pregnancy I was able to limit my weight gain by eating healthy and holding onto my morning sickness until the seventh month (yuck!). I gained 15 pounds and was up to 260lbs. Today I am only five pounds under my prepregnancy weight. I want to change that. I do not have a healthy lifestyle and I do not make healthy food choices. There have been a few different workout video programs that we have purchased to try and as yet I haven't had motivation to stick with either. I go to mom and baby yoga once a week and also meet up with some moms for a weekly walk of about 2-3 miles while babywearing. This alone is not enough to make a change. While blog stalking I came across Mama Notes , a blog by a woman who is challenging mothers to take charge and make the changes that they want. The Body after Baby Challenge.

Short term goals
-start walking 2 miles every day
-be aware of portion sizes when I eat
-start avoiding white bread
-avoid eating out
-drink more water
-take my vitamins daily
Long term goals
-lose 60 pounds (this will get me into the proper range for a person who is 5'11")
-learn to run, maybe do a marathon

These are things I not only want, they are things I need. I am a breastfeeding mother and I am worried about what will happen to my supply. This fear is my only real obstacle. I have the 30-Day Shred dvd and I am going to try doing that along with more yoga and pilates dvds. My husband is doing P90x but at this point I feel like that is too intense for me and I think I would give up quickly because I wouldn't be able to find the time to fit it in. I want to be healthy for Claire and our other future children. I want to have a healthy self image and not dread shopping or even just dressing for the day. I do need to find clothes that fit a bit better in the chest. I went from a 38D to 38DDD! Shirts just don't fit the way they used to. So in the next 8 weeks I hope to lose 15 pounds and just generally get in better shape. Yup. Here I go.

Look for my after pictures in 8 weeks.

GroBaby Diaper Giveaway

Claire in a Gro Baby Blackberry shell

We have been using cloth diapers with Claire since almost the beginning. At first I was just going to go with prefolds. Then we also got some pocket diapers. Next I found Gro Baby diapers which are the perfect mix between the two. Gro Baby diapers have a reusable outer shell with a removable snap in liner. When the diaper is dirty you just have to change the liner and and the shell can be reused just like with prefolds or fitteds. This is our first day trying them out and so far they are fabulous! My other pocket diapers are really bulky in the crotch so when I saw how skinny these were I was very skeptical that they would work. But they are perfect. Claire hides her fat on her upper thighs and these diapers hit just right so they aren't cutting into the chub. She still felt dry when the liner was wet. We have yet to experience a poopy diaper but I am confident that they will pass the test of a baby that only poops once every three days. These are great so far and I would recommend them to everyone interested in cloth.

So here is the link to the diapers
http://www.thenaturalbabyco.com/grobaby%E2%84%A2-ic-11_16.html

And a link to a giveaway for these diapers
http://www.frugal-freebies.com/2009/06/free-gro-baby-cloth-diaper.html

Have a lovely day!

Trip to the Oregon Zoo

For my brother and his wife's 3rd Anniversary/our nephew's first birthday celebration we make the trek to the Oregon Zoo. My sister also came along. We got a later start than we would have like which kinda put me in a sour mood. We arrived in the zoo parking lot around noon. Very bad timing. We could not find parking to save our lives. We drove around for more than 45 minutes trying to find a spot before finally parking almost 2 miles away at the Rose Garden where we could catch a free shuttle back to the zoo. I got super cranky. Luckily Claire was napping away. We got on the shuttle and I nursed her in the Ergo while making my nephew smile as he rode backwards in his stroller. Such a cute kid. It was a hot day and we had tons of fun. We stayed until the zoo closed.

When we walked up to this exhibit there were two orangtans huddled together on the far side of the exhibit. It looked like they were sleeping. We stood there for a few minutes. This one turned around and walked right up to the window. We were the only people at the window because the orangutans had been so boring just minutes before. As it walked closer, Chris knelt down and the orangutan came right up to the window and laid its head down. It looked right at Claire and stayed there for more than 5 minutes only leaving us when Chris stood up . It turned and walked back into its corner. So cool!!

Looking at fish.

Trying to wear Claire on my back for the first time. Melanie and Chris helped me get her all settled. This only last for about 10 minutes. She was hungry and left a huge drool spot on my back.

After we got back to our car, I decided to have Chris put Claire in her jammies and feed her before leaving because it was getting close to the time when she likes to go to sleep. After a nice long feeding I put Claire up to my shoulder to give her a burp. Instead she puked down my back, in my hair, all over the drivers seat and seatblet, and then put her face in it before I could hand her off. Yuck. What a mess. She was fine and we all had a laugh. Just one more thing to top off out fun but stressful day.

Hope you enjoyed our two zoo trips in one week.

Crazy eyes

First trip to the Zoo/My birthday

Happy 25th birthday to me!

So on my 25th birthday, Chris really wanted to make the days plans a surprise but I wouldn't let him. He was kinda mad about it but I needed to know what and how much to bring for the baby and if I needed to pre-eat or not. He decided that we should go the the zoo and the have a bbq at home for dinner. The Boyd family and Erin went with us to the zoo. We had a great time.

Me nursing Claire in her Ergo while walking through the aquarium. Crazy Boyd children in the background.

There is a new exhibit at the Point Defiance Zoo where you can feed little birds. It was fun. Until a bird pooped on my hand. Gross. But more fun. Claire slept through the whole thing. We had a great day.

Family photo

At Uncle Nick's gradaution. Congrats Nick!

Claire's Laugh: Caught on video

Here's my little laughing girl!! Love her!

New picture

Random picture from Uncle Nick's scholarship talent show thingy

Happy after disaster

Silly Claire talking to her mommy. See that little mark there under her left eye?

Claire's first cat scratch. She cried, I cried. It was a disaster. On her face!! We were peacefully sleeping sitting up in a rocking chair when all of sudden we were attacked buy a doofy cat. Zoe has not realized yet that Claire is a living being and is always trying to step on her. So Zoe was just trying to leap up on my for a pat not realizing that Claire is, well, there. Claw to eye, other claws all in my arm. Yikes. At first it didn't seem like she had gotten scratched. I thought she was just scared awake by me yelling at the cat. Then I saw one single drop of blood. And the saddest cry ever. First irrational mommy call to the dr. I knew that it needed to be cleaned, just wanted to know what an infection would look like. So glad it was just her cheek and not her eye. First bloody incident survived. Barely.

Two Months Old

Claire has such a serious face! Two months have just flown by. Not quite smiling on demend but it melts our hearts when she does.
Claire had her two month visit at the Dr today. The Dr weighed her. She is already 13 pounds and 11 ounces and 23 inches long. Gaining like a champ! The Dr put her on her belly on the table. Claire pushed her arms up, lifted her head and saw herself in the mirror. When she saw herself she smiled and then her head dropped. So cute. I wish I had a camera ready. The Dr was impressed with how Claire is developing.

She got two vaccines the rotovirus and dTaP. I wasn't sure I wanted to do vaccines but because Chris is in the healthcare field I decided that it would be most beneficial to do them. We are following a delayed schedule from the Dr. Sears vaccine book. She didn't full out cry after getting the shot but only kind of wimpered. Chris had to hold her while they did it. Afterwards I breastfed her before we left the office and she was happy again. I was a little worried about the reactions and side affects of the drugs. People suggest drugging your baby before taking them in for shots so they pass out after. I chose not to do that, don't want to give the baby drugs she doesn't need. If she ded develop a fever of course I would keep medicine as an option but if she did develop a fever and I had premedicated I would not have known that she did or when it started. She was fine. She was wide awake for the first few hours right after but then slept until the next day only waking to eat and get her diaper changed.

I was worried about how she would react in a selfish way too. I have started going to mommy and baby yoga and they only have the classes on Wednesdays at noon. This happened to be a Wednesday and I was looking forward to going if Claire was okay. So we went and she was content to stare at the light coming in the window and also at her crazy, flabby, upside down mommy. It was our second time going. The mommas in the class are so friendly and open. We are a very like minded group when it comes to the not quite mainstream decisions we are making in raising our babies. Love it and plan on making it a staple of my week.

These first two months have been just great.

Girly girl

First Mother's Day Weekend

We had a fun filled Mother's Day weekend. Friday morning we first captured Claire's smiles with a camera phone. Excuse the quality. Strange angle laying in bed but you get the idea. Best present. A happy little girl.

Another attempt.

On Saturday Chris had to work but I went with my parents and grandparents to Ike Kinswa State Park. Every year my aunt and some family friends go camping here for Mother's Day. We have gone a few times in the past but this year we just went for the day. My mom thought it would be fun to take a picture of Claire in the woods. It was hilarious. We found a perfect spot with wild bleeding hearts. Looks like we just came upon a baby in the woods. Ha.

On Sunday the whole Olympia area family got together at my grandparents house for a french toast and eggs breakfast. It was really nice to have the whole family in one place again. Before we moved to Pullman there used to be family get togethers all of the time but while we were gone they slacked off. There have been a few in the past couple of months but hopefully as the weather gets nicer we can start having bbqs in the parks again. We tried to get my grandfather to take a family picture of the extended Regan family but none turned out well. In some we were making faces and in others our heads were cropped. Oh well, we will have to try again.

But we did get a great picture of four generations: Great-Grandma Anne, Grandma Claudia, me, and baby Claire.

Chris and Claire gave me a card and some super yummy chocolates. I ate only a few because I accidentally left them on the kitchen counter and they somehow became free game. They were good so I don't blame the buzzards. It was a great weekend.

Birth announcement photo

Procession of the Species Parade

I took Claire to the Procession of the Species parade in downtown Olympia during Arts Walk and she slept through the whole thing! I had her in the Moby wrap (which we love and recommend to everyone!) all cuddled up and warm. She didn't even wake up at the end when a huge group of dancing and drumming zebras went by. I dressed her in a ladybug dress to get in the spirit of things but no one got to see it until we went to great-aunt Julie's house afterwards. We had a great time and plan to continue our tradition in the future, maybe even walking in the parade as she gets older.

One Month Old!!

I cannot believe how fast one month went! She got so big so fast. I love spending everyday with her. She uses this serious look a lot. So cute.

My sister-in-law took my nephew Isaac to The Painted Plate in Olympia when he was one month old to put his footprints on a tile with his name. I thought this was a great idea, so we did the same thing. Mikey, Emily, and Isaac met us there along with Melanie and her boyfriend Zach. When we got there Claire was awake but starting to fuss because she was hungry. So at one month old, Claire was nursed in public for the first time. No pictures though becasue the family thought that it would be wierd. Here we are trying for a handprint first. Didn't work because she still had that hand clench reflex going on. Not too happy with us.

So then we tried the foot. Look how small it is!

Putting it on the tile. The first one went on good but we had to try like three times to get the second foot to look like a foot.

Here we are with the finished product. Love it. After baking the purple ended up being pretty light but the name became a beautiful dark blue. Not exaclty what we thought it would be but it is perfect.

Right afterwards she fell asleep while the rest of the family finished up their artwork. I can't wait to go back and make something else.

Easter

Claire's first Easter was great! She was all quiet through church and looked great in her dress. Everyone loved the WSU diaper cover. Thanks Sabrina!

Claire met Chris' dad and step-mom for the first time on Easter. Here is the photo.

Daddy reading to Claire. She got this book in her Easter basket along with some chocolate for mommy and daddy!

Her first Easter dress. So cute!

All bundled up for church and visiting family.She hates the carseat!

Proud Grandpa

Cousin Issac, Grandpa Mike, and baby Claire

Claire in cloth and breastfeeding

Here is our pretty girl in her cloth diapers!! We finally got her into them on day 5. We are using Kissaluvs size 0 with Thirsties and Prowrap covers and have some prefolds that need to finish being prepped before I can start experimenting with those. One thing that we definitely need is cloth wipes. Diaper changes would be so much easier if I didn't have to worry about separating the diapers and the wipes. Claire has a habit of dirtying the diaper after I change it. She doesn't have the decency to do it while we are still in the bedroom with all of her clothes off but instead waits until we are all comfortable on the couch again. Such a silly goose.

Most people are pretty positive when we tell them we are using cloth but some give us the funniest comments. My favorite was, "But then you will have to change her more." Hmmm, don't you think they should be changed when they are dirty/wet no matter what the diaper is made of? No difference in frequency that I have noticed. I haven't changed a diaper outside the house yet but I'm sure it will go smoothly.

I am already looking for diapers to use on her when she is bigger. Right now we are kind of limited by the umbilical cord and her size to the styles of diaper we can use but that should soon be past. A tiny chunk fell off at her last change. We have some FuzziBunz pockets size small that will fit after she gains a few more pounds. They will be good for going out. Quicker to take off and put on for sure.

Breastfeeding has gotten easier. At first it was super painful and is still sometimes but we are getting used to it. You can see that she is gaining weight and that is all I can ask for. I did bleed a little bit around day 5 but supposedly that doesn't bother the baby but I tried to avoid whichever side was bleeding anyways. She was spitting up after feeding but we are getting better at burping her and keeping her in an upright position for at least 15 minutes after eating. The doctor said that she was probably just over eating and would be fine. Today I feel like a 24 hour buffet but that is my function now, whatever I can do to take care of my baby. I love her so much.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Claire Julia has arrived!

Claire Julia was born March 13, 2009. She weighed 7lbs 9 oz and was 20 inches long.

Super long post here. This is the story of Claire's birth. Some of it may be a little too much info. Read at your own risk, lol. Feel free to ask me any questions about the experience.


Chris and I have joined the parents club. Labor started with my losing my mucus plug on Wednesday night around 9pm while attending a high school play. I was feeling uncomfortable for the full three hours while watching the play but I just attributed it to the bad seats with no leg room. I wasn’t feeling any distinct contractions, just more like the Braxton Hicks not distinctly ending or starting. Chris was working Wednesday night and he was supposed to get off at 10:30pm. I decided to watch a movie and doze while waiting for him to arrive. At 11:30 Chris still wasn’t home but being new at his job I knew that sometimes the paperwork takes a bit longer than anticipated.

I felt a gush and went to the bathroom to see what the heck that was. I assumed it was my water breaking. At this point I started having contractions. They lasted between 45-60 seconds. There were almost 8 minutes between the first two contractions and then almost 7 minutes until the next one but ever contraction after that was spaced between 4 and 5 minutes. It got to the point that I was looking at the clock to prepare myself for a contraction because they were that regular. I got a bagel to eat knowing that if I was going into labor I would need as much energy as possible. I kept watching the movie and just closed my eyes and breathed through each contraction, no special rhythm, just breathing. Chris called at 12:30 and said that he was still at work and said that he would be about another hour. I let him know that I had been having contractions for about an hour and that they were very consistent. He said he would be home within the next hour as we thought labor would take some time.

Contraction pain moved into my back around 1am. I went into the bathroom and leaned on the edge of the bathtub and rocked my hips like a dog wagging its tail during contractions. I started making noises that were pretty melodic. No words but different pitches and tones. Chris got home at 1:30am and watched me labor through about 5 contractions where I was trying to walk around the living room. Contractions got really intense and I felt like I was going to throw up so I went back into the bathroom and did throw up in the bathtub. Chris got worried at this point because he remembered Stacey saying that puking was normal when switching stages of labor. He asked for the phone number of my midwife so he could ask her what to do. I was laying full out on the floor of the bathroom at this point. My mom came out of her bedroom to see if I was okay since she had heard me puking and my vocal tomes were becoming very loud . I didn’t want anyone talking to me because they were distracting. I let them know when contractions were starting so they would be quiet and let me do it. While Chris was talking to our midwife she asked if I was still able to talk. He told her that I was in very good spirits between and during the contractions. She said that we could make our way to the hospital to get checked out as we were having a hospital birth.

I could barely make it to the car and had to rest many times between our home and the emergency waiting room. They wheeled me back to labor and delivery where I changed into a gown and knelt on the floor to deal with the contractions. It almost looked like I was in prayer with my hands clasped on the bed or a chair. I was very vocal during all of my contractions, just making those melodic tones, so much that the nurse asked Chris if I was a singer. Our nurse was so nice. She checked and told me that I was about 5 cm and 80% effaced so I would soon be transferred to an actual delivery room instead of the exam room. I was able to walk to the new room.

When we got there I knelt on the floor on a mat in that praying and rocking position again. The lights were low and I was able to work through the contractions as they came, answering any questions the nurse had. I was group B Strep positive so I knew that I would be getting an IV to receive penicillin. The nurse was going to put the IV line in but I told her that I had really small difficult veins and that it might just be easier for her to call the IV therapist from the start. She did and I just continued to deal with the contractions while laying in the bed so she could look at the baby’s heart rate. It seemed like forever before the IV therapist arrived. I asked for a cold cloth to hold on my forehead while she poked me. I have had past problems with blood being drawn on an empty stomach during my 3 hour glucose test. I held the cloth over my face while she put in the line. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to draw the blood they needed from that site and for some reason we had to wait for another IV therapist to come and draw then blood from my other arm. Later they told me that I was having really high blood pressure and they needed the blood to do some tests. Not sure how long that took either. I was refusing to look at the clock because I am an obsessive clock watcher and knew that it would only seem longer if I was counting the minutes. I had kept my options open for an epidural because I wasn’t sure that I would be able to handle the pain. Around 6am I asked for the epidural because the contractions were super intense and I knew they would be getting even stronger. They checked me at this point and I was at 7cm.

The anesthesiologist arrived around 7:30am and put the epidural in. The catheter they put in hurt much more than the epidural itself. I rested as much as I could but I could still feel the pressure, the slight urge to push. This went on for a while. I was laying on my side and I felt something dripping down my leg. I asked Chris to look and he said it was blood. Thank freaked me out so they called in the midwife. She checked me and I was at 9cm. They were pretty surprised because I was in such good spirits. Somewhere around 8:45am I started feeling the urge to push even stronger. I felt that if I were to move or open my legs that she would fall out. Now I know that is crazy but in the moment that is what I was thinking. My friend had told me that I should wait until my body was ready and I would know what that feels like, not to rush the pushing. I had watched a birth where the woman hadn’t pushed at all and her body delivered the baby by itself. We are amazing creatures and I knew to listen to my body. I was clenching my butt really hard at this point because the urge to push feels like the urge to poo. I had also been shaking off and on for a little while and that was starting to get annoying too.

The urge to push was becoming almost as painful as the contractions. Chris had called the nurse a few times at this point and she finally came in and said that they would really like to get a second dose of antibiotics on board before I delivered. The earliest they could start the drip was 9:30am. I passed the time again without looking at the clock. Chris was stroking my arm and my sister was rubbing my head. Finally they started the antibiotic and I thought we were ready to go. Nope. I now needed to wait until drip had actually travelled into my body. My body was telling me that it was going to start pushing without me. Chris called the nurse back in and she came back at 9:45 and told me to pant like a puppy. What? She was the most unhelpful person that I met in the hospital. Finally as Chris was about to run into the hallway to grab anyone he could find to come in and let me push this girl out, our other nurse came in and said that I could try pushing if I felt like it. Hah.

So I pushed. I’m pretty sure she was surprised that my pushing was actually doing something. She went to get the midwife and the other two nurses. When they came back in I readjusted on the bed to a comfortable position. They told me to push when I felt the urge. This was about 10am. When the pressure started next I went with it and pushed. My sister in law had told me that she pushed for 2 hours so I expected to do the same.

After that push they put up some stirrups to help stabilize my legs. The annoying nurse started petting my leg and telling me to breath like she had said before, like a puppy. Now if I had been in a different place I would have yelled at her to get the heck out of the room but the urge to push came again so I pushed my heart out. They were all telling me that I was doing great but I didn’t believe anyone. I had my eyes closed so I couldn’t watch the clock. I imagined the midwife and the nurses standing there with their arms crossed and lying to me. I felt a warm towel placed on my chest and thought,’Why the heck would they put that on me? I am so hot. ‘ I pushed again and heard, “Mama, take a look.” I thought, no freaking way, but reminded myself that this was only going to happen once in a lifetime with this child. I looked and saw the whole top of her head above the forehead. To my surprise I said, “Ewww, gross.” Whoops.

It was beautiful. There was so much hair and it looked curly. Crazy. I pushed again and felt a flurry of activity. They encouraged me to continue and then Claire shot into the world. I felt a bunch of tugging around and then she was laying on my chest. My daughter. Chris, Melanie, and Emily were all crying. I was just in shock and shaking. I looked at the clock and it was 10:18. Only 18 minutes of pushing. I looked at Chris and said, "Well, I could do that again." He had been asking all throughout the pregnancy how many children I though we would have. I told him that I would let him know after this one came out. I don't think we expected me to say something like that in that moment. We waited until the cord stopped pulsing before cutting it. My sister was taking some pictures at this point. Chris cut the cord and went with the baby over to the bassinet where they were going to weigh and measure her.

The midwife was starting to mess around down below. I asked if I needed to push out the placenta. She said no and it slid out. They started pushing on my stomach and I could feel everything gushing out with every push. I was talking to my sister and sister in law at this time and tried to ignore what was happening. It hurt. The midwife said that I had a tear and that she would need to put in some stitches. I flinched as she put the first one in and she was surprised that it hurt me. So she gave me a shot of lidocaine and continued to stitch. And stitch and stitch. I was so worried that everything was ruined down there. The midwife finished up and the nurse cleaned up the area and gave me an ice pack.

The baby was brought back over to me by Chris and we just cuddled. In our birth plan I had asked that all non essential treatments be delayed. She stayed with me for quite some time before the nurse came back and asked if she could who Chris how to bathe her. My parents came into the room after the bath as I was still laying on the delivery table with a catheter in. I had to sit like that for a really long time because there was another birth happening that my nurses were occupied with. Finally they came and cleaned me up and took me to another room where we could have the rest of our visitors join us. We went home around 3 the next afternoon . All in all it was a super positive experience (except for that waiting to push thing). I do have a 1st degree tear but it was inside so I have a few layers of stitches which are still pretty painful. When I feel the pain I can't help but remind myself that it was all worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

My first trip to L&D

The appointment today was a bit more intense than either Chris or I was expecting. We knew we wanted an internal to see if any progress was being made, I wanted to ask how long they would let me go before inducing and also we wanted to talk about reduced fetal movement again. Claire doesn't seem to move as much as she used to but she really is running out of space in there. So they measured my belly and today I was measuring 37.5cm when I am at 39 weeks. The internal revealed that I was 4cm 70% effaced and at -1 station. The midwife said that we can't really get too excited about those numbers and that while we could have a baby today it could also be a few more weeks. I have been having little contractions but not full on period crampy contractions. Mostly just the top of my uterus squeezes down but not in any pattern.

She then hooked me up to the non stress test monitors again. Claire was not moving around so they had to buzz her with what they call the "baby alarm clock." It felt like a cell phone on vibrate. The first time they used it when moved a tiny bit. There is a certain amount of time you have to wait before doing it again so the midwife left us alone in the room and encouraged Chris to talk to the belly. She wasn't responding with movement to that either. They gave me some apple juice and buzzed her again. The buzz didn't get her to move this time. Her heart rate seemed good but they wanted to check my amniotic fluid levels. They have a mini ultrasound machine there that they used to try and look at the fluid. She needed to get a shot of the fluid without the umbilical cord in the picture but was not able to. So we got sent over to labor and delivery.

At the hospital we needed to do a more extensive non stress test and a biophysical profile ultrasound. By this time I was spotting a bit due to the internal exam. Contractions were being recorded on the monitors but again nothing I was really feeling consistently. It was about 1:15 and Chris and I decided that he would go to work and I would call him if anything was happening. I got to order lunch and hang out for more than an hour before the ultrasound was ready for me. Melanie and my sister in law came and sat with me and also came to the ultrasound. I told Melanie that she better get there because today was her guess and it was all her fault (she predicted my nephew's due date last July so she assumed she would be right about today too). We finished with the ultrasound around 4 and went back to the labor and delivery exam room. The ultrasound tech told me that the score on the profile was an 8 which is the highest score. And my amniotic fluid level was normal. She really had to jostle Claire to get her to move just a tiny bit to record though. I was 8 pounds at birth and my brother was over 9. Melanie was 7.5lbs at 4 weeks early so I have always assumed that this was not a small baby. The ultrasound tech said that she had chubby legs to match the chubby cheeks. I can't wait to pinch them!

About 15 minutes after getting back to the room the nurse came in with the results and said that the ultrasound showed that my cervix was long and closed so none of those exciting numbers from before. The nurse called my midwife and the midwife was very surprised by this and asked the nurse to check me again. So another internal exam. Yuck. Ouch. The nurse confirmed that the cervix was not ripe and that there would be no baby today. Dang.

I was discharged around 5pm. We came home and had dinner from Norma's (Wednesday is normally family dinner night with my brother and his family and Melanie and her boyfriend). After the crew left I fell asleep on the couch having some cramping still but again nothing regular, just waking up now when Chris got home after a very long, tense day at work. I am going to be calling the midwife tomorrow to ask what the heck was going on, if I could have had that much progress and then regressed or what. We weren't exactly ready for today so we are glad she is not yet here but now I am very inspired to get that bag packed and my hair washed, lol.

Baby

I had an appointment this past Wednesday. Tuesday night we were all trying to decide if the baby had dropped but weren't convinced that she had since I have been carrying so low the whole pregnancy. When I went to the doctor I measure 35.5 weeks when I should have been measuring 38. Some fluctuation is normal but they were a tad concerned with the difference since I have measured right on every time before this. Also Chris and I had noticed decreased movement the night/day before. Coincidentally this was one of the two appointments that Chris hasn't been able to make it to. They hooked me up to a machine for a non stress test to monitor what her heartrate was doing, to see if she was in any distress. We passed the test, her heartbeat was right where they wanted it to be. They were still a bit concerned that the amniotic fluid might be getting low or something like that so I was scheduled for a growth ultrasound at the hospital the next day.
Chris and my mom both came with me to the hospital. I wasn't worried per se but it was nice to have them there for support. They took measurements of a lot of stuff like her head and belly and placenta and fluid level...and more that I don't remember. Many people in our lives, including ourselves, had been having dreams that the baby was actually a boy so we had them double check that we are in fact expecting a Claire and not a mystery boy. Still showing up Claire so we can all relax. I was watching the screen carefully as it was not our provider but just a random ultrasound tech doing the work. They aren't allowed to talk about the results so I wanted to make sure I was paying attention. Her measurements ranged between a late 37 weeks to a very early 39 weeks so I wasn't too worried about her size. I didn't see anything that was obvious about the fluid level or my cervix so I will learn those results tomorrow when the midwife calls. I did see a size estimate of 7lbs 10oz +/- 15oz!! Yikes! I always joked that we were going to have a good size baby and I am glad to see that it might really be the case. She needs some substance so we are happy about this, now we just have to get through delivery!
I walked a ton today after standing in the phone store for three hours trying to get things moving but so far just Braxton Hicks contractions and my water is still intact. I have been craving and eating pineapple as well which I just found out is actually something that people try to eat a lot of when trying to induce their labor naturally. She is still moving around and having the hiccups a lot. We are ready whenever she is.

Catching up

So it has been a while. I passed the three hour glucose test. It was disgusting and next pregnancy I am going to work very hard not to have to do it again. Let's just say that sugar drink on an empty stomach was not something my body could handle. When we were going to the Dr's office in Pullman they were concerned with my blood pressure and the possibility of pre eclampsia and basically told me to plan to have the baby early because of that. And they said they would give me steroids to make sure her lungs were developed before inducing. Luckily this was my last appointment there and the midwife practice I am going to after moving is wonderful. They did some blood work and I had to collect my urine for 24 hours so they could see where I was at but I have been fine throughout the tests. My blood pressure seems to have evened out and I try very hard to take it easy before my appointments especially. I also haven't worked at all in 2009 so that contributes to a calmer state of being. Everything has been going great until this very last appointment but that needs a post of its own. Coming right up!

Baby update

I failed the one hour glucose tolerance test last week so tomorrow I have to go take a three hour glucose test to see if I have gestational diabetes. I have to drink double the amount of the yucky orange drink and have my blood drawn five times! I have problems with blood draws. Not like the I hate needles or can't stand the sight of blood problems but the 'weird, your vein doesn't run right' or 'hmm, can you clench your fist for a little while, your veins are kinda flat' problems. And I get to go through it five times tomorrow. Yummy. So drinking gallons of water and taking a piping hot shower right before we go to inspire my veins to be fat and ready for poking.

The doctor also said last time that my blood pressure has been constantly at a higher level than they like and we should keep an eye out for pre-eclampsia if any of the other symptoms start to appear. Thankfully nothing has come out of that yet. I have another appointment this Friday. It is my last appointment with this group of doctors and I will get my results for the gestational diabetes business (negative please!).

Other than that, we are doing great. Claire is a kicker for sure. My belly may look small but there is a regular sized baby in there trying to bust out. When I lay on my side at night I can feel her kicking by my hip and I can feel and see her head moving around on the other side. Chris thinks that is pretty cool. Sometimes she kicks so hard it wakes me up and I get freaked out wondering why I just got punched in the gut and then I remember. I will miss her when she isn't in my belly. I think I might feel a little empty after feeling this full all the time. But I will be able to hug and kiss her and it will all have been worth it.

Moving on

So we have made the big decision to move back to Lacey near family and friends. This may be a shock to some people but it is what is best for the three of us right now. We are so glad to be able to have our baby with both or our families close by.

Now for the not so great news. Chris did not do as well as we hoped in his most recent quarter of nursing school. He was getting really burnt out and really just needs a break. He has completed enough in this program to take the test to become an LPN so he is scheduled to take that certification test next week and find a job. We have decided to move back and live with my parents for a bit. He will get a job as an LPN and either start at a new nursing program in the fall or wait until next year. It will be really nice to have family support when Claire is born and not be all the way across the state. Unfortunately nursing school was the only reason we were still on this side of the state so it just made the most sense to give up a not so great job at ShopKo and move on. Because I am already so far along in the pregnancy we had to make the decision and carry it through fairly quickly and get set up with a new doctor. We will be packing up and moving out this coming weekend, January 17th.

I, for the life of me, CANNOT inspire myself to pack. I am absolutely thrilled to be back near family but I just can't get motivated here. I have decided that my goal for life should be not to accumulate stuff. I mean really. Stuff sucks. Stuff is just there to take up space. I need to learn to get books from the library and stop buying them on a whim. I need to get Chris on board with this idea but substitute books with video games. No one needs a full freaking tote bin of video games. No one. A wok is cool to have but if it is still in the box four months later I can make do with a freaking pan. A Blockbuster shirt is not something we need to have around especially since we both quit Blockbuster in 2005!! So obviously this is a problem we have had for a while and I just refuse to move all of this stuff again. If it were just a matter of throwing it in boxes I might be doing better but it is the sorting and making go away before Chris notices that is my problem. I mean really, that is your friends practice football jersey from a high school you didn't even go to! Please let me throw it away! You graduated 9 years ago! Really! You didn't play football!

Wish us luck!