Birthing Classes

Last night we had our first birthing class. Shawn was kinda funny about the whole thing. After I finally finished reading the What to Expect book, he started reading the parts on labor and delivery and the chapter for dads. This is somewhat of a refresher for him because while in the military, he acted as a paramedic on base and helped several women deliver babies on the way to the hospital (apparently German women wait until the last minute to go to the hospital). As a result, he knew pretty much all of what we went over. While I had done lots of reading, I still learned a few new things (like what a baby's station is, and also that I am a terrible shallow breather - I will need to practice).

The worst thing about the class was that the decription never said how long it would be each night. I knew going in that we would meet 4 times, but we were there for two hours and fifteen minutes. Whoever thought that keeping a room ful of women that are pregnant, most into their third trimester, cooped up for that long on pretty dang uncomfortable chairs is not a smart man. I'm assuming it was a man, because any woman that had ever been pregnant knows that is not a smart move. Then, on top of that, we essentially came from work (the class was at 6:30). We left work early enough for Shawn to go home and take a shower (he works outside and it is summer, I don't blame him for wanting to take a shower before going into a room full of stangers). While at home I got a snack that I thought would tide me over for an hour or so. But no, the class went on forever. They had snacks and drinks, but I don't really want to eat a bunch of sugary snacks that will just make me gain even more weight than I already have gained (seriously, these people knew we were pregnant, right?). Thankfully, when we got home his parents had left us a message asking if we wanted to come eat. We, or course, accepted their invitation. So, we ended up not getting home for good until almost 10:00! Talk about two tired people. Shawn fell asleep while watching the one tv show that we had decided to watch before going to bed. Since I had not really had any down time to relax it took me forever to get to sleep. So, it looks like Tuesdays in August are just going to be annoying.

Back to the class though. The first thing they did was show a video clip of Bill Cosby doing one of his stand up routines talking about his wife's first delivery. Because he is old and loves stand up comics, Shawn had already seen this (this is not to say that Shawn is all old and decrepit, just older than me). But it was funny. I love Bill Cosby anyway, and he is one of the few people that have had tv shows that when you go back and watch their stand up acts he is pretty clean with his comedy. Next we learned terms (if you have made it to an age where you can have a baby, you should seriously already know where your uterus, vagiana, and cervix are located), learned what happens to your cervix during labor and learned a few breathing techniques. As I've already reported, I will have to practice the whole shallow breathing, Shawn made fun of me over that. We also watched one delivery video. The sad thing is, most people acted all shocked that we were actually seeing everything (nothing was blurred out). Seriously people, you need to know what it looks like because it will happen to you! Also, watch TLC and see it happen every single day (granted, on TLC's shows they blur out the main parts that no one really wants to see, but still, you see a brand new baby emerge all messy and stuff). The thing that surprised me the most was how purple the baby was, not that I could see all the intimate details of this woman's body. As the nurse givng the class pointed out, if this woman was willing to have her delivery filmed, she obviously had no problem with modesty. Also, this poor woman had an natural child birth and her contractions only ever got to be 7 minutes apart, which the nurse estimated as putting her labor and delivery at around the 24 hour mark. Crazy!

This has also started me thinking about my birth plan. When I first heard that term I was all, really, you have to come up with things to write down, not for me. Then I learned some of the things that I defintely don't want happening to me(forceps and vacum extration!) or the baby (eye drops that are only needed if the mother has possibly got and STD, no thanks, not needed). I know I will probably want an epidural, but not right away because you can't walk around once you get one. So, once I realized how much you can cover with a birth plan I was all on board for one. I also found a fill in the blank birth plan on thebump.com, so I will probably use that. I also has a space for who you want in the room during labor and who you want in the room during the actual delivery. Since I am the most modest person I know, that will be a limited number of people, possibly only Shawn. I told my mom she could come in, but she thinks we should have that time to bond and be a special moment with just the two of us. So, who knows. Now that we are getting so close to the actual event, these are the things I'm thinking about now, which is funny because I never thought about them before. Now a birth plan doesn't seem rediculous to me. I'm even kinda excited because I found out that Lexington keeps doulas on staff at all times. I had read about them and was interested, but not sure how that would work. I'm pretty sure my insurance won't cover it, but it would seem it would just be added to the hospital bill. This is something I will look into further.

So, for a post with no pictures, this ended up being really long. Stay tuned for more profile pictures, and soon, baby shower pictures.

Pregnancy Updates

So, even though I'm actually 31 weeks now, I am posting a profile from two weeks ago (I've been slack about updating).



As you can see, I've grown, mostly because Georgia has grown. And she is definitely making her presence known. She was been moving around a lot before, but now she is noticeably stronger. Just yesterday it seems as though she discovered my ribs. Her pushing against my ribs is not the most comfortable thing in the world so I'm trying to get her to move by pushing down on the top of my belly. So far, not so successful.

Other things I have noticed/experienced:

• I still have no stretch marks (cross your fingers people).
• I have an innie still, although you can kinda tell that some of the skin that had been on the inside of my belly button has kinda rolled outward. I'm very hopeful that I will keep my innie because my mom never had her belly button pop out either.
• I haven't had heartburn yet. It almost makes sense because I haven't really had heartburn before I got pregnant either.
• I don't have any real cravings. In general I have had the urge to go to certain places to eat (Taco Bell is a frequent urge, and of course Fazoli's, which are places I love to go anyway).
• I get hot really fast! At night if I wake up, I tend to throw off the sheet because it feels like my feet and legs are on fire. The only time my legs even tend to swell at all is if I am outside for any length of time (more than 10 minutes).
• My face isn't breaking out as much as it was in my first trimester and the beginning of my second trimester. Which is a great thing. Also, I haven't had any swelling in my face yet.
• My bra size is way larger than I ever thought I would have. I didn't read in the What to Expect book that your band size increases because your ribcage expands to make room for you displaced organs until after I felt like my bra was trying to kill me. Then I went and bought some bigger bras. Then, I ended up having to get even more in yet a larger size still. I know it will only go up more when my milk comes in, but hopefully only in cup size.

So, as things change I will write more. Also, the time is getting closer for showers! Two are scheduled and two are TBA.

One last thought. We've signed up for birthing classes, but we aren't sure that we can actually afford to go to them. All of you out there that have gone through pregnancy before, did you go to birthing classes? If so, did they help you at all? Let me know in the comments.

July 4th and Baby Room

So, for the weekend of July 4th I had a lot of family get together's to go to. The first one was the Chavis family. This was actually a birthday party for my father-in-law Joe's aunt. She was 88 (I think). The funny thing about the Chavis family is that I actually knew a couple of them before I ever met Shawn and his family. Joe's cousin Lewis was one of my dad's best friends from before I was old enough to remember. He actually bought the first dog we had as a pet, a tiny little beagle that was so much fun. I'd known him really well from going hunting with my dad. I had met his brother Tracy before from when they all got together to build dog boxes for their trucks one weekend. So, even though there are a lot of people in the family that I don't know I still had people to talk to because I had known them for so long.

I've mentioned before that Shawn's family are Native Americans, Beaver Creek to be specific. And these pictures will show you just how strong theirs genes are. Also, I'm not sure why the camera was taking such fuzzy pictures, but it was. Sorry for the blur!

This is Lewis's sister Phillis. She keeps her hair long so she looks like she could actually live on a reservation.



This is our great-aunt Eula (the birthday girl) holding her great-granddaughter. The baby's dad is sitting next to his grandmother. He is Tracy's son Joseph. The baby's mom is blond, so that made Shawn less hopeful about our little girl having lighter colored hair.



And this is me and Lewis. I was red from laughing. Before I got pregnant it took laughing a lot to turn this red, but now it happens almost as soon as I start laughing. I think it is mainly because I'm not getting as much oxygen while I'm laughing.



So, that night, the other side of Shawn's family, the Busbee's, had a get together. Each place had bbq and lots of other food. I didn't actually take pictures because, one I was lazy, and two I already had lots of pictures of that side of the family. We see them more often anyway. Then the next day (on July 4th) we ate lunch with my parents after church. There was more bbq to be had.

Then, we put the finishing touches on the baby's room. We had letters that I painted for her initials. Those we put up over the end of her crib.



Then we had a fan that we painted the blades on so that it would bring pink into the room and also use the green to tie the colors of the room into the fan.



Now we just need to take the non-baby stuff out of the room and we'll be set. We also have the bouncy seat, bumbo seat, and the swing in there until we need them, so it is crowded in there for now. Once more of the stuff is moved out, then I'll take pictures of the final set up of the other furniture and post.

25 Weeks and stuff

We got our pack and play a while back. I knew that Burlington won't take anything back after however many days, so I wanted to make sure it had all it's pieces. So I took it out the box and just went ahead and put it together. Shawn was out cutting grass so I did it all myself. I was pretty proud of myself.



Then, I finished the blanket I was making for Georgia. The pattern ended up coming out smaller than I had wanted, but it looks nice in any case. It's big enough to cover her for a long time and use to cover her while she's in her car seat. This is a detail view.



This is and almost full length view.



Since it came out smaller than I had wanted, I've started making another one. This one is going to be a granny square blanket with pink and purple squares for the whole thing and yellow squares for a big G in the middle. The squares are fast and easy to make, but it gets tiring working on it too often. I can crank out about four of five on a good night, and on the weekend I can make even more. I already had enough yellow that those squares are done and I'm working on pink. I may have to get a little more pink yarn, but I know I will have to get more purple yarn.

Finally, the profile picture from last weekend. At 25 weeks, I look so much bigger than my last profile! I feel bigger too. And I know that Georgia is bigger because she makes much stronger movements inside me. The dress I'm wearing in the picture is one I made. My mom found a smocked material at JoAnn fabrics and we bought two different kinds. One is a long one (as seen in the picture) and one was a short one. I made a dress and a top out of them. All I had to do was put a seam in it, add ribbons for straps, and then hem it. Pretty easy and they both are pretty comfortable.



And now for an update, I got my results back for my glucose test and it was fine. So that makes me feel a little better. I know it isn't that big of a deal to have gestational diabetes, but it makes for bigger babies and more weight gain. As nice as it is to see a plump baby, actually giving birth to one is not easy from what I hear. Then the whole gaining more weight thing is a big turn off for me. The more you gain the more you have to lose. And I already needed to lose weight before I got pregnant! I probably have gained more than I should at this point (although the doctor says I'm fine) but working such long hours makes me just want to collapse when I get home. I figure, I can work out when I'm home with the baby. That's probably me being all idealistic, but hopefully during a nap here and there I can hop on the elliptical and burn some calories. And I can always take her for walks.

Follow Up

So, I have to wait until Monday to get the results of my glucose test. But it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I've heard all sorts of things about the drink you have to take, but it wasn't that bad. The only bad part was that it was orange flavored, and I don't like orange flavoring (bad for a Clemson fan, but I can't change my taste buds). So far, everything looks good and the doctor is happy with the way things are going.

Last night we went to a funeral home visitation for a family member on the Chavis side of the family. The thing about the Chavis side of the family is that my father-in-law was an only child, so he only has extended family, not siblings. But the extended family is huge! Anyway, this was the first time they had seen us in about two years and the first they had heard that we were going to have a baby. It also gave me a chance to see just how strong the Chavis genes were. Even though they are not siblings, Joe looks just like his cousins (with way more gray hair, he had a very stressful job as a firefighter). They all have the same exact nose! And Shawn looks just like his dad with a different nose and ears. So we heard a lot of people commenting on how much like his dad he looks from people that hadn't seen him in ages. The other interesting thing was to see just how much they look like Native Americans you see on tv on reservations and stuff like that. One of the women has pretty long hair and the first time I saw her I told Shawn she looked like she would fit right in on a reservation somewhere. Every single one of them has (or had) dark black hair and very tan skin. Now their children are even more diverse than Shawn and his sisters were. One of them even had blond hair. So, that gives me hope of actually having a baby that doesn't look like a clone of Shawn's nieces and nephews. Shawn is personally hoping for at least blue eyes, if not blue eyes and blond hair. I just hope that our poor baby isn't lily white like me and burns after being outside for more than 15 minutes. We shall see.

Cloth Diapers and Updates

My friend Beth wrote about cloth diapers and I thought it was a great idea (http://lifeonthespacecoast.blogspot.com/2009/08/cloth-is-success.html). When you think about it, it comes out to be cheaper, they cause less diaper rash, and they are easy to use. I have them on my regisrty at Target and am hoping to at least get enough gift cards to Target to buy a good enough supply to use them with Georgia. I already have 6 that my mom bought for me a few months ago.

The kind I registered for (http://www.bumgenius.com/one-size.php) is the same as what Beth uses and I am looking forward to using them. They have snap adjustments so that they can grow with your baby. They come with two inserts so that you can use two if you have a heavy wetter. And they are really soft, nothing to poke or irritate a baby at all. I did a good bit of research and looked at user comments on Target's website and on Amazon's website. Everyone seems to agree that these are easy to use and there is relatively no leaking involved.

When Georgia gets here I'll have to post pics of her in her diapers.

Meanwhile, we have a pack and play and a diaper bag. My mom is really excited and keeps buying stuff for us. Mainly she is getting the pricier stuff we registered for because she doesn't think anyone will get those items. The pack and play is mainly so that I don't have to go up and down the stairs after I give birth to take care of a baby. It seems that it is frowned upon, at least at first. Of course, in the off chance that we win the lottery and can actually go on a vacation somewhere, we have a pack and play to take with us. Oh, by the way, we are registered at Target and at Baby Depot at Burlington.

In other news, you can now see my tummy move when Georgia gets good and active (mainly at night). It is really strange. Shawn is fascinated by it and still can't believe that she is big enough to make my tummy move. In addition, our next doctor's appointment is tomorrow and I have my glucose test. I'm a little nervous about it, but hopefully I pass the first time around and don't have to go back for another one (that lasts three hours!).

I don't know why, but lately I have been paranoid that the sonographer actually got things wrong and we're not having a girl. We already have pink and lavendar stuff, so that may add to the anxiety. The picture seems pretty darn clear to me, but there is no accounting for expectant mother anxiety.

I'll update tomorrow to give my test results.

21 Weeks

So, it has been a month since my last profile picture. In that time I have been to the doctor again and heard Georgia's heartbeat again. I also got my glucola for my next appointment when I'll have a glucose test. In even better news, Shawn has felt Georgia moving and is very excited about that. He didn't like to admit it, but he was jealous that I could feel her and he couldn't. Now he loves to keep his hand on my tummy to see if anything happens. She is moving around a lot more now, or at least I feel her a lot more. Also, she seems to not be a morning person, kinda like me. She moves around more in the afternoon and at night. So far, she isn't big enough to keep me awake at night with movements, so we'll have to see how that progresses.

In other, non-baby related news, flowers and plants are starting to look good. The irises have long since bloomed, but other things are happening now too.

This is an ornamental pepper plant we got at the plant sale the Botanical Garden has each year. I had seen them in the Botanical Garden before and had wanted some, so I was excited that they went on sale this year. They all started out yellow, but have slowly started changing colors.



Last year we made a bigger "garden" in the back yard for the veggies, but then the plants just didn't do anything. So, we went smaller this year with just one tomato plant. And to change things up we put it in a planter and stuck it in the front yard. It looks really good and already has lots of little tomatos on it.



Next, because I am a Tiger, I got tiger lilies a long time ago. They have spread and now I have several. They are really pretty and the only orange flower I have had so far. I planted some orange calla lillies, but they haven't bloomed yet, so we'll see how they do.



So, the end of May means the end of AWANAs at church. Since AWANAs will start shortly before my due date in the fall, I will not be returning for the forseeable future. Here is a picture of me and my sister-in-law after the awards ceremony.



Before going to church that night I took my profile picture for week 21. As you can see, I am bigger.



In other news, Shawn has looked around on the internet at various ultrasound pictures and has decided that Georgia is cuter than all the other babies he has seen. I never really thought that babies looked that different on ultrasound pictures until I saw a few more recently, and you can really tell a difference in some babies. But of course, I think that Georgia will be amazingly adorable. I can't wait to see what she will look like, and what color hair she will have. The funny thing is, Shawn and I look so different from each other there is no telling what our babies will look like. I mean really, I am pasty white with dark blond hair and blue eyes. He is really dark skinned with black hair and brown eyes. I'm just hoping that Georgia will be able to go outside for more than five minutes without getting sunburned. We shall see in the fall what she will look like.