Some good, some bad

Filed Under Being a Mom, Friends, Grandparents, Thoughts, classes | 2 Comments

Today Jonathon didn’t want to get up for church so I took Bailey and let him stay home, since I had to work in the nursery first hour anyway. While I was gone, he cleaned, vacuumed, and… rearranged our bedroom. Some of you know that he has a history of doing random things like this. Sometimes, it’s really annoying. However I actually LIKE what he did with our room. He also let me rest for a while this afternoon since he had the morning “off.”

I am realizing that we have a very high maintenance kid. Not like her attitude, but just her energy level. She always has to be doing something. She’s been like this since she was tiny. She has a good attention span, she just needs to be occupied or she gets herself into trouble. Take yesterday- we had to move the old entertainment center so we closed her in her bedroom door for about five minutes. In that time she emptied her toy box, book box, and every drawer and cabinet in her dresser. She loves to make messes. She goes, at top speed, all day long. I think this is why it’s so exhausting to take care of her.

Tonight we met with our small group. I’m not sure what’s going to happen with that… my feelings were kind of hurt tonight and I don’t want to get into it here, but it might be time for us to find a new group or not be in a group at all. At this point, either of those options would be fine with me. But we have a while to think about it. My parents watched Bailey and she did great. They used to always want her to come to their house, but they are starting to realize it’s easier to watch her here, where they have everything she could possibly need. I understand on nights when we’re out late, they like to be at their house so they can go to bed or work on the computer or whatever… but for early nights, it’s nice for us not to have to take her home and put her to bed all over again. Because, once she wakes up she thinks it’s party time and we have to re-do her bedtime routine. Also I have discovered that it will be easier to lure them over here now that we have our new tv

Tomorrow, I am looking forward to getting together with my friend Sarah and her little boy Andrew for a playdate. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve hung out together and now that Bailey is better, I am excited for her to get to play with a friend again. And, I am even more excited to get to hang out with Sarah :)  Also, tomorrow evening Bailey has a music class that Jonathon gets to go to with us! He hasn’t been to any classes with us that I can think of, so this should be fun. he will get to see what a wild woman she is in a room full of other babies! She is always the busiest, noisiest one who won’t stay by their mom. It will be interesting for him to see her in that situation.

Anyway, I’m going to bed. To catch my 7 hours. I need to be getting more sleep I think, but my only “me time” is after Bailey goes to bed.

Organization

Filed Under Baby Gear, Bailey's Birthday, Church, Daddy, classes | 1 Comment

Friday night I went to a ladies night thing at my church. I know, you are thinking “Exciting Friday night, Tara!” It turned out to be a lot better than I expected. I mainly signed up because my mom and grandma wanted to go. They had snacks and then we got to pick three classes we wanted to take. The first one I chose was about organizing your busy life. Scheduling everything- including a cleaning schedule. I know some people think this sounds neurotic, but it’s the kind of organization I need if I am going to get anything done. We also talked about communicating better with your spouse to divide up responsibility/time with kids/etc. The second class I did was card making. They had a Stampin Up! rep help us make three cards and a gift tag. They are really cute. The last class was a cooking one. The lady kind of drove me nuts who taught it. She was one of those people, who wants you to know that she has money. Like she kept talking about “having the girls over after golf and just putting together a little lunch” and “I try to buy from the Smokehouse and keep them in business” but it was the way she made her comments. It was just kind of funny. But the recipes were good. She made a chicken dish, salad, bread, and banana dessert. Also we got a recipe for a fish soup that I am going to make for Jonathon.

Sat morning Jonathon got up and took some stuff to the bank for me, then went and bought me flowers! Then I got our bedroom a lot more organized and sorted through our closet to pull stuff out for Goodwill. I ended up with two boxes and two big bags! Yay! I need to do a lot of work on the rest of the house and purge every room, but I’m glad I started. Then in the  afternoon, Jonathon went to Lowe’s and got a board to fix our ghetto baby gate setup and bought more lightbulbs for all the burnt out lights in our house. I am glad he finally did this because it was starting to drive me crazy. But I am working on not bugging him/nagging him about stuff that needs to be done. He also picked up Bailey’s big birthday present while he was out!

Saturday night we had an event for Jonathon’s work. My parents watched Bailey and of course they all had a great time It was nice for us to dress up and get out together too.

Completely Educated?

Filed Under Daddy, Pregnancy, classes | Leave a Comment

We have now finished our six-week series of childbirth classes. I actually didn’t want to take them this early, but the next cycle of classes didn’t end until our due date and the doctor said that was too late. The last class was tonight, and it wasn’t about the birth at all. It was all about bringing home and caring for baby.

The teacher talked a lot about breastfeeding, bottle feeding, and formula. We practiced burping baby dolls, changing their clothes and diapers, and bathing them. We did swaddling. We discussed umbilical cord care and circumcisions- yes, I am very thankful at this point that we are having a girl! We also talked about sleeping, when to call the doctor, and stuff like that. A lot of it seemed kind of basic, but I think a lot of people in the class were totally new to that stuff.

Jonathon was really cute with the baby doll. Of course he would be embarassed that I said that! He was very careful with her and practiced swaddling her again while the teacher was talking. I loved watching him even just with the doll, because it makes me see how gentle and sweet he is going to be with Bailey.

Booby Time

Filed Under Breastfeeding, Pregnancy, classes | 3 Comments

We had our breastfeeding class last night. It was at the hospital and taught by a different teacher than our regular childbirth class. It was only like $30, so I figured what the heck, might as well try it. My mom told me that was silly, that you didn’t need to “learn” how to breastfeed, but I guess that’s kind of the old school thinking there. Most younger moms I talked to encouraged me to go to the class. And Jonathon too.

I was really glad he came with me- there were only two girls without their spouses out of a class of maybe ten couples. It was mostly lecture-style, with the chance to interrupt and ask questions whenever. Very laid-back. We watched a video for about ten minutes, and it was really good (I think) to see the babies latching on and feeding correctly. I mean, of all the times you are around when people breastfeed, you don’t really look at their boobs and see what the baby is doing. Jonathon had been a little skeptical before the class about all the boob stuff, but during the video he was like, “Wow, that baby is so cute.” Totally more into the baby than the woman’s breast. I think.

The teacher also talked about what kind of discomfort to expect and what was a sign that something wasn’t right or needed to be corrected. Which was great for me, because I thought that it was just going to be insanely painful in the beginning after stories I’ve heard. But the teacher swore that if it was unbearable, something wasn’t being done right. She also gave a lot of references for (some free!) lactation help/consultants and phone lines.

We each had a plastic baby doll to try positioning with, but we didn’t really do much with them. I was fairly uncomfortable throughout the class because we were in hard plastic chairs at tables, and the class was almost 3 hours long! I had to prop my feet up on another chair. Of course there was the typical annoying, too many questions, neurotic mom in the class. Apparently she has already purchased a breast pump and “experimented” with it. And she couldn’t have been much further along than I am!

One of the things that I thought was most helpful in the class was talking about pumping- not that I will need to do it a lot (hopefully) since I won’t be leaving Bailey to go back to work- but I had no idea about when to do it/how long you could keep the milk in the fridge or freezer/etc. Also about when bottles could be introduced. She recommended that the dads do the first few bottles around 3-4 weeks when mom isn’t around so that the baby doesn’t have another “option” there. I told Jonathon he has a very important job.

I guess I am a little less nervous about nursing in general after this class. Still don’t *really* know what to expect but they gave us a book and I wrote some phone numbers down and info about milk storage etc.

Childbirth Class #5 -and more-

Filed Under Birth, Food, Pregnancy, classes | 2 Comments

Wednesday night we had our fifth- and second to last- childbirth class.

I was really dreading this one because she said we were going to watch a video of a live c-section. I can think of more appealing things. And considering the complete grossness of just the vaginal birth video, I thought this one would be like witnessing a murder. It really wasn’t too bad at all. Most of it was illustrations. The video itself didn’t show any cutting or moving around of flesh or organs or anything like that. It went from illustrations, then kind of fast-forwarded to a video of a little baby after it had been taken out. All that worry for nothing.

We also talked more about actual “scenarios” this time. The teacher set a timer and each time it went off she gave us a scenario to work through as a couple. For example- you are getting in your car after eating at a restaurant and you feel fluid run down your leg. What do you do? Jonathon and I are like “Go to the hospital????” Apparently the right answer was to try to determine if it was amniotic fluid, then call doctor, then head to hospital. We are going to be so lost at this.

We didn’t do any more breathing stuff or exercise ball stuff at this class. Which is just fine with me- I think we kind of figured out how to count and breath like three weeks ago anyway. It really can’t be that complicated.

I am looking forward to next week’s class a little more. It’s the one where we actually talk about bringing home and caring for the baby. Yay! I think I know a lot of the basics like swaddling, diaper changing, etc but Jonathon will be all new to this and it will be fun to do it together Also I don’t know anything about the belly buttons. (Speaking of belly buttons, Sandra Boynton has the cutest book about them!)

Yesterday I just kind of took it easy. I ran a few errands and got my car fixed. The stupid low fluid light has been on, but it was just a hose that needed to be replaced. Only $23 for the hose, courtesy of Jiffy Lube (who my husband hates but I am currently having a great love affair with). They didn’t charge me for labor, either. Went to the grocery store and picked up a few things for dinner. Came home and did a little laundry.

For dinner I made these frozen stir-fry veggies (not from scratch, just out of a package and including the sauce, duh) and chicken fried rice (Lipton). I may not be a from-scratch cooker, but I can combine packages and mixes with the best of them!

Childbirth Class and Doctor

Filed Under Breastfeeding, Pregnancy, classes | 1 Comment

Last night was our fourth childbirth class. By far the roughest one yet. I was much more comfortable than last week, so that wasn’t the problem. The graphic, close-ups of bloody, gooey hoo-hoos in the video just about made me sick. I wasn’t the only one. I kept having to look away. Then the baby that came out was covered in disgusting white stuff- I think I am going to have to have Bailey cleaned off before I hold her! Also, they talked a lot about episiotomies and epidurals, and it was just a little too medical in general. I’ll spare you the nasty details.

Oh, but next week, we get to watch a live c-section video! Woo hoo- just what I’ve always wanted to see! Yeah, I think I’ll keep my eyes closed.

Then this afternoon, I had my 28 week appointment. I got the rhogam shot, which really wasn’t that bad. People told me it was very painful and that it burned, but it really didn’t. Maybe for a split second, but the whole shot lasted probably under five seconds (faster than a flu shot) and I couldn’t feel anything at all afterwards. So that’s over with now!

My blood pressure was higher than normal for me, but still within the normal range. I think it was 130/74 or something. I freaked out but both the doctor and nurse reassured me that it was okay. They also said it could be attributed to me being nervous about the shot and having just been weighed. I told them that I no longer want to know how much I weigh. There’s nothing I can do about it anyway. I’m eating (mostly) healthy, I have been banned from exercising, so all I can do is just be frustrated if I know. She said without telling me the numbers that I was still right on track. Pee sample was fine, baby’s heartbeat was around 145-150 bpm.

I also had to get a new pair of jeans today. A lot of my pants that were huge before are starting to be slightly uncomfortable now. I can fit in all my sweats-type pants, but other things are becoming more annoying. So I got these big momma jeans and hopefully they will last me the rest of the pregnancy. I don’t care if I have to wear them every day at the end– I’m sick of buying maternity clothes.

I should buy stock in Motherhood. Of course I have a gift card for there and didn’t have it with me today, but I can always use it to buy my breast pump or something else that I need for the baby later on. Or boobie pajamas for breastfeeding. I always think those are funny, with the little holes and the flaps that go over them.

Hospital Visit

Filed Under Birth, Pregnancy, Symptoms, classes | 3 Comments

Warning: Contains medical information and maybe a little TMI in some parts, but I wanted to document everything that happened and also a lot of people have been curious exactly what happened.

Wednesday at work, I noticed during the day that I was possibly leaking something (or was repeatedly peeing my pants without noticing, but I don’t think that was the case). I was kind of concerned, but then we had our childbirth class and I got distracted. We took a tour of the hospital, and my back started hurting really bad- lower back, where I usually have pain, but much worse than normal. It was to the point that I could hardly keep up with the tour.

We got home at about 9:30 and I felt horrible. Just kind of achey around my uterus and pelvic area, but it’s so hard to know what’s “normal” pregnancy stuff and what is different, especially since this is my first baby! I started having contractions here and there around 10:30- I assumed Braxton-Hicks because they didn’t hurt, but then I realized they weren’t going away with fluids or change in activity or anything.

I called my doctor to see what I should do (thinking maybe rest, more fluids, come see her in the morning, etc) and she told me to go to the hospital. Although I was terrified, I was also relieved because I knew my baby would be safe and I wouldn’t be worrying all night.

We got to the hospital around 12:00 am and they asked me if I was in labor. I told them I didn’t think so. They took me into Triage Room #3, which we had just seen on our hospital tour! Everyone at the hospital was really nice and helpful and comforting, which makes me think that I can survive the labor and delivery. I also calmed down a lot once we were there, and got in control of myself. The first thing they did was take a urine sample, then hook me up to fetal monitors, and I was relieved to hear the baby’s heartbeat. The nurse took all my info while I laid there. Then she left for about a half an hour, and Jonathon and I sat there and tried to figure out why nobody was checking on us.

She came back in and said baby was fine, so they were turning off the heartbeat monitor thing. She asked if I felt any contractions, and I said I thought I had a couple. She told me that I was actually having them about every three to four minutes, and they wanted to monitor me for longer to try to figure out why and make sure that I wasn’t going into labor. She brought the staff OB in with her, who was great and apparently SHE goes to the same OB that I do!

With all that still hooked up, they did the worst pap smear/internal exam I have ever had. It seemed to involve a lot of tools. She explained that they were checking to make sure my water hadn’t broken, and she made me cough a few times to see if anything came out. Then they took swipes of a few things to test for infections. She said that my cervix had softened on the outside, but was still hard on the inside and long or whatever they measure for. She said she was assuming the softening was from being irritated by the infection. Nurses and staff OB left again. When she returned, she said that the tests so far were all negative but asked if I would like STD tests done… I declined… she said there was definitely an infection present- lots of white blood cells and bacteria and also something about aerobic vs anaerobic cells. I don’t know why she was telling me that- I’m not a doctor and wasn’t following it at all. Had a few vague flashbacks of college biology but I couldn’t make sense of anything.

She said they wanted to do ANOTHER pee test to check for a bladder infection. She explained how to give a sterile sample in this really weird container, and said that if that didn’t work I would have to get a catheter. Yuck. First I had to drink this GIANT thing of water (but I got to take home the really cool mug) and then I almost peed on the floor while trying to clean myself in preparation for the “sterile sample.” I was almost in tears because I had to go so bad and I didn’t want to screw it up and get cathetered.

Those results weren’t going to be in until the next day, so she said they were just going to treat me for a generic infection with an antibiotic. They gave me Flagyl (I swear this is the worst stuff I’ve ever had, I puked four times with the first dose and it still upsets my stomach each time I take it) and she said my doctor could re-evaluate at my appointment next week and make any changes. Until then, I am instructed to not have sex, and no exercise or heavy lifting. If I have more than four contractions in an hour, or if I have them regularly every 10-15 minutes, I am supposed to call my doctor.

So basically, their conclusion was: This mystery infection (which I am guessing is a bladder infection) caused my cervix to get weird and other things to happen, such as contractions and pain. I am not at higher risk for preterm labor, but since this happened I need to be monitored a little more carefully and take it easy. Apparently bladder infections during pregnancy don’t always have the same symptoms as they do at other times.

We got home from the hospital about 3-3:30 in the morning. I have a renewed confidence in the hospital staff and in how well the birth will go. I am not worried about the baby. I am taking my antibiotics, even though they suck. And I am promising myself to rest more- Jonathon said he wanted to start helping out more around the house, so I will try to take him up on that.

First Childbirth Class

Filed Under Birth, Daddy, Pregnancy, Symptoms, classes | 4 Comments

Last night was our first childbirth class at the hospital. It went much better than I expected. I think we were both pretty nervous before the class. All we knew was that we were supposed to bring two pillows and a blanket. Actually I am SURE we were both nervous… because Jonathon kept stalling at getting ready and almost made us late, and then he took some stupid back roads on the way there and slowed us down even more. I think it was a result of him being nervous, and then of course I cried on the way there and yelled at him.

Once we got to the class, it was fine. The teacher was really friendly. There were about six other couples in the class, maybe eight. I’ll have to count next time. We started off by checking in and getting receipts for the insurance company. Then we went around and introduced ourselves and said what we were having and when. Everyone in the class knew whether they were having a boy or a girl. Except for one weird couple who said they knew but didn’t want to tell. WTF? Jonathon thinks they are having a boy, because the husband kept talking about being excited to play with the kid’s toys.

We were split up into girls and guys for an icebreaker. We had to write down two lists as a group- one being the positives of pregnancy and the other being the negatives. It was funny to see what we listed compared to what the guys listed. For example, a positive for the girls was “not having to change kitty litter anymore.” A negative for the guys was “Being the only one who can change kitty litter.” Obviously there were much more sentimental things on the list than that, too. But it just helped to get everyone talking.

The teacher began by talking about body changes during pregnancy. She showed lots of posters- and passed them around- about what was going on inside our bodies. I think it helped Jonathon to see that my bladder really IS squished under the baby, and my stomach and intestines really ARE competing with my rib cage for space.

The next topic was signs of preterm labor. Which I’m still confused about. Is preterm labor when you go into labor early, or is it just false signs of labor??

She talked about nutrition a little bit, which I always find boring. I guess I should be more interested, but I am very frustrated in general with my eating habits and lack of being able to diet right now. Fortunately that section wasn’t too long.

The last thing we did was turn the lights off and do some relaxation/breathing techniques. Not things that will be used while the baby is actually coming out, but more like what to do when contractions start or you’re still waiting to go to the hospital and need to relax or whatever. We talked about making a birth plan and starting to think about things we would like to see happen. She stressed that “we are the customer” at the hospital and they will do things the way we want. She also mentioned that each room has a shower and we can use that to help us relax if we are interested. That sounded really appealing to me. I’m all for getting an epidural, but I want to try to wait a little bit if possible so that it doesn’t slow things down any more than it has to.

Our homework for next week is to practice kegel exercises at home. Apparently they will increase control of something during labor or contractions or something… Also we are supposed to find and bring in an object for a focal point.

I really liked most of the things about the class. There was one thing that really annoyed me. If it happens again next week, I’m going to say something. There is a huge window in the classroom, and the teacher kept it open the whole time because apparently someone was hot. Well hello, it’s January and some of us are freezing! Not only was the window open, she turned a huge fan on and it was blowing right at me. I put my coat on and she didn’t seem to get the hint. I know a few other people were cold too. Not all pregnant women are freakishly hot all the time. And if they are, they should wear cooler clothes instead of sweaters, instead of making the rest of us suffer with the frigid January night air.

Well, I did it… I gave in…

Filed Under Family, Food, classes | 2 Comments

I spent most of the day today out running around with my mom. We started out by going to Kangaroo Kids to look at slings. After much debate and controversy with myself, I have decided that I want to try one. I kind of think they are hippie looking- and this kind of weird lady we know uses one so that makes it unappealing too- but they just seem so practical and comfortable for the baby. At least in the beginning when they are really small.

The other plus side to this, if it works, is that I think it will be nice to use when I go back to work next fall and need my hands free to do stuff with Alison. This is the sling we got (and actually the same woman who demonstrated it to me). I just wanted something plain and black that would hopefully look okay no matter what I am wearing. I don’t want it to be a fashion statement, just a baby item.
I also can’t see myself using it when the kid is this old. But I also don’t want to be breastfeeding my child when they are three, so I guess that goes into the same category. Anyway, I showed Jonathon when I got home and he didn’t seem too impressed. Maybe because I was using a Care Bear to demonstrate it. But I am excited about it. There are all these different positions you can hold the baby in, instead of just the Bjorn where they are hanging with their arms and legs out.

We ate lunch at Red Lobster, for the first time in two years probably. It was really good. I want to go back like tomorrow. I had crab linguine and a caesar salad. And the rolls… I forgot how good the garlic cheese rolls are. After that, we did some more shopping. World Market, Trader Joe’s, and a few other not really necessary stops.

We went by my grandparents house and they had company over. Some old friends they used to square dance with when they lived here before (they just moved back to St. Louis in July after living in Texas for ten years). They seem to be trying to get out and do more now. My mom also said my grandma registered them for a senior citizens game day at the library. I’m glad they aren’t just sitting at home alone together every day.

Ug, then the long part of the day began. I was supposed to go by my parents house and show my Dad (who apparently is still off work from Christmas) how to use Snapfish. Only first I had to teach him how to plug in his digital camera that they got for Christmas, transfer all the pictures into folders, then upload into Snapfish. If you know my dad, you know that he takes about ten times longer than a normal person to do anything. Wants to know WHY for everything. See if there’s more than one way to do it. I love him, but I really wanted to kill him by the time I left. It took ALL afternoon.

On the way home, my mom felt bad because I was tired and didn’t feel like cooking dinner before Jonathon and I go to our first CHILDBIRTH CLASS. So we stopped by Sonic and she bought me some fast food to take home for us. Yes, I was hungry again. I think my metabolism is about 5000 times what it used to be.

I’ll let you know tomorrow how the class was. It kind of snuck up on us and I can’t believe we have to go to this already… but the next session didn’t start until this one was over, so like mid-February, which made it run right up until our due date. My doctor said that would be waiting too late just in case, so here we go.