Neil's next measurement ultrasound is tomorrow, which is April Fool's Day. Whatever I report will be true. Week 38 is no time for joking in my opinion. I'm still expecting Neil to be an active 6-pound baby.
I've had some ideas about arranging the nursery, so I'm hoping Matt and I can do that this evening. I've got all my state tax forms for Wisconsin and Kentucky filled out, and I plan to make copies and take them to the post office tomorrow morning. It will be good to cross that off my list. The freezer is stocked with easy to prepare meals for at least two weeks after Neil is born. I've made a menu for those two weeks so that we don't even have to think about what we're going to eat. Matt has been shown the menu, which will be posted in the kitchen, and knows where the food is, so he can help prepare meals. I've got some pediatrician forms to fill out but am otherwise prepared for going to the hospital. I still have tons of cleaning that should be done. I especially need to wash the dishes from the potentially broken dishwasher and clean out the leaking refrigerator. I want to make sure that they really are broken (and not just over-burdened by my lack of care) before contacting the university to replace or repair them both. And I'd like all repairs and replacement to be done before Neil arrives. Matt is off this Friday and next Monday, so if Neil can stay put for another week, Matt and I will have a long Easter weekend to get some of these projects done.
I went swimming again last night. At my request, Matt took a photo of me in my swimming suit, but the humidity at the pool fogged up the camera lens. It looked like I was in a sauna, which is probably as flattering as a pregnancy swimsuit photo can be. :) It was nice to move around in the pool without gravity making me grunt and strain. I've become rather ponderous recently: getting off the couch and rolling over in bed are ordeals, and I'm not good at judging how big of a space my belly needs to keep from running into things. I've been knocking things off of desks and tables with my belly and ramming my belly into open doors. It's gotten beyond funny enough that Matt takes pity on me and assists me when I try to stand, and he helped me tie my shoes the other day at the doctor's office. He's so sweet, especially considering that my snoring, which he says shakes the bedsprings, has given him nightmares at least once in the last week.
Neil has been active this afternoon. I had a cinnamon roll before working on taxes a couple hours ago, and he's been jazzed since then. He's had the hiccups a time or two, and he now seems to be learning to hula. I keep feeling and seeing rolling movements from about where his hips are. If only the ultrasound lady could see him now!
I think it's time to start supper. As I said, the cinnamon roll was a couple hours ago, and I'm eating about every two hours anymore. We're having Eggs Benedict and roasted asparagus as long as the asparagus is still good. I bought it a couple days ago because it was reduced price to sell quick. And I've got reduced-price strawberries ($1.50/pint) and angel food cake for dessert... unless I have a serious chocolate craving and make a homemade chocolate lava cake instead... or in addition. I MUST stop thinking about food and start cooking or I'm going to get so hungry that I eat everything in sight and give up on actually preparing a meal.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Lethargy is so cute!
Good appointment again today. Fluid and blood pressure were OK. Neil took a while to pass his BPP, but we didn't break out the M&Ms. He had the hiccups when we were in the waiting room, and I was a little concerned that he'd be too worn out afterward to perform well during the ultrasound.
It was a big case of the hiccups, which was unfortunate for Neil but fortunate for Matt because he finally got to feel Neil move. When I was first able to feel Neil move, Matt said that he didn't want to feel it because it seemed weird. I told him that he should do it just once because it's one of those experiences that you can't have after the baby is born. A month or two later, Matt mentioned that Neil didn't seem like his baby, not a question of Neil's paternity :) but a statement of his feeling that Neil was more mine at that point. I think the twice-weekly ultrasounds have been good for Matt. He gets to see Neil as often as I do and has gotten to know him a little and recently decided that he wanted to feel Neil move. We've sat on the couch a few times with Matt's hand on my belly, waiting for Neil to move, and nothing happened. So I've been trying to get Matt's attention when Neil moves so that he can hurry over and feel it. The problem with that is that I can only use gestures because Neil stops moving when I talk. Several times I've been sitting on the couch waving wildly and snapping my fingers while Matt sits across the room and stares at his laptop, oblivious to my insane gesticulating. So today in the waiting room we were sitting next to each other on a couch and I started elbowing him when Neil started moving. Matt didn't know what I was trying to communicate, so he started nudging me back. I gave up on gestures and spoke to him to let him know that Neil was moving and that I was trying to get his attention so he could feel. When I was quiet again, I realized that Neil was moving some more, and the regularity of the movement told me that he had the hiccups. I put my peanut butter granola bar on my tummy and nudged Matt so he could watch it bounce. He was then able to put his hand there and feel Neil move. The bouncing granola bar made him laugh, and feeling the baby made him smile.
So the hiccups were good for Matt, but they were a little rough on Neil. He squirmed a little at first during the ultrasound, but he didn't breathe or move around. He didn't even swat at the ultrasound tech when she started poking him. She did see him open his hands and move his fingers several times, which she says is a good sign that he doesn't have any chromosomal abnormalities. Babies with chromosomal abnormalities tend to keep their hands in fists before they're born. Eventually, Neil breathed for a while. And then the ultrasound tech turned the camera toward his head and said, "Oh! He yawned!" She was able to rewind it for us so we could see him yawn, stick out his tongue, rub his face with his fists, and nuzzle his head into my pelvis to get comfortable for nap time. It was so cute! The poor baby was so worn out from hiccuping that he needed a nap and didn't have the energy to perform for his BPP. He passed anyway, possibly from sheer cuteness. :)
Dr. Ackermann checked my cervix again today. It had been a couple weeks since the nurse practitioner had checked me. She was much gentler. When he started probing, I nearly jumped off the table. He announced that it was about 50% softened and 1 cm dilated. I have considered that it was 1 cm dilated only after he poked me so hard but not before. The 50% softened part is exactly what the nurse practitioner said two weeks ago. So at 38 weeks, neither Neil nor my cervix seems in a particular hurry to go into labor. If I've made no progress by my due date, I'll try home remedies and look for an acupuncturist to try to get things started without a hospital induction. I met an acupuncturist in Springfield that says she treats women who are 40 or more weeks pregnant for free to help them go into labor. I'd much rather nap with little needles (which I've done several times before) than get an IV full of hormones. I'm fine to let Neil hang out as long as he needs to (within reason), but I'd rather hurry him myself than have doctors do it.
Before we went to the doctor today, Matt's co-worker brought us a car-load of baby stuff, including a crib, mattress, and changing table. We put the changing table together tonight. I need to wipe it down, but it's in good shape. It needs a good changing pad with a belt restraint, so I'll try to get one at Walmart in the next week. I found a changing pad cover on clearance a few weeks ago and bought it, so all we need it the pad itself. And now that we have a crib and mattress, we need a mattress cover and some fitted sheets. The crib also converts into a toddler bed, and she brought us the conversion pieces. So Neil has somewhere to sleep for years to come. I got Neil a pop-up hamper like the ones Matt and I use, and I would like to get him a Diaper Genie before he arrives. If I don't get to it, we have lots of plastic Walmart bags that we can put dirty diapers in before throwing them away. That should get us by for a little while. Now I just need to finalize how I want to arrange the nursery and have Matt hang pictures. I'll post pictures when we're finished.
On the way home from the appointment, we stopped at CVS pharmacy. I came across a blog that gathers good deals: http://www.savingcentswithsense.net/. There are several of these kinds of sites. Another favorite is http://shoppingbookmarks.com/. The first site I mentioned told me about a sale on Huggies diapers that you combine with a CVS reward card rebate and a couple of online printable coupons that results in packages of diapers for only $3.50 each. I got a similarly good deal on Pampers diapers last week at CVS. And I just saw on the Shopping Bookmarks site that Amazon.com has Gerber PJs for less than $2 per pair, and they're eligible for free shipping. I'll have to check that out. And I'm watching a few cloth diaper supplies on EBay. I've already got some cloth diapers and pins from Other Mothers, but I need something waterproof to go over them. And I've also seen diaper closures that work without pins. I'd rather not stab my son in my attempt to be thrifty. I figure if I can get the closures and waterproof covers for about $10, the whole experiment will cost less than $20, a reasonable investment to try to save money on diapers.
So we're good, Neil's good, and we're pretty much ready for him to arrive. I'll post again after our Thursday appointment to let you know that Neil met his goal of 6 pounds at 38 weeks. And if we have more exciting news before then, we'll post, email, call or do anything else we need to do to get the word out.
It was a big case of the hiccups, which was unfortunate for Neil but fortunate for Matt because he finally got to feel Neil move. When I was first able to feel Neil move, Matt said that he didn't want to feel it because it seemed weird. I told him that he should do it just once because it's one of those experiences that you can't have after the baby is born. A month or two later, Matt mentioned that Neil didn't seem like his baby, not a question of Neil's paternity :) but a statement of his feeling that Neil was more mine at that point. I think the twice-weekly ultrasounds have been good for Matt. He gets to see Neil as often as I do and has gotten to know him a little and recently decided that he wanted to feel Neil move. We've sat on the couch a few times with Matt's hand on my belly, waiting for Neil to move, and nothing happened. So I've been trying to get Matt's attention when Neil moves so that he can hurry over and feel it. The problem with that is that I can only use gestures because Neil stops moving when I talk. Several times I've been sitting on the couch waving wildly and snapping my fingers while Matt sits across the room and stares at his laptop, oblivious to my insane gesticulating. So today in the waiting room we were sitting next to each other on a couch and I started elbowing him when Neil started moving. Matt didn't know what I was trying to communicate, so he started nudging me back. I gave up on gestures and spoke to him to let him know that Neil was moving and that I was trying to get his attention so he could feel. When I was quiet again, I realized that Neil was moving some more, and the regularity of the movement told me that he had the hiccups. I put my peanut butter granola bar on my tummy and nudged Matt so he could watch it bounce. He was then able to put his hand there and feel Neil move. The bouncing granola bar made him laugh, and feeling the baby made him smile.
So the hiccups were good for Matt, but they were a little rough on Neil. He squirmed a little at first during the ultrasound, but he didn't breathe or move around. He didn't even swat at the ultrasound tech when she started poking him. She did see him open his hands and move his fingers several times, which she says is a good sign that he doesn't have any chromosomal abnormalities. Babies with chromosomal abnormalities tend to keep their hands in fists before they're born. Eventually, Neil breathed for a while. And then the ultrasound tech turned the camera toward his head and said, "Oh! He yawned!" She was able to rewind it for us so we could see him yawn, stick out his tongue, rub his face with his fists, and nuzzle his head into my pelvis to get comfortable for nap time. It was so cute! The poor baby was so worn out from hiccuping that he needed a nap and didn't have the energy to perform for his BPP. He passed anyway, possibly from sheer cuteness. :)
Dr. Ackermann checked my cervix again today. It had been a couple weeks since the nurse practitioner had checked me. She was much gentler. When he started probing, I nearly jumped off the table. He announced that it was about 50% softened and 1 cm dilated. I have considered that it was 1 cm dilated only after he poked me so hard but not before. The 50% softened part is exactly what the nurse practitioner said two weeks ago. So at 38 weeks, neither Neil nor my cervix seems in a particular hurry to go into labor. If I've made no progress by my due date, I'll try home remedies and look for an acupuncturist to try to get things started without a hospital induction. I met an acupuncturist in Springfield that says she treats women who are 40 or more weeks pregnant for free to help them go into labor. I'd much rather nap with little needles (which I've done several times before) than get an IV full of hormones. I'm fine to let Neil hang out as long as he needs to (within reason), but I'd rather hurry him myself than have doctors do it.
Before we went to the doctor today, Matt's co-worker brought us a car-load of baby stuff, including a crib, mattress, and changing table. We put the changing table together tonight. I need to wipe it down, but it's in good shape. It needs a good changing pad with a belt restraint, so I'll try to get one at Walmart in the next week. I found a changing pad cover on clearance a few weeks ago and bought it, so all we need it the pad itself. And now that we have a crib and mattress, we need a mattress cover and some fitted sheets. The crib also converts into a toddler bed, and she brought us the conversion pieces. So Neil has somewhere to sleep for years to come. I got Neil a pop-up hamper like the ones Matt and I use, and I would like to get him a Diaper Genie before he arrives. If I don't get to it, we have lots of plastic Walmart bags that we can put dirty diapers in before throwing them away. That should get us by for a little while. Now I just need to finalize how I want to arrange the nursery and have Matt hang pictures. I'll post pictures when we're finished.
On the way home from the appointment, we stopped at CVS pharmacy. I came across a blog that gathers good deals: http://www.savingcentswithsense.net/. There are several of these kinds of sites. Another favorite is http://shoppingbookmarks.com/. The first site I mentioned told me about a sale on Huggies diapers that you combine with a CVS reward card rebate and a couple of online printable coupons that results in packages of diapers for only $3.50 each. I got a similarly good deal on Pampers diapers last week at CVS. And I just saw on the Shopping Bookmarks site that Amazon.com has Gerber PJs for less than $2 per pair, and they're eligible for free shipping. I'll have to check that out. And I'm watching a few cloth diaper supplies on EBay. I've already got some cloth diapers and pins from Other Mothers, but I need something waterproof to go over them. And I've also seen diaper closures that work without pins. I'd rather not stab my son in my attempt to be thrifty. I figure if I can get the closures and waterproof covers for about $10, the whole experiment will cost less than $20, a reasonable investment to try to save money on diapers.
So we're good, Neil's good, and we're pretty much ready for him to arrive. I'll post again after our Thursday appointment to let you know that Neil met his goal of 6 pounds at 38 weeks. And if we have more exciting news before then, we'll post, email, call or do anything else we need to do to get the word out.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Full-Term and Acting Like an Advanced Air Breather
At 37 weeks, Neil is no longer considered premature even though he would probably need to wear preemie clothes. He passed his BPP today without M&Ms and with attitude. He breathed deeply and constantly during the ultrasound while also sucking on his fist. The ultrasound tech poked my belly to make him move more, and he swatted at her. She got what she wanted, but it was clear he didn't appreciate her method of asking. If I had known that swatting at the ultrasound tech might make her stop poking me, I might have tried it sooner. It wouldn't have been nearly as cute as Neil's swat though. We really like the ultrasound tech. When I talk to Neil, I refer to her as the "nice lady who takes his picture." The nurse practitioner is also nice, but she doesn't take Neil's picture. We watched Neil a little longer and he kind of waved at us by flexing his fingers. The ultrasound tech says she likes to see movement like that. Apparently, those times when I've felt like he's trying to tickle me by opening and closing his hand against me (the way small children do when they're learning to tickle) he really has been opening and closing his hand against me. As for intent to tickle, I may be supplying that since he doesn't know what tickling is yet let alone its social meaning as a gesture. We watched a while more and saw him grab his toes. The ultrasound tech was able to give us pictures of him sucking and grabbing his toes. They're fuzzy and you can't tell what's going on unless someone tells you, but they are evidence of cuteness.
My blood pressure was 127/82 the second time they took it. My fluid was half of what it's been, but apparently that's OK. And I lost the pounds I gained between my last two appointments, certainly not by dieting. I'm eating at least every two hours sometimes. We were in the doctor's office so long that I ate two high fiber granola bars in the waiting room at least an hour and a half apart. After the second bar, I realized that I'd just consumed 70% of my daily recommended fiber just in the doctor's office. I also found the warning on the granola packaging to take it slow if you're not used to eating a lot of fiber. I usually get a good amount of fiber, but with my raisin bran this morning, half an apple for one snack, and sweet potatoes and peanut butter in my chicken peanut stew for dinner, I probably exceeded my allowance for the day. I'll have to make sure dessert has no redeeming qualities like fiber. :)
We saw Dr. Ackermann today, and even he isn't worried about Neil anymore. Hurray! He asked if I'd had any contractions, and I told him I didn't think so. I've had some occasional discomfort, and I don't know what contractions are supposed to feel like. He told me I'd know them when I felt them. He said he's only had one mother deliver at home because she didn't know she was having contractions, and that was because she grabbed some marijuana and cocaine to feel better when she started hurting. I have neither drug and no plans to acquire either, so we're OK. He did ask me when I was going to let my baby out since he's now full term. I told him that I was OK with Neil growing a little more and coming when he wanted to. I've had a talk with Neil about this and have asked him to wait until after his measurement next Thursday so that we know he's at least 6 pounds. I figure that there's less of a chance of his being whisked off to a NICU in Louisville based primarily on his size if he's at least 6 pounds. Neil did not actually agree to my plan, but he's been remarkably cooperative so far.
Sorry this post is late again. I took a really long nap when we got home. If I don't get posts online by 10 p.m. Eastern time, my email subscribers have to wait an extra day. I think I'm just under the deadline this time.
My blood pressure was 127/82 the second time they took it. My fluid was half of what it's been, but apparently that's OK. And I lost the pounds I gained between my last two appointments, certainly not by dieting. I'm eating at least every two hours sometimes. We were in the doctor's office so long that I ate two high fiber granola bars in the waiting room at least an hour and a half apart. After the second bar, I realized that I'd just consumed 70% of my daily recommended fiber just in the doctor's office. I also found the warning on the granola packaging to take it slow if you're not used to eating a lot of fiber. I usually get a good amount of fiber, but with my raisin bran this morning, half an apple for one snack, and sweet potatoes and peanut butter in my chicken peanut stew for dinner, I probably exceeded my allowance for the day. I'll have to make sure dessert has no redeeming qualities like fiber. :)
We saw Dr. Ackermann today, and even he isn't worried about Neil anymore. Hurray! He asked if I'd had any contractions, and I told him I didn't think so. I've had some occasional discomfort, and I don't know what contractions are supposed to feel like. He told me I'd know them when I felt them. He said he's only had one mother deliver at home because she didn't know she was having contractions, and that was because she grabbed some marijuana and cocaine to feel better when she started hurting. I have neither drug and no plans to acquire either, so we're OK. He did ask me when I was going to let my baby out since he's now full term. I told him that I was OK with Neil growing a little more and coming when he wanted to. I've had a talk with Neil about this and have asked him to wait until after his measurement next Thursday so that we know he's at least 6 pounds. I figure that there's less of a chance of his being whisked off to a NICU in Louisville based primarily on his size if he's at least 6 pounds. Neil did not actually agree to my plan, but he's been remarkably cooperative so far.
Sorry this post is late again. I took a really long nap when we got home. If I don't get posts online by 10 p.m. Eastern time, my email subscribers have to wait an extra day. I think I'm just under the deadline this time.
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