And I still live. It wasn’t that bad but I did I squint a little bit so maybe I got a distorted picture. I love childbirth class because the massaging rocks and our homework is practicing the massage, so hopefully I’ll have a super nice backrubs from J this weekend.

Baby’s senses are continuing to improve — when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies! Growth (at least inside your womb) is starting to slow, and you may notice baby descend into your pelvis at the end of this month.

Time has been really getting away from these days! The weeks seem to just fly by and fatigue has completely taken over my evenings. I mostly just want to sleep sleep and sleep, but I can’t sleep in long stretches anymore. Last night J and I had our first childbirth class and it was educational and fun. Fun b/c we spent 45 mins on the dads massaging the moms. Loved it!!! I’m a little nervous because my teacher seems to be more biased towards non medicated childbirth and I ‘m definitely more on the medicated side. She said she is going to give us information on both options, I just need to remember to ask good questions. Other than that, there are no huge changes, just lots of little ones in my body and mind.

How far along? 33 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: I have gained 4lbs since the last doc visit- Yikes but my doc says that I’m still on the lower end of healthy weight gain. So I don’t need to worry but of course I still do.
Maternity clothes? I had two fave tee shirts that were non maternity that I was successfully wearing until this weekend. This weekend, it was hopeless, unless I wanted the whole world to see my love handles.
Stretch marks? Yep, still there
Sleep: Terrible, naps have gone from being a luxury to essential.

Best moment this week: Not doing anything baby related this weekend. J and I were just us…it was nice.

Movement: Kid wants out. I  think I felt a heel the other day
Food cravings: Fruit, water, breadsticks ( thats just for right now, cuz I know I’m going to UNOs for lunch with my friends)
Gender:  Boy
Labor Signs:No braxton hicks this week- yippeee
Pregnancy Symptoms: Hello heartburn! I guess, you are here to stay? yes?
Belly Button in or out? Its flat
What I miss: Did I mention beer? Also this week I went to a seafood place and did not get raw oysters. I think I died a little on the inside. I want oysters. My friend F has given me the terrific idea of having a forbidden foods party after husib has made an appearance
What I am looking forward to: Meeting husib. I’m having a “I’m excited to be a mom week” as opposed to “wtf was I thinking week”
Weekly Wisdom: Not to get sentimental, but I’ve been feeling very lucky this week in terms of this pregnancy. I guess gratitude is the word of the week.
Milestones: Husib went to his first concert for his dad! He kicked around to ABBA in the car and made his mama happy. I discussed my cervix with strangers at my birth class.

Week 32- wow! 5 more weeks and I will be considered full term. In 8 weeks, I will stop working. This is too bizarre to even contemplate. I’m getting really excited about meeting husib and seeing if all the personality traits that I’ve assigned him are actually true.  Also, I can’t wait to do fun things with him. Overall things are good for the moment. Also I love my  new car!!!

How far along? 32 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: I don’t think about it anymore, and no one should as well. I however do have a very chubby cheeks at the moment, so I don’t look in the mirror. According to reputable sources, I’ll apparently be gaining a 3-5 more lbs. Joy!
Maternity clothes? Maternity pants are pretty awesome. I now own five pairs and I plan to not own anymore! I do need to buy a maternity formal dress for a friends upcoming wedding however. Still trying to wear non maternity shirts in larger sizes
Stretch marks? Yes. Moving on.
Sleep: Some days are good , some days are bad. yesterday was great, only got up twice, the night before got up 5 times. I’ve been trying to nap a little bit in the afternoons to make up for the lack of sleep.

Best moment this week: Buying baby gear- stroller, car seat, crib, a cool chair ( not really for the nursery, but a good excuse). Big items bought, Breath exhaled.

Movement: Rolling now, instead of jabs and kicks, except for in the cervix, I think the kid wants out, but I’m not sure
Food cravings: Rocky road ice cream, grapefruit, Cheese
Gender:  Boy
Labor Signs:No braxton hicks this week- yippeee
Pregnancy Symptoms: swollen feet, huge belly, everything?
Belly Button in or out? Its flat
What I miss: Not being pregnant and a beer, dear god, I want a beer.
What I am looking forward to: Non pregnancy related- J’s band playing on friday night. Childbirth classes, starting next week.
Weekly Wisdom: food is your friend, veins are not. Getting hair washed at a salon at 7.5 mos will result in fainting.
Milestones: Project nursery has begun

Baby’s energy is surging, thanks to the formation of white fat deposits beneath the skin. (Have those kicks and jabs to the ribs tipped you off yet?) Baby is also settling into sleep and waking cycles, though — as you’ve also probably noticed — they don’t necessarily coincide with your own. Also this month, all five senses are finally functional, and the brain and nervous system are going through major developments.

Week 30! yikes, I can’t believe in 8 more weeks, husib will be considered mostly full term. J and I are still struggling to come to grips with impending parenthood. We have decided on a stroller, car seat, crib, rocker/glider, and a few other items which makes me feel loads better. I also bought a boppy the other day since I heard such good reviews of the product. I’m excited to see how it will all work out. J and I have also started car shopping, something that I  hate, but I think we are more focussed and committed than we were while buying the Element. I have my heart set on another Subaru so I’m hoping that works out. Husib is a kicking junkie and squirms and wiggles all the time. Some kicks are not very fun but the wiggles sometimes feel like a massage. I’ve also had a some Braxton Hicks contractions which scare me and send J into panic mode but my doctor says everything looks good so far. So onwards then-

How far along? 30 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: I think +10-15lbs, Lets not talk about it. K
Maternity clothes?Love some of my maternity clothes, a few that I bought over the summer are not going to work out though as fall sets in, so I’m going to have buy more pants. I’m still sticking to mostly non maternity shirts.
Stretch marks? Belly is stretch free as of now but lets not venture into boobs or thigh region
Sleep: Terrible, the belly is in the way, I have to get up to pee and lying on my sides hurts my pelvis sometimes. Also anxiety is feeding my insomnia.

Best moment this week: Realizing that I’ll have baby in 2.5 mos.

Movement: All. the . time
Food cravings: Meat aversion is back. Grapes, cereal and pasta
Gender:  Boy
Labor Signs: Some Braxton Hicks but I guess they are not really labor signs
Pregnancy Symptoms: Insomnia, a giant belly , starting to swell feet
Belly Button in or out? Its flat
What I miss: Not being pregnant
What I am looking forward to: Having a baby, followed by Not being pregnant. This was fun y’all, I’m ready to move on now. Thanks
Weekly Wisdom: From my doctor, ways to avoid Braxton Hicks is to stay hydrated and have an empty bladder. That is pretty much impossible, given the rate I’ve been peeing
Milestones: I guess its Tri 3 officially

Note to self- Goldgirl, pregnancy is not for you , it makes you whiny, bitchy, weepy and other negative ending in y words. You don’t feel like yourself and you feel intense amounts of guilt b/c you can’t reconcile your negativity with the love you feel for your child. So do the the world and yourself a favor and stop reproducing after this.

Goldgirl to Self- Check! I’m on it.

I’m done whining now.

Last Thursday J and I took the plunge straight out of denial into the arms of panic. We had our orientation slash tour of the Labor and Delivery section of Duke where I hope to give birth and it freaking scared the s*** out of us. We arrived at Duke around 6 and went into this auditorium/classroom where the numbers for Labor Triage and the Duke Main line were written in giant letters. The presenter was a Labor nurse and she told lots of stories and gave us lots of information about the different steps for checking into Labor. Lesson learned go through the emergency room when we head in for delivery and get our car valet parked. Also I need to pack my hospital bag before week 36, so thank god, I have a few more weeks! WE also learned when we should anticipate going in vs just calling our doctor and I still really don’t get it. I think I’m going to wing that one.

We also got to see the actual labor rooms, which from what the industry standards say are really nice with a jacuzzi tub etc but looked scary to me all the same and the post partum room looked like any old hospital room but just had a bassinet in it.  We also walked by a new mama during our tour who was walking the halls with her twins and I could not make eye contact because then it would be real. See, not making eye contact with babies means I’m not having one. Most of the other soon to be parents in our group were right around where I was but they all took copious notes as opposed to J and I who only jotted down the phone numbers. Now I’m worried that we are slackers and are not focussed enough about this.

When the whole ordeal was over J and I walked to the parking lot with the deer in headlights look on our face until we reached the car and started giggling hysterically because the entire situation was so unreal. Yeah, we are ready to be parents, can’t you tell?  This week we have “how to pick a daycare” class on Friday, I’ m sure we will under perform as usual.

Publicity shots of Duke L&D is here:

According to all the pregnancy books and websites, husib is very good at hearing things now and distinguishing between them. Unfortunately for him and J, husib’s mama has been into really angry girl songs lately. J is very worried that his son will only have heard girl centric music in utero. Well, I’d be happy to trade with J so that he can carry husib and J can expose him to whatever music he wants. Maybe, I’ll play some boy music soon for husib. Right. one of these days.

Home Stretch Y’all- 12 more weeks until there is a full term kiddo in there who will hopefully make an appearance into the real world. Husib is now 2lbs and already feels too huge to me, so I dread to think what gaining another 6lbs there is going to do.  Other than this milestone, life has been very hectic with work and car troubles and all those sorts of issues. J and I are slacker parents, cuz we have bought zero baby items , thats right folks, zero, other than a few very impractical baby clothes. But it all changes this weekend. Maybe. I’m not committing to anything in particular.

This week I started really thinking about what happens after maternity leave. I’m 99% sure that I’ll be happy to go back to work, but I have that 1% that questions , if I’ll be ready to go back only after 12 weeks. I wonder if I’ll need to cut back my hours or extend maternity leave longer, but I’m still not at the point where I can contemplate being a stay at home mom. My friends who are moms remind me that once the baby  is here, its hard to predict how I will feel. I heard real life stories of moms who went to drop their baby off at daycare and simply couldn’t do it, and others who were thrilled to be back in the other world.

Having a career and work has defined me for so long  that I can’t imagine having to reorganize myself like that, but maybe I’ll feel differently. Until then, I’m just letting husib kick the crap out of my belly and organs and wishing I don’t get too many of those Braxton-Hicks contractions.

Things that are coming up- doc appt next monday, Labor and Delivery hospital tour next thursday!

I’m bored and the coffee isn’t doing its job so why not post all the things I’ve been wanting? Why not I ask you?

Safety 1st Acella sport

Chicco  Cortina KeyFit 30 Travel System

Graco Metrolite Travel System

Evenflo Aura Travel system.

The first and the last ones are my favorites, which is funny b/c they are also the cheapest. But I like the Chicco Travel system a lot too and I like seeing the demos on their website.

]]> http://goldgirl.wordpress.com/2009/09/18/the-travel-system-shortlist/feed/ 0 goldgirl http://goldgirl.wordpress.com/2009/09/18/classes/ http://goldgirl.wordpress.com/2009/09/18/classes/#comments Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:06:22 +0000 goldgirl http://goldgirl.wordpress.com/?p=716 ]]>

I guess I don’t really need to do a blog post about classes I’m taking for the baby experience, but since I’m tracking the pregnancy here, it might be nice to have it written down so that I can look back and remember someday:

We’ve got

Picking Day care

Hospital/L&D tours

Pointers from a Pediatrician

Childbirth and Labor ( series)

Breastfeeding

Infant care

and J wants to take Infant CPR but I don’t know if it’s really necessary. My friend told me we have to watch *the* video in childbirth class, and I don’t want to to watch. They can’t make me watch can they? I’ll just cover my eyes, and plug my ears, kind of like horror movies.