getting uncomfortable

Pregnancy update: Less than 10 weeks to go! And I am rather suddenly very, very uncomfortable. Heartburn is constant, but for a few blessed hours each afternoon. Reflux is waking me up in the middle of the night (yuck!). And back pain makes it difficult for me to stand more than 15 minutes at a time. It's on my left side, and wraps around my ribcage from back to front, where it feels much like a nasty bruise. I get some relief from a weight belt that I borrowed from Guy - but it's pretty odd looking, cinched around my expanding belly, so I only wear it at home. All these nuisances seem worse than I remember, from my pregnancy with Evyn.... but, that WAS 5 years ago.

Baby has changed positions yet again.... s/he is back to being sideways (horizontal), with his/her head on my left and feet on my right (almost into my back).

This week we need to order a car seat and stroller. I'm looking at the Chicco Keyfit - so if anyone has experience with this seat, or the matching Cortina stroller, I'd love to hear what you think of it. I am also trying to make heads or tails of the selection of breast pumps on the market. I had a manual Avent, which worked well enough to allow us a couple short outings when Evyn was small, but I think I'd like to try an electric this time around. Suggestions welcome :)

Evyn is signed up for a sibling class at the hospital, scheduled for 19 January 2009. Kids her age get a tour of the facilities, get to peek in on the newborns, and are taught what to expect when Mom is in the hospital.

I attempted to pre-register at the hospital, like I did last time, but either they have changed their policy, or they only do it for first-borns, because the person I spoke with told me it was unnecessary except in cases of scheduled c-sections. I'll be verifying this with my OB next week, just to be sure.... I seem to recall being told that pre-admittance/pre-consent was highly recommended, especially if I was to change my mind at the last minute and request an epidural. (Hey, you never know!)

Other baby-related plans for the next week include trying to get a fresh coat of paint on the nursery walls, shopping for new essentials, and figuring out what to pack in our hospital bags. Scott will need one, too, in case I go into labor when he's at work (who wants a birthing partner that's covered in sawdust??).

We also need to make plans for Evyn - especially if labor starts in the middle of the night, like it did last time. We'll be extending an invitation to the aunts & grandmas once again, to be in the delivery room. Scott's mom & sister were there for Evyn's birth.... not sure if they are up for a repeat though! I confess, my behavior wasn't the best last time.... there might have been a bit of profanity..... oh, and a little incident involving me, kicking a nurse.... but I will try to be more reserved this time around :)

last little bit of Christmas

Friday night we bundled up and made the 40-minute drive to Koziar's Christmas Village, just north of Reading, to see their 500,000 Christmas light display before they closed for the season (their 60th anniversary this holiday). Next year we plan to go back on a slightly warmer night - although even in the cold we had a great time!




Evyn & the giant Santa


One of Evyn's favorites - Christmas under the sea




with George Washington at Valley Forge


Evyn in the little village, peeking in the house in the middle


the indoor train display




her favorite - the kissing bridge! Toll is one kiss (she crossed four times)

New Year's Day

Evyn got a Littlest Pet Shop VIP toy for Christmas. It comes with a "secret code" in the pet's collar that allows you to explore their virtual world online and do things like decorate your house, plant a garden that grows a little every day, and play lots of computer games.

Evyn is hooked already! Here she is, playing what must have been her 20th game of skateboarding, New Year's morning:



In the afternoon we went to Guy & Linda's house (aka Grandma & Grandpa B.) for our lucky pork & sauerkraut - yum! Photos courtesy of Evyn - I kept forgetting to take some. They had quite a crowd (21, I think?) - too bad we didn't get a group photo.

update from patient #0136139

I just realized that is how my OB & hospital identify me. For some strange reason it struck me as funny. Like a prisoner number or something!

We'll be 30 weeks pregnant on Monday 1/4/09
(which reminds me - HAPPY NEW YEAR!).
I decided I need to start adding more pregnancy updates to our blog - if just for posterity. When I was pregnant with Evyn I kept an online pregnancy journal (I'll have to link to it later - the site that is hosting it is down right now). Each week I would print out my entries and paste them into a book - it's been a joy to thumb back through that old book now! For a bunch of reasons, I never got around to starting a journal for this baby. So I'll be adding more details here - feel free to skip past them if they are boring!

Tuesday I had my 1-hour glucose tolerance test to rule out gestational diabetes. I passed! I didn't think I would - I failed when I was pregnant with Evyn, and had to follow up with a 3-hour test, which was awful, although I did pass. So glad I don't have to repeat that this time!

My iron levels are still coming back very low, though. I have always been quite anemic, but especially so in pregnancy. Since I will be breastfeeding this baby like I did with Evyn, it's pretty important to get my levels up to par. Easier said than done; after Evyn was born, I had to give her iron drops every day because my body just wasn't absorbing the supplements - and let me tell you, those iron drops are terrible! She cried and gagged every time I tried to give them to her, poor thing.

Another thing they have been monitoring is my blood pressure, which generally runs pretty low. Thankfully we've been doing great with this pregnancy, staying well within the normal range (in fact, not low at all!). At this latest checkup I was at 117/60.

I'm hanging out at +9 pounds, and baby is measuring on target, heartbeat is 139 BMP. Reflux is much worse than it was when I was carrying Evyn - it's even happening in my sleep, yuck!
S/he is still doing acrobatics, - changing position nearly every day. Today s/he is down but diagonal - head near my right hip, feet in my left ribs. Every morning when I wake up I like to take a few minutes to play with the baby (s/he usually wakes up shortly after I do). I wait for a kick or an elbow jab, then I gently poke back to get him/her to reveal their position to me. I think it's a hoot - Scott, on the other hand, tells me to "stop bothering" the baby - ha!

Officially we have 10 more weeks to go, but I am determined to be ready for him/her by 38 weeks (God willing!). Right now the baby's room is still full of office furniture and in desperate need of some fresh paint. All the baby things are still packed away waaaaay back in a corner of the basement.
We have no car seat, no stroller, and our cosleeper bed is still at my cousin's house. No diapers, no onesies, no hospital bag packed! I'm really feeling the time crunch and hoping to tick a few of these things off my to-do list this week.

Prenatal checkups are every 2 weeks now - I go back Jan. 14th.

Next update should be a little shorter :)

if you'll be visiting at the hospital - visitor parking is in the green 1 area
Take the elevator (yellow X) to the 3rd floor for the Family Maternity unit