Special Delivery: Fat Pants!

18 Week Check Up Deets:

Today I had another in-home check up. Along side the usual blood pressure, Q&A session, uterus measurements and Doppler heart rate (150-160bpm - sooooomebody kept kicking away from the doppler...) reading, we discussed my anatomical/gender ultra sound appointment. Cannnnnnnnn't waaaaaaiiiiiitttttttt. I also found out I will be missing 2 out of 3 of my birth classes because I'll be in Florida that week. I'm extremely bummed since this is my first one and I don't know what to do.

There has been much more movement (I would call it a regular circus in there) in the last several weeks and not like earlier feathery light swooshes. It's slightly more startling when it occurs and it feels stronger, like a jab. Over the last 2 weeks baby had a major growth spurt and I gained 4lbs! At this point we're fairly sure there's only one person in there so that's a big relief.

People who don't even know are noticing!

And now a moment of applause for the FDA for taking a stance against the over use of ultra sounds including the 3D/4D and home Dopplers. They’re meant to be a diagnostic tool, not a photo booth or an ipod. I understand the draw here. I can't wait to see who's in there! But I’m going to put aside my wants in favor of the best possible health of our baby. Also the reason why I chose home birth. You might argue, well my children came out just fine (and you're lucky) or this has been routine for years and everyone has turned out ok. Really!??  You're going to take a good hard look at THIS nation and say that pretty much everyone has turned out ok? Perhaps my eyes work differently than yours. A new health analysis bearing the title: US Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health, Americans come in dead last in a comparison of 17 affluent nations. While there are many factors contributing to this ultra embarrassing rank, the over-use of [western] medicine certainly makes a large contribution. 

Week 15: Apple sized

Week 18: Yam sized

 

I made my first big baby purchase with the baby contributions we received over the holidays! THE NURSING CHAIR. Best thing I have ever put my butt in. I was thinking maybe I'd get a slip cover for it to prevent all varieties of expulsions from staining it. Next up are the pack and play and the car seat! I will get them sooner rather than later (and any other plastic things) because they need plenty of time to let the gas off. That's that "new" smell you smell when you get in a new car or buy a plastic-anything...yeah that's toxic chemicals bleeding out of the material.

Complete with fuzzi-bunny fabric!

COME BACK IN TWO WEEKS TO FIND OUT WHO WE'RE HAVING!!!!! And to see some super creepy alien baby ultra sound pix too.

My guess has always been girl. But I'm good with either. In fact, I have more babysitting experience with boys...then there's the whole brother thing. Gender prediction calendar says...

I took data from my Facebook group of women all due this summer and this method was correct 66% of the time.

Oh yeah and speaking of creepy baby pictures...one day, I got totally bored and did this:

MUAHHAHAHAHA! You were warned.

A quote from my favorite baby book:
"We do not teach infants how to move, because we believe each baby knows much better. We do not interfere with their play. We do not interfere with what they choose from the available materials."
~ Magda Gerber, "Respecting Infants"

Fruits Basket

Congratulations are in order for my cousin Mike and his wife Jackie who just had their twins Nicolas & Mila! So excited that our baby will have same age cousins to play with!

4 WEEKS UNTIL MY GENDER ULTRASOUND!!!

The results of the poll I posted are: GIRL!!!! BY 25%! You can still vote if  you click HERE and scroll down to the bottom of that page! Remember, this is just a fun exercise for your psychic powers, nothing more.
 

 

Progress:

  Week 12: Lime-baby!   vs      Week 15: Apple-baby!

A WHOLE 4 INCHES LONG!!

Likewise, there hasn't been much outside growth.

Last weekend we did a little preliminary baby shopping at Babies-R-Us just to try out strollers. With our small cars, we are somewhat limited in what models we can have. Let me tell you, don't try or buy a stroller unless you bring an engineer with you! We finally decided (but haven't purchased yet) on the Britax B-safe B-agile travel system. Other shopping has resulted in the minimal acquisition of maternity clothes. Good thing they're so @#*&^%!# ugly, otherwise I'd probably have too many for being as small as I am still. Better to wait 'til the warm weather clothes come out since that's when I'll be the largest. Until then, I have taken to cutting up old large t-shirts and making neat-o tops with them.

Good Reads

• Immaculate Deception: Myth, Magic & Birth
• *Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering
• *Elevating Child Care
• Gentle Birth Choices <-- good water birth section
• Your Baby Week By Week  <-- there's an app for that
• *Elimination Communication
• Authentic Parent
• Peaceful Parenting 
• Baby Bargains

A lot of these books/blogs challenge conventional wisdom and that's what I love about them. In fact, a lot of these concepts are a throw back to traditional knowledge that is no longer the wisdom of convention thanks to modern medical practice. If you want a mediocre birth experience, just let your OBGYN run the show. If not, check out my reading list. 

I still have a stack of books to get through and I'm finding new blog resources every day. Books are great in theory but these blogs are the real life experiences! Proof that these ideas (no matter how crazy YOU might think they are) actually do work in practice. 

The post after next will probably be the most important post I make until after our baby is born! SO EXCITED!

Act I: Scene II

Enter: Second Trimester

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Resolution 2013: 

Get back to eating at least 2 (large) servings of veggies a day. They haven't been appealing since about Week 6. I guess now I know how the rest of the world feels. The other part of my resolution is a continuation of what I have been doing with exercise: 3-4mi dog walks 5x week, 15-30 min weight lifting + HiiT workouts 4-5x week and at least one rock climbing session a week.

Had my second check up today!

We are 14 weeks and 4 days today! This time we could hear him/her over the Doppler! So can you by clicking right here! That’s 155/160 bmp! Melissa also checked out our spa tub upstairs for a potential water birth. Keeping all my options open.

      
Got a copy of my blood work from last time and everything looks great! Blood type A+, 25-hydroxy Vit D test 63.9 ng/dL (6 shy of my goal) but I'm the only one she's ever seen to not be deficient! I'm outside walking the dog every day for 50min and get sun but I supplement pretty heavily with 2300IU. Time to up it! You are most likely are deficient, I'd get that checked and do something about it! Long term, it is a life threatening thing. We also received the wonderful news that our insurance company doesn't cover home birth. Luckily I married a man who cares more about our well being than the cost of it.

Just finished my certification in Pregnancy & Strength Training. It is as I'd suspected. Doctors/nurses really don't know what they're talking about. Just can't trust those people with anything concerning movement or food. Gaping wound? Good to go.

·      - Most OBGYNs recommend ACOG guidelines from 1995! It has since been updated twice, more recently in 2002. What a bunch of bananas. 

·     -  Retaining just 8-10lbs (or more, of course) over the years from pregnancy puts you at a high risk for developing any one of the obesity related diseases!

·      - Double normal warm up time due to lack of synovial fluid (This one I did not suspect!)

·      - Supine ab exercises are completely fine to do and in fact encouraged but for no longer than 2-3 minutes at a time!

·      - Workout program should be based around core strength and stability. Keep in mind that the term "core" refers to many more muscles than just your abs. 

·      - Max heart rates only exist for beginners or people who are just getting back into exercise. Otherwise, you do whatever your body is used to.
       - 75lbs weight lifting limit.

      So I've been keepin' up with that and feeling better than good. Although being sick over Christmas caused me to sit around twiddling my thumbs & blowing my nose for 5 days and almost immediately, I started having excruciating sacral pain. Now that I'm back to daily exercise it has magically disappeared. Story of my life. 

 

 My First Baby Purchase(s):

   What's next? I have this great list but don't really know where/when to start. Help?

  Only six more weeks until the anatomical/gender ultrasound!

Am I supposed to wait for the baby shower to do the gender reveal? The whole tradition/major life event etiquette thing has always been lost on me. Am I even having a baby shower? *SHRUG*

Looking forward to this trimester!
Legend has it this is the easiest one! 
Back next week with some other updates...