Chiropractic Bliss

Since the little guy was in the posterior position (i.e. facing front and not the best position for birth) at my last check-up, the midwives recommended that I see a chiropractor to make sure that my body and pelvis were properly aligned. With all of the spreading and shifting that goes on during pregnancy, the bones and ligaments can get out of line. Also, alignment issues have been cited as causes of stalling before and during labor.

So this afternoon, I visited a chiropractor who specializes in prenatal adjustments. I had a great time! I really do love learning new things about how the body works. That is probably one of the main reasons why I love the midwifery so much. They explain all sorts of different things about pregnancy and the body and how to make it work best.

The doctor that I met with was excellent and loved babies and pregnant mommies. She assessed me, noting that one of my pelvic joints was locked and that I also had some stress on my left side. It hadn't occurred to me before, but I should have expected that I might have some problems. I have had bursitis in both of my hips due to one leg being slightly longer than the other. This problem affected my pelvis also. She then did a little bit of work to adjust me (gently- not the snap, crackle, pop type of chiropractic adjustment). I felt much looser after the adjustments. Luke also seemed to like the adjustments too. He had some big movements on the drive home.

Warming up for the Big Game

In honor of the Olympics, and as something fun to do to keep busy, Nathan's mom and I took pictures on a short-ish walk this morning. Here are the pictures. The belly shows its full size!

Home at last

Nathan is home. Baby, you are now free to come out now.

I feel like a dormant volcano

No news so far today. I have been resting a lot, eating well and drinking plenty of fluids. Luke is moving a lot and seems to be trying to get out by erupting from my belly, but I just tell him that that is not the way. He is a good little boy and has obeyed so far. :) I love the NBC Olympics website too. All of the gymnastics on demand I want and minimal commercials. :)

Nathan's mom and I did go out for a little while to pick up everything that was left on the birth checklist from my Bradley class/Doula list from Kelly. I have some great bottled smoothies and energy bars, etc... We are truly all ready now.

Not long now... :)

I had my weekly appointment with the midwives today. Nathan's mom came with me to check the place out and see what the midwives do. It really is neat to watch. They get the baby's position check the heartbeat, and many other fun things.

Today the midwife asked if I would like to be checked to see if there were any signs of upcoming labor. I thought that this would be good so that I could know a little more about what to expect. The midwife examined me quickly and got a big smile on her face.

With glee, she gave me the stats: 80% effaced, 1cm dilated, and the station was -1. According to the Bishop scale (see article, though it is not very helpful), I scored an eight. Anything over 6 usually indicates that labor will begin within the week. Being already one centimeter dilated will help in the trek ahead to 10. A station of -1 is also very good because that means that the beby has definitely dropped and is getting ready. You can walk around for weeks being a little dilated and effaced, but all the signs together point to labor coming soon. So the bottom line for me was- GET READY!

I was absolutely shocked. This whole pregnancy, I was fretting about being late, and now it is likely that I will go early. Nathan is still out of town, so I canceled my evening walk and will take it easy until he comes home tomorrow. I'll keep the blog updated.

The Prego Walking Tour

Nathan left for Ohio this morning. I did some housework through the morning and caught up on last night's Olympic happenings (why do they show the best events at midnight??)

In the afternoon, Nathan's mom came out to stay with me until Nathan comes back on Friday in case I go into labor. It is amazing to think that that is a possibility!

We went for a walk and dropped by some model homes nearby to take pictures. So, here are the pictures from our walking tour through the model homes. Unless I go into a couple weeks of overtime, these will probably be the last pictures until we post pictures of little Luke. According to my original due date, I have 9 days to go (later ultrasound puts me 13 days out).

Did you hatch one already??

At Church, there are many cute young kids. Today I was talking with a few of them at lunch and they had some very interesting thoughts about babies.

Here is the conversation. I will mention that a sweet little girl, Emily Ruth, was born to a family in our parish earlier this week.

Ethan: There's a baby in your tummy?
Me: Yep, its a little boy.
E: Oh, there's a girl and a boy, right? Did you already hatch the first baby?
M: (Laugh.) Yes, there is a girl and a boy, but the little girl is not mine. I just have this little guy (pointing to belly) and he has a couple more weeks.
E: Oh.
M: You will have to come and see him after he is born.

In the Safe Zone and Healthy

I had a great appointment yesterday at the midwifery, and not little Luke is in the "safe zone" for birth. The midwife felt him and guessed that he will weigh 7-8lbs, and affirmed again that his head is not very large. She also said that the baby was occiput anterior (i.e. he is facing my tailbone). This is very good because if he was facing forward and I couldn't get him to turn, it would make labor more difficult.

I lost some weight since my last visit, which worried me a little. The midwife checked the baby's fluid levels though and noted that his movement was great, so she was not worried. She said that it is normal to not gain anymore weight at this point, and not uncommon to lose some. Carrying around all of the weight and not being able to eat as much with each meal usually causes this.

She concluded with saying that Luke looks very healthy, and also said that he will probably not be born very soon. This is good because next week Nathan will be gone Wed-Fri to Ohio for his important business trip. We were both worried about this, but the midwife said that it would be very unlikely that I will go into labor that early. Nathan's mom will come and stay with me just in case.

The fact that I will be going into labor is starting to become more real to me. Luke's kicks are strong and my whole stomach moves now as he moves. Also, the Braxton-Hicks contractions are getting stronger. I am trying not to think about what is coming, but just work on my birthing exercises.

Maternity Leave- Day #2

Yesterday was another full day. I took my walk like usual, and then did a few things around the house. We are still trying to organize things after our move. I am glad that we were able to get the apartment when we did because this has been a lot of work!

Later in the morning, I drove up to Whittier to do some Church finance business and had lunch with some friends. I ended up staying there for a few hours and we had a lovely time. They are Chinese and made a delicious lunch of potstickers, soup and a tofu dish.

The drive to Whittier and back was not lovely however. My car had a dead battery, so I drove the BMW. A big accident was clogging up the freeway and apparently the BMW has no air conditioning. This was not fun. Luckily, I had brought a cool water bottle with me, and I survived. I have a fear now of going into labor when I get so hot. Not irrational I think?

To finish out the day, I put together the changing table (much easier than the crib), did a few loads of laundry (yay, the cloth diapers arrived!), worked on CPA stuff, and vaccumed the baby's room. It looks so nice now with everything put together. I am at peace now with the room. I wanted something beautiful, organized and complete, and that is just what it is. I'll post some pictures later.

Maternity Leave- Day #1

An exciting day for sure!

I went to Target today to get some last minute items and to get a changing table (the last "big" item that we needed). I love Target and today I was reminded of why. First, I found a great changing table for 40% off that was cherry wood and a style that I like. It was the ONLY changing table on sale. Tomorrow I get to figure out how to put it together. :)

Also, I picked up a top-end high chair (see picture) that was 75% off! $34 down from $140. Again, in my favorite cherry wood. Being at home is already paying off. More time to bargain shop! Of course that could change when our little guy comes around.

I also took a nap, read some, took two walks, made a roast chicken and potato dinner, made zucchini bread for the guys at Nathan's work, worked on some CPA stuff, and planned a little for a party at church. All in all, a pretty full day!

Being pregnant is getting a bit more difficult now. I am finally feeling the weight of baby and get fatigued a lot sooner than even a week ago. Also, I have to split up my dinner, so that I eat half and then do something else for an hour or so before finishing.

Big little boy?

Today was the 36 week midwife visit. We nailed down ideas and wishes for the actual birth, It is nice for someone to ask you what you envision for the birth. I know that we are spoiled. So, here are some of the decisions made

1. Nathan (daddy), Kathy (grandma), and Kelly (doula) will all be present at the birth hopefully.
2. Lighting will be low in the room and I wil labor in and out of the water, and will try to squat for part of the labor process (opens the birth canal by approx. 10-15% more).
3. Baby will receive vitamin K upon birth and the PKU blood draw. He will not receive eye treatment as it is mainly to prevent infection from STD's, which is not an issue.

Also, it turns out that little Luke does not have a big head, and is pretty normal in overall size, except that he is long. The midwife was surprised at how much he had to curl up (and I am not a shortwaisted person!). So that all sounds good to me. Bring on the 8-8.5lbs as long as the majority of it is not in his head.

Earth-Shaking Day at Work

I thought that my last week of work would be uneventful.....

A little bit ago, a 5.8M earthquake hit our area. This is the first time that I ahve experienced an earthquake so close to the center, on the 7th floor of a skysraper, at 8+ months pregnant. Our building swayed back and forth for about a minute (though it felt longer). I kept thinking, how do I get down from here? There really was no safe way, so I jumped under my desk, held my belly and prayed something like "Lord have mercy" and asked for forgiveness of my sins.

So, it is over now. They are checking for structural damage to our building, and we go on working. Besides being shaken up and a skinned knee (from diving under my desk), baby and I are ok. :) He did kick around a lot, so I said to him, "Calm down little guy, and stay in there."

Praying that everyone else in our area is ok.

Family/Friend Shower

Saturday was the second shower for little Luke. It was held at my Aunt Kristi's beautiful home in Vista, and was organized by my mother-in-law, Aunt Susie, and Bethany Jean. They did such a nice job. Thank you for everything.

I got some beautiful handmade quilts from my Grandma and Nana, Bethany Lee, Aunt Susie and my Aunt Kristi. I also got the baby carrier/car seat that we registered for, bath supplies, cloth diapers, lots of cute clothes, and more. We are really beginning to feel ready for the little one. :)

Today I purchased the Arms Reach Co-Sleeper that pulls up tot he side of the bed so that he can sleep in the same room as us when he is very small. The only thing that I need to get now is a changing table. I have an idea of what I want in my mind and have not found it yet, or at least, not for a price I want to pay. :)

Here are some pictures:

Baby Room Pictures

Last night, I was up until 11pm getting the crib put together. The directions were innacurate, but I checked online to see what other people did to resolve the problem and figured it out. I think all new moms should have to put together their own cribs, its good training. :)

Hip, Hip, Hooray!

The big family/So Cal friend baby shower is this Saturday. Originally my mom was not going to be able to make it because of the long drive from Northern CA and having to take off of work, etc... Then she called yesterday morning to say that she would come. Yay! It would not have been the same without her.

To any other Northern CA folks: there is room in the back seat!

100th Post

.. and not an exciting or organized one.

We are moving tomorrow and have been taking over breakable items to our new place since Tuesday. I have been working far away in Yorba Linda ("the land of gracious living") without an internet connection, and have been tired carrying all this baby around, thus no blogging.

Update on baby:

We had the 34 week check-up and birth details class recently. Baby is still head down (hooray! He is moving so much that I can't always tell), and has a strong heart beat. The midwife also watched my stomach and said kind of abruptly that I was having Braxton-Hicks contractions. Really? They don't hurt at all, and feel much like a little painless earthquake.

Next time I blog, we will be HB residents. :)

At about 7 and 1/2 months

Well, the due date is approaching and baby is growing! Here are a couple of pictures for those who want to see how "baby in tummy" is progressing. He is still head down and moves all the time.... 3am, 6-7am, etc. I am getting prepared to be a mommy I guess. :) As a side note, we will be moving on July 19th. (note the boxes in the background.)

Baby Shower #1

Saturday was our first baby shower. Several girls at work got together to throw it. We played games, ate cake, talked about babies, and just relaxed. It was very fun and I got soem great stuff! Most of my Target registry was gone by the end of the day. We took pictures, but used a disposable camera, so I can't put those up yet. I will try to get a CD when I get them developed.

I got a very cute bouncer and a diaper bag from pottery barn kids. Mine is in blue. Also, I have three LARGE bags of baby clothes in my closet right now (I am getting rid of some of my clothes to fit baby's). I will have to post pictures of some of those. Baby boy clothes can be very cute too.

Cousins

A picture of LJ (in utero) and his cousin Paul Benjamin. We were at sweet little Kelly Joy's one-year-old birthday party.

And yes, that is the same green shirt as last time I posted pictures. I will mix it up in the future. :)

Glucose Tests and Baby Toys

Yesterday I had a glucose test and a regular appointment with my midwife (appts. are once every two weeks now!- exciting). for the glucose test I had to eat one apple, two teaspoons of honey, and 4oz of apple juice an hour before. Boy was that sweet. I think that I could live the rest of my life without having that combination in my system again. Little LJ like it though. He was dancing all around inside me and when the midwife checked the heartbeat, he was much faster than usual. This was a friendly warning to watch my sugar! (oh and everyone has to be tested for diabetes, it is not that I am suspected of having it.) I get the results next week.

Along the lines of my earlier post about baby gear recommendations, I came across a good article. This made me feel more at peace with things:

From "The Parent Trap"

How have toys changed in the last 20 years ?
Hugely. When you think back to the '60s and '70s, all the right-thinking progressive parents thought toys should be natural and open-ended. Crayola and Kinder Blocks and Lego were considered raise-your-kid-smart toys. Then, all this data that came out which said that kids need to be stimulated. They need sound! They need multi-sensory experiences! Now, the more bells and whistles a toy has, the supposedly better it is.

Our parents' generation actually had it right. The less the toy does, the better. Everyone thinks: "Toys need to be interactive." No, toys don't need to be interactive. Children need to interact with toys. The best toys are 90 percent kid, 10 percent toy, the kind of thing that you can use 20 different ways, not because it has 20 different buttons to press, but because the kid, when they're 6 months old is going to chew on it, and toss it, but when they're a year they're going to start stacking it.
***

I think everyone can remember how fun it was when their parents bought a new TV or other large appliance and gave you the box to play with. My sister and I turned an old TV box into a life-size playhouse- we cut out windows and a door, and even taped up curtains for decoration. Some friends of ours had a nice store-bought playhouse, but ours was of our own creation.

Creativity and a healthy imagination are really what is lost with a bunch of gadgety toys that stimulate all the senses. And these are things that come most naturally when you are a kid. I am going to try not to spoil that in raising our little guy, though the temptations are everywhere. (This is what I say now- pre actually having a little one. We'll see what happens when I get really tired or feel out of options. I have to shoot for my ideal though, don't I? I can't resign before anything has even happened)***

I myself, want to be stimulated instead of creating things for myself. It is easier. This past year, I made a bit of a resolution to read more and watch things like DVD's less. I missed getting caught up into a story, imagining characters instead of seeing them as a film producer saw them. I don't think movies are bad, but I know that they can allow me to be more passive. So far it has been very rewarding too. I think I am an 18th and 19th century English novel fan most of all.


*** A little rant I suppose because from cloth diapering to using a midwife, etc... has been met with several naysayers and pessimists. I obviously don't know as much as an experienced parent because I am not, but I must have a plan A to begin with. And, I will never be this young or this free to try things again.