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It’s already Sunday and still no baby! That puts me 5 days overdue. And everyone from people I meet at the store to relatives seem to have advice on how to jump-start the labor. But, I am trying to be patient. We have another appointment on Monday. They will do a non-stress test and sonogram to make sure the baby is still ok and if everything seems fine, we’ll go until Thursday. And then the following Monday and then we’ll discuss induction options. My parents and sister have all made their arrangements to visit in August. It’s good to have that settled. A couple of humorous overdue pregnancy notes: I went to Taco Bell for lunch on Friday and realized I could no longer fit into my favorite booth! Also I noticed my belly button has finally actually turned inside out. Before it was pretty much just flat, but I definitely started noticing the inversion this weekend. And the baby's a Leo. I had wondered if he'd end up a Cancer like me or wait long enough to be his own sign. We’ll keep everyone posted, but so far, no big news.
Monday, July 17, 2006No baby yet! My due date is tomorrow. All this waiting is getting hard. I don’t think the pregnancy has gotten any more difficult since the last few weeks, but ever since I hit 38 weeks and knew that it was normal to have the baby anytime between then and 42 weeks, I’ve just been waiting and wondering! Holly and Emily got me the cutest Hotsling for my birthday and I keep trying it on with different outfits. Can’t wait to try it out with an actual baby in tow! This weekend I finally got a new haircut and it turned out really well. Daniel and I went to see another movie to pass the time, but the seats were pretty uncomfortable and I ended up getting up at least 3 times to use the bathroom and walk around. The weather has been just incredibly hot. The high today is 100 degrees and it’s supposed to stay that way until we get a break on Friday. They had given me the go ahead at work to park closer to the library until the baby comes, but with the heat, I’ve started parking across the street in the garage again, just to avoid getting into an oven whenever I need to drive somewhere. Hopefully I’ll be able to get up early enough to bring my lunch everyday this week so I won’t have to drive anywhere during the day! Despite the heat, we managed to get the car seat installed in the Volvo. That's one more step. We also got to take a tour of the hospital where I'll be delivering. The labor nurse who took us around was very friendly and all the labor & delivery rooms seemed really quite comfortable. The post-partum rooms, on the other hand, we quite stark and boring. With any luck we won't have to spend too much time there anyway.
Wednesday, July 5, 2006I had a nice birthday today! I donned my bikini in true brasileira style and when swimming big pregnant belly and all down at the wading pool in the park by our house. Granted, it did take quite a bit of psyching myself up before I took off my wrap, but once I did, I had a really nice fun time floating around in the 3-foot deep water. I'm thinking I'll have to make this a weekly event! I was 38 weeks pregnant yesterday. My midwife's appointment when without much interesting news. Last week, Kim had thought the baby was down and engaged, but this week Sheila thought he was not. She said after the baby engages and stays engaged, it will most likely be 2 weeks before the birth. So, I may be in for a few more weeks. I've upped my dosage of the Evening Primrose Oil and am taking the maximum recommended of the 5-Week Formula supplement. Hopefully all these will prepare my body sufficiently to make for a smooth labor and delivery. I got the go-ahead to start parking behind the library until the baby arrives. That will definitely make getting to and from the car a lot easier for me since it seems to take twice as long as it did before for me to get anywhere!
We met with the pediatrician on Wednesday and thought he would be great for baby JD. He seemed pretty laid back and was happy to answer all our questions. His office is in Mission, Kansas and we passed what looked like a really cool playground and pool. I couldn't help thinking how much fun that would be when JD gets older. Nobody likes to go to the doctor, but if you get to stop and play afterwards, it could certainly make the visit slightly more appealing!
I had a great weekend! The shower Laurel threw was really a lot of fun. The afternoon started with some heavy rain, but that didn't seem to deter anyone from coming. We played some silly games and grilled out on the porch. It was really fun having everyone over to see all the progress we've made on decorating the house. My parents helped us out tons by putting some final touches on the house and getting it cleaned and ready for the party. They were really a big help. Daniel was even motivated to finish the kitchen floor! The tile is so beautiful, a pretty terra cotta color designed to look like slate. It fits right in and looks like it's always been there. He also worked hard getting the downstairs bathroom all set up. Everything is back in place and working great. I can't believe how big the study looks now that the bathtub and toilet are out!
Thursday, June 22, 2006We've been busy getting the house fixed up. My mother-in-law is throwing us a baby shower this Saturday at our our house, so we want to make sure everything looks great. My own parents are flying in tomorrow to stay for the weekend. I'm very excited to see them and about the shower on Saturday. Daniel put the crib together this evening after our sushi date and then spent the rest of the evening working on retiling the kitchen floor. It looks great so far, but it may be a project that goes into tomorrow. I've gotten very excited about the cowboy theme we've chosen for the baby's room and ordered quite a bit of accessories for it. Check out the Baby's Room page to see some of the things I've ordered. My last visit to the midwife this week brought the good news that baby has turned into an anterior position, which will make the labor much easier. Hopefully this means the samba I've been doing has paid off and the little one will stay where he is!
My belly is huge! Getting up from lying down in bed or on the couch has officially become an Olympic event. Entertaining to watch, I'm sure, but I am looking forward to the day when I no longer need momentum to roll from one side to the other. I had another appointment today. We decided to cut back on the herbal supplements and gradually increase the dosage over the next couple weeks. Turns out the charley horses I've been feeling once in awhile may be due to a calcium deficiency, so Daniel's new job is to make sure I eat more cheese and leafy greens. Hopefully that will take care of it, since the midwives said it was very important to get a lot of calcium (1800 mg!) to be sure my muscles (uterus) work well once I'm in labor. I made an appointment to meet the pediatrican we'd picked out, Dr. Slaymaker. I was looking over the doctors' bios on their website and noticed that instead of an MD, he was a DO. I had never heard of a DO, so I immediately called my friend Jessica, who just graduated from med school to get the scoop. Turns out DO is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and they have to pass all the same exams as the MDs to graduate and take all the same continuing ed classes to stay certified. They usually practice family medicine, instead of something highly specialized and mentioned that DOs are trained to have a different perspective when it comes to diagnosing patients. They take into account the whole history of the patient before diagnosing. This all sounded great to me, so I'm looking foward to meeting with him in a couple weeks.
The library has been really busy this summer! Every year we know it's coming, but it's hard to remember just exactly how busy we really get. I get worn out just helping at the desk! I'll have to be sure to remember to take my breaks and lie down. I think I may have overdone the herbal supplements as well. My tummy is feeling tight for long periods of time, so I think I'll give the midwives a call tomorrow and ask them again about the dosage.
We had Daniel's family over for dinner tonight. It was really nice to get together at our house and show everyone all the progress we've made. Even Grandpa Gooden was able to come. Plus, it gave us a great excuse to do some picking up, organizing and cleaning. On the pregnancy front, it appears even my maternity shirts are getting to be too small now. My belly keeps poking out the bottom. I'll have to be careful at work!
Another appointment and no major issues. Six weeks to go! We went over the birth plan and discussed starting on some herbal supplements to help tone the uterus and soften the cervix. I'll probably start one next week and another the week after. The baby is posterior, meaning he is facing out in front of me, instead of backwards. This makes for a harder labor, so I've been instructed to practice my belly dancing to help open my pelvis and encourage the baby to move around. Of course, for me, samba is much more natural, and includes many of the same hip movements. So, that's probably what I'll end up practicing! On a side note, I'm sad to say the little Brazilian import shop where I used to buy my Guaraná is no longer in its previous location. I had really been hungering for some Brazilian fare and I even thought with the World Cup going on I might be able to score a little baby Brazilian soccer jersey! I fear they may have gone out of business, but I'm keeping hope the shop may have just moved locations or that I may be able to find some Guaraná at one of the hispanic groceries near the library.
I had a really productive weekend! We picked up the car seat and the crib! Now it's up to Daniel to figure out how to install/put it together. I also got a lot of painting done. The front door looks amazing. I put a faux wood finish on it and it really does like wood, thanks to a special tool my co-worker Debra let me use. The trim is all done, but might need a couple of touch ups in places where the tape pulled off some paint. Same with the sink vanity. Now we just need to buy some trim and we can put the bathroom all back together again. And I then it will be the baby's room's turn, oh my!
Another appointment today and I only gained 1/2 pound for the second visit in a row. The midwife said this was fine, though. I've gained 17 pounds so far and she says I'll probably be gaining about a pound a week from now on. That puts me right on schedule for gaining around a 25 pounds, which is normal.
We had a really nice weekend and got a lot of little projects started. Daniel cleaned out the study enough to flip over the claw-foot tub and then he sanded and cleaned the bottom. After we get a few coats of paint on it, it'll be ready to go back in the bathroom! I did a lot of work on trim. I started on the laundry room window trim and also did some work on the kitchen window. Then I did a kitchen vent grate and little strip between the sink countertop and the wall, and finally the vanity that holds the bathroom sink. I even painted over the wild design on our front door. But they will all need additional coats to be complete.
I had such a lovely evening tonight. My co-workers threw me my first baby shower! We all met at Vickie's house and had lots of fun chatting and eating. The meal was divine and the weather was wonderful, so Daniel and I ate outside on the patio. Vickie's house is beautiful and she's done a lot of pretty things on the patio, too. It makes me want to get to work on our backyard. But, we still have plenty to do inside the house, so we'd better stick to that.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006Finally! I had the 3-hour glucose tolerance test on Monday and I'll admit, after the first hour, I was fine. Starving and bored, but fine. My midwife Kim called today to say my test results came out just great, everything perfectly normal! Thank goodness that's overwith. I celebrated with an ice cream sundae from McDonalds.
Daniel and I had a really nice time tonight at childbirth class. We did a lot more hands-on practicing of postions for active labor and that was a lot of fun. We only have one more class to go. I would like to attend some more of the afternoon seminars they offer at Babies R Us. I think there are classes on breastfeeding and what to expect when you first bring the baby home.
I turned in my final assignment for the semester! Due to a freak accident where one professor read the due dates wrong, one of my final papers was cancelled. So that was pretty nice. I finished the website, but I'm sure my professor will have some comments and I'll continue to make adjustments. I'd like to add a guestbook feature sometime, but I think it requires some Java script. Maybe this summer I'll learn how in my Intermediate Web Development Class. I transfered all the files over to the lisadaniel doteasy server, so the baby website will be available even after I finish school. Now I just need to send a mass email to all my friends and relatives to let them know it is there!
This week and next week seem a bit daunting! I tried to get the second gestational diabetes test, but it turned out the midwife had not filled out the request sheet fully. I'll have to try it again after my next appointment. My spring semester at MU is coming to a close and I have a lot of projects and papers due this week and next. I'll be glad to have a short break between this semester and my summer class.
Tuesday, May 2, 2006Daniel and I started our natural childbirth class tonight. It's interesting being around to so many other pregnant women. At work I am the only one. Everyone seemed very nice and besides it taking a bit longer than we thought to get there and running into some construction, everything went fine. We didn't do any relaxation exercises tonight, but we talked a lot about the process of childbirth, fears people have about giving birth and the role of our partners. The class lasts 4 weeks and will meet on Tuesdays. I'm glad to be taking the class and I already feel I've learned a lot from the books that were recommended by the instructor, Melanie.
Took a gestational diabetes test today at my appointment and it turned to out to be borderline. So coupled with a family history of diabetes on both sides, the midwife suggested I take another test to get more information on how to handle my diet. The only downside is the test takes 3 hours and I can't eat after midnight the night before the test! I don't know how I'll survive, I get so hungry!
Baby JD is super active! Sometimes I can even see my stomach jump. I can't tell if it's a hand or a foot, but it's funny to be sitting there eating lunch and see my shirt move! Next appointment is April 24, the midwife said that will mark the beginning of my last trimester. I'm so pleased the pregnancy has been easy up to this point.
I had another massage with Kristi today. We had to reschedule from last week, she was busy cleaning the house getting ready for her mother's bachelorette party that weekend. The massages have been really great. Sometimes I need extra help on my shoulder blades and sometimes it's my lower back. She's happy to do them to get extra practice on a pregnant woman. It's definitely getting more interesting now that it's harder to lie on my stomach. Fortunately for me, she's also a good seamstress. I gave her another pair of maternity pants (khakis this time) to hem tonight. I'm so lucky to have her. Otherwise all my pants might be dragging on the ground as I walk!
Tuesday, April 4, 2006I went to another supervisor's workshop today. This one was called "Survival Skills for Supervisors." I think this puts me about half-way through the KCMLIN Supervisors Certification program. I thought it would be a good idea to get it completed before I have my master's next spring. That way, if I'm up for a supervisory position, at least I can point towards the certification. One more thing to add to my resume.
We started our baby registries today! We went to Babies R Us and Target. I think we've picked out the crib, but Daniel and I still disagree about the color we want. We're still debating the car seat. I think I'll go with the Graco ComfortSport. I found a nice green one at Sears.com.
We told our families about our name for the baby this week. Everyone seemed happy with the choice. Mom commented that it was a good, uncomplicated name. I think Laurel said it was a strong, solid name. Both dads said they were flattered. It was a relief to tell everyone. Daniel and I had planned on that name (if we ever had a boy) long before we were ever even married, I think! It just seemed to fit, I suppose.
Tuesday, March 7, 2006Sonogram today!!! It was so great to see our little baby on the screen. The technician said it's a boy! He was really moving around a bit, but we got some good pictures. They even let us bring in a videotape to record the session. I'm hoping to convert it to digital so we can put it on this site, too. We decided to name the baby John Dean Gooden, after my dad and Daniel's dad. We'll probably have to call him JD, though, with all the Johns in the family!
We also recorded the baby's heartbeat. This is my favorite part of each visit. I'm glad to have the heartbeat recorded. Now I can listen to it at home whenever I want. It was hard to get a good solid beat, the baby kept moving so much. Finally Kim had to really grab my stomach to try and keep the baby from turning so much. Later Daniel said he couldn't believe how hard she was grabbing. He was surprised it didn't hurt me!
I think we've picked out a pediatrician. There's a group in Prairie Village, Kansas called Village Pediatrics that had a nice website. I'll have to drive by and see what their offices look like on the outside, but there are some nice interior images on the site. There are 3 doctors in the practice and I called to see if we needed to get put on a list of families expecting babies. The receptionist just said all we had to do was put the pediatrician's name down on our forms when we went to the hospital to deliver and the doctor would come see the baby. We can also schedule a time to meet with any of the doctors to ask them questions and make sure they are the ones we want to be the pediatrician.
Everything seems to be going fine. The midwife said I could continue to sleep however I was comfortable and that when it was time to stop lying on my stomach the baby would tell me. It's time to start looking into pediatricians, she said. I would really like to find one with an office that's free standing, not in some office building. But, it seems like they are almost all in some kind of office building. Hopefully I can find one that's at least not in a hospital. The midwives say I should drink a quart of raspberry tea a day! It wouldn't be so bad if it was made from the fruit, but instead it is from the leaves. Not exactly super tasty! But, it's supposed to help with my changing hormones, back pain and a million other things. Daniel is going to make me a big pitcher of it to keep in the fridge. Maybe that will be better than hot tea.
I heard the heartbeat at the appointment today. It was SO magical. It made me almost cry. I just felt like it made everything so real and I was so connected. 140-150 beats per minute. I just loved it. I hope we can bring Daniel's dictator and get it recorded sometime at another appointment.
We told our families the good news this week! We called Mom and Dad and they were so surprised! Amy seemed to be expecting it. And Daniel's parents we told at dinner. They both started crying they were so happy! It'll be their first grandchild. Daniel even brought his dictator and got it all on tape! It took me a little while to track down Holly and Emily, but they both called right back to get the exciting news. John already knew. I think Daniel must have told him just about the moment we found out ourselves!
December 5, 2005It's official! The midwives confirmed it. I'm pregnant! We took the home test a couple weeks ago and it was positive, but somehow hearing it from the midwife really made it hit home. She gave me a due date of July 18, 2006. Ooops! We were trying for August, but I guess we must have counted wrong. Besides, who knew it could happen so fast! I've never been to a midwife before, but when I called to make an appointment with the obstetrician, the receptionist's message said she also made appointments for the midwives at Midwest Midwifery. So I thought, "why not?!" I met with Kim today and she was really nice and took a lot of time to talk with me and answer any questions. She also gave me a lot of literature to take home and showed me their lending library of books at the office. Of course, working at the library, I have access to a lot more books and I've already carefully checked out several to look through at home. I have to be a little sneaky with all my co-workers around. I think I'll wait until the first trimester is over before I tell anyone at work.