Tuesday, September 1, 2015

It's the Final Countdown

Before you start reading the post, I have to ask... did the title make you sing the song?  If so, success!! It's stuck in my head too.  You're welcome.

6 more week to go!  Yep, that’s right.  This little princess is ready to make her debut pretty soon.  She is currently in the range to measure anywhere from 17.2-18.7 inches and weigh about 4.2-5.8 pounds.  Her bones are hardening, central nervous system is maturing and she is plumping up.  She is also listening to us and loves when her daddy sings to her.  I am still doing great and for the most part sleeping great! I did have a rough day last week where I truly ‘felt pregnant’.  I had massive back pain and could barely walk, my belly felt like it was going to pop from pressure, crazy heartburn and couldn’t get comfortable at all.  It was an off day for sure but the next morning, it was all gone and I was good to go again.  Guess my body just needed a night to catch up with Aria’s growing.  Speaking of… my belly has gotten pretty big now.  Some shirts are getting a little extra snug around the middle. J 

 
I am getting into the nesting phase right now.  My house is definitely in need of cleaning but I realized the other day that I wasn’t just picking up as I usually do.  I was going through drawers and re-arranging and being a little extreme.  Isn’t it so weird how our bodies know what to do and when to do it?  I mean even down to prepping our home is programmed into us.  Nuts!

As far as the nursery goes, I STILL haven’t gotten around to decorating.  I did put most of the bedding on her bed though.


We made our next big purchase too!  DIAPERS!  Can you believe we didn’t have any? Like at all?  So weird.  I decided to go with Pampers swaddlers.  I remember liking them a lot when I had Axel and so I went with that again.  Plus I happened to stumble upon some coupons for pampers so that definitely sealed the deal.  We got a couple boxes to start with and figured once we see how she grows and how big she is, we can add to the stash.  I know there are a lot of people that are partial to cloth diapers and I am not opposed to them at all, but I am just not educated enough on them to feel comfortable jumping into that right from the start.  I am thinking I may test it out a few times and get a feel for what I like more and go from there.  I hear they are a huge money saver in the end so it’s worth at least a consideration.  In addition to diapers, we went ahead and stocked up on wipes and diaper rash ointment.  Next on the list: baby monitors and a pack n play.  My insurance actually covers a breast pump so I am THRILLED about that! They told me to call 30 days before my due date and they will ship it to me.  You bet I have that marked on my calendar already. 

OH!  We went to our child birthing class!  Here are 5 things that we learned:

1.       I NEVER EVER want to watch a birthing video again… like EVER.  It was not pleasant and I have a weak stomach.  Sure, I have gone through it and will again but that doesn’t mean I want to watch it.  It’s like when the hospital offers “would you like a mirror?”  Ummm… NO!  No, I don’t.  Christian handled it better than I did but it wasn’t pleasant.  He has strict instructions to stay at the head of my bed for delivery.

2.       Our hospital is BIG on breastfeeding.  I LOVE that.  I have every intention on breastfeeding and know that it will sometimes be a struggle, but totally worth it.  Now Axel didn’t latch so I had to pump with him.  I am praying Aria is different because pumping all the time was not very fun to have to do.  Luckily, our hospital also has what’s called the “golden hour” after birth.  They put the baby on mom skin to skin right after birth for an hour or until the first feeding.  When that is done, babies typically do a “breast crawl”.  Pretty much, they find their way to the nipple and will feed.  It’s a super natural process that apparently makes breastfeeding more successful.

3.       There are only 3 people allowed in the delivery room.  Since my mom most likely won’t be able to make the birth, it looks like it will just be Christian and me and the entourage of nurses that will be helping.

4.       Apparently, it is expected for women to yell and be ugly and nasty to people while laboring.  I feel strongly about this one so get ready for a mini rant.  I was mad when the instructor was prepping the dad’s for all the horrid things they would probably hear and endure.  I get it ladies, you’re in pain and it’s hard… but why is it an expectation to turn into a gremlin?  Because of that many women use that as an excuse just to be that way during labor.  I may be a little grumpy but that in no way gives me the green light to yell at Christian and be rude to him.  It’s not his fault I am in pain. (ugh! Don’t even get me started on how I feel about women saying that during labor) It’s nature and if you think about it, doesn’t being angry and crazy lead to stress and anxiety and make the experience worse?  I told Christian I would be irritable so jokes may not be appreciated as much but that I would absolutely 100% try my hardest to be a normal person during that process.  I will just need a little extra love and tenderness to get me through a tough time.  If I happen to slip and get a little ruder than I would like, you better believe my husband will get a well-deserved apology for it after.

5.       We need to plan a little more.  What for? Timing… who will get called, updated, watch Axel.  See, when there are little ones already around it throws a little hiccup in things.  During our class we played a game where we rolled dice to see what time we went into labor.  We had to think… it’s __ o’clock and active labor has started… what do you do?  Well, who do we call for Axel?  What if he is in school?  Where will he stay and how will he get to school?  Do we even send him to school? Should we have a bag for Axel ready? Haha! I know… it just sparked many questions and scenarios that we need to think about.  Christian’s family lives about 45 mins from us so they are on the call list, but it’s time to officially ask some of those wonderful friends of ours to be on our list too.

We definitely learned good things in the class.  Breathing and relaxation techniques were fun.  CPR and lots of other useful things, but I just gave you the most memorable moments I had.  OH wait… the hospital also has amazing cookies.  That was a highlight I remember too.  We got them all day long and apparently they are delivered to the postpartum area every day at 3pm.  So, that’s yet another thing to look forward to! Bonus!

So, I had my 34 week appointment today and it looks like Aria is head down and ready to go.  My next one is on the 15th for my 36 week appointment and then guess what?  The appointments are every week after that!  Woo Hoo!! It’s so close to her arrival day.  I am getting so excited to get to hold her and meet her!

We have a few things we are going to be doing over the last stretch. Most of which will keep me busy.  Aria is due right around Axel’s birthday so we have moved his party up a month to make sure he still gets his celebration. We don’t want his little sister stealing his thunder starting them off on the wrong foot on day 1.  We will be partying up Ninja Warrior style for his birthday in just a few weeks.  Once we have that party, it’s the final stretch.  We should have the room ready, items purchased and another class (on breastfeeding) checked off of our list.  My parents are most likely starting new jobs in the very near future so they won’t be able to be here to help as originally planned.  (Boo!) That being said, we are working on testing/eating many crock pot meals and testing out some freezer meal recipes.  If you have any good ones that you have tried and liked, please send them my way.  We will be prepping in any way we can for me to take it easy and focus on baby once she arrives.  Also, my lovely Utah, Michigan, Massachusetts, Puerto Rico family members… if you want to take a trip here in October… please do! But know you will be assigned a helper task upon arrival. J

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