Show me the mommy: Fashion Show

I took a vacation day last Monday to do a little shopping at the Concord Mills Outlets just outside of Charlotte. I was a little disappointed in the prices because they did not seem to be any lower than the much closer South Park Mall. With that said, it was nice to take a few hours, by myself (pure bliss!) and shop in leisure.

I ended up buying two suits, two pairs of shoes and some miscellaneous items like tops and nylons. My wardrobe isn't quite complete but it's getting there. I had to get both suits tailored thanks to my 5' 4" stature so the fashion show had to wait until this week.

If anyone is interested the suits and tops are from The Limited. Shoes are Michael Shannon from Off Broadway. The shoes are awesome. I got two pairs in the same design (Trevor) but different colors. They are super comfortable and I wore one pair for 10 hours for the very first time and had meetings between buildings. My feet didn't hurt at all and I got no blisters. How many women can say that about a new pair of high heeled shoes?

Friday updates

Per usual I ended up not getting enough sleep, eating and drinking too much and overall having a nice business trip in NYC. Getting to meet up with an old friend is always a plus too!

The last time I was in NYC for this length of time I was still breastfeeding. The annoyance of lugging the pump around coupled with the stress about making sure the output stayed cold put a whole damper on the trip. This time around it was like a huge weight off my shoulders. Although I also missed my little munchkin. I hated that I couldn't wake her up when I got home just to snuggle with her and give her lots of kisses. Not to worry, I made up for it this morning.

I would have posted while traveling but the building I was in blocked my access to FaceBook and any blog. Epic FAIL! Now I'm back on BigFinance's VPN and able to indulge my love for social networking.

I still haven't seen the first two nights of auditions for America Idol and I am trying to remain unspoiled. I did hear from Mommy, Esq. that the producers have FINALLY followed through on their promise and given us more "good" performances. And apparently a lot of those Hollywood-bound contestants need dental plans, STAT.

Despite my avoidance of all things American Idol I couldn't help but hear that Simon officially announced this was his last year as a judge on American Idol. Part of me thinks, "good for him" because how many people deliberately go out on top vs. trying to milk it? The other, bigger part of me wonders if I will be as invested in the show without him. Simon allows me to like the show. He takes it seriously which is why his criticism is so harsh and also so spot on. We don't want every judge to fawn over the contestants because then it will be an entire hour of cheese. And I already roll my eyes far too much at the heavy handed edits and sob stories.

4 judges is definitely too many. I think we will see that again this season. There is a reason other shows like America's Got Talent or Dancing With The Stars each have 3 judges, and it's not just because they were copying American Idol. (Full disclosure: I don't watch those referenced shows.) I haven't figured out yet if the producers will just stick with Randy, Kara and Ellen or if they will dig deep and cast another curmudgeonly Brit. I'm sure we'll hear an announcement in the summer.

How about the rest of you? Will you enjoy AI as much without Simon? Do you think he had guts to leave or was it a stupid move to leave such a juggernaut? And a report $50+ million paycheck?

The Smell

For the past few months DH and I have been catching a whiff of a terrible smell. It isn't there all the time. In fact it is only rarely that the odor wafts across us and we look at each other and say, "Did you smell that?"

At first we thought it was the dog farting. Or the baby pooping. But it was a bad garbage-y smell but worse that that. We only smelled it in a couple of places, usually when sitting on the couch. It lasts for about 30 seconds, tops, and then disappears, sometimes for a couple of hours or days only to return again.

We have done everything possible to try and track down the smell. We checked the closets, the pantry, moved the couch and shampooed the rug. We crawled around and held our noses to the air while sniffing. We smelled in closets, by air vents and in cabinets. And nothing. No seeming origin for the smell. Has anyone else experienced this? Should I just assume it's some small animal that died somewhere and eventually it will decompose and we won't smell it any more? Ah, the joys of home ownership!

At least I can blame her one day

DH was trying to be nice. A couple of weeks ago I came to him with a strand of hair in between my fingers and asked, "Is this a gray hair?" DH is an expert on gray hair having started turning gray at age 18. He glanced at it and responded, "No, it's blond." I was relieved and went on with my day.

But my suspicions grew as I started seeing an odd sparkle when I looked in the mirror. Blond doesn't sparkle. And I was forced to admit it, without DH's help. I had a gray hair. Actually two gray hairs. Do they come in pairs normally? The weird thing is they are coming out of my widow's peak. So there is no way I can "hide" them behind other hair. But I'm not willing to start dying my hair yet, so they will stay for now.

I am already plotting about how to use this to my advantage when Cameron is older and acting out. Yes, I know that it's heredity that determines when we start going gray but the timing is too good to pass up. For consideration:
"Every gray hair on this head is because of you!"
"I never had gray hair until you were born!"
"Do you want to give me more gray hair!?!"

How about the rest of you? When did you start going gray? How quickly can I expect my two hairs to multiply? What other good one-liners can I use?

Mommy group to the rescue

Ever since DH and I have moved to Charlotte we have found it difficult to make friends. We had a really great set (hi Janusz and Stacy!) but they abandoned us to move to Germany. Boo! Part of the problem is that DH works from home and I work with mostly men and usually with remote team members. So I decided while pregnant that I would make every effort to meet other new moms and hopefully strike up some friendships.

I did some searching online and came across a group, The New Moms of South Charlotte. I went to my first meet and greet today and it was wonderful. A little stressful making the timing work with Cameron's schedule but well worth the effort. I am hoping to do another event next week - a play date for infants. And since infants don't do anything, it's more of a play date for moms. The biggest challenge in joining the group is that a big majority of the moms are stay-at-home which means a lot of the play dates are during the week days. Obviously that isn't a problem now but it will be when I'm back at work. Good thing I have another couple of months to meet moms and establish some friendships! Who knew that making friends could be this much work? It was so easy when I was in college or just starting my career. But now that I'm saddled with DH and Cameron (just kidding!) it makes things harder. Does anyone else find that the older we get the harder it is to make new friends?

In other news I took Cameron for another (!) weight check yesterday. She is now at 7 pounds, 12 ounces and above her birth weight. She gained 9 ounces in 8 days. And I am now officially relieved and will not be stressing about her feedings any more. Yeah, right. Let me tell you, some of the babies I met today were huge compared to Cameron. Granted, she was the youngest at only 3 weeks but I saw one kid that was 6 months old and looked like he was at least a year. I'm glad I have some time to work up my weak arm muscles as Cameron gradually gains weight.

Is Grammy the baby whisperer?

My mom has been visiting since Monday and it has been wonderful. She is very low key and aside from not wanting to watch ER and other procedural shows with me (I've been watching a lot of TV while breastfeeding) she is up for anything.

Hard to believe she is a grandmother of 4 (almost 5), isn't it?

We actually ran some errands with Cameron yesterday. I got some nursing bras and a couple of tops and picked up a few books from Barnes and Noble. Then we met with the lactation consultant again. Cameron still isn't at her birth weight but she is getting over 2 ounces from me at a feeding so she's gained 9 ounces in 8 days. Not too shabby! Plus the LC converted the grams from the hospital records and they say Cameron was 7 pounds 6 ounces, not 10 as originally indicated so she's just an ounce away right now. Either way, she's gaining weight but they do want me to come in for another weight check next week. So that's 4 appointments (counting the LC) in 3 weeks. Good times :-)

I'm not sure if it's Grammy's influence or the hand of god but Cameron has only been waking up for one feeding for the past two nights. On the flip side, she hasn't been falling asleep until about 10 PM (with the help of the swing) but she's usually done eating by 8:30 (including about one ounce supplement). She sleeps for 3 hours after her 6:00 AM feeding so I would prefer she's up then and sleeping after her 8:00 PM feeding. But I guess that will come in time. Not that I'm complaining about only one night feeding! DH fed her last night so I could sleep and I woke up at 6:00 AM with my boobs about to explode. I've been pumping before bed but with Cameron skipping the 12:00 AM feeding and DH feeding her at 2 or 3 AM I'm leaking everywhere. If she keeps up with this one time a night feeding I may have to suck it up and feed her and let DH sleep. But we'll see - I do like my sleep! I have been able to set aside about 8 ounces a day of additional milk which is awesome and will really help once Cameron is in daycare. Of course now we're running out of freezer space so Grammy is buying us a freezer chest for additional storage. Any recommendations?

Look at how wide awake I am!

I'm also looking for any advice on getting Cameron to sleep earlier in the evening. But I don't want to mess with the one feeding a night. Should I just wait it out and see how her schedule adjusts? Should I be forcing her to stay up after her 6 AM feeding? Right now she just conks back out and I go back to sleep myself until 9 after pumping. Her most wide awake time is early afternoon and evening.

Baby aerobics with Grammy.Watching baseball (the Yankees of course) with Daddy and Charlie.

What do you mean I'm supposed to sleep at night?

DH and I got 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep last night so I am actually feeling human enough to blog! We took Cameron to the doctor's for her weight check. She gained 3 ounces but is still below her birth weight. Other than that, she is perfect (not just me, the doctor's words, I swear!). Breastfeeding is still a bit of a struggle but I'm pumping enough to supplement. We have an appointment with a lactation consultant tomorrow and I hope to get in a better routine.

We also found out that Cameron has her nights and days mixed up. That explains Saturday night when I was up with her from 3 AM until we got back from the doctor's. So we've started feeding her every 2 hours during the day and then letting her sleep at night as long as possible. It paid off early this morning and we got to sleep from 4:30 to 8:30 AM. Woo hoo! She would have slept longer but I wanted to get her day going for an even better night tonight. We are definitely not holding with the advice, "Never wake a sleeping baby." I'd rather wake her up and have her eat during the day if it means I get more sleep at night.

This swing is worth it's weight in gold!

I got an extra nap in while DH and I watched Tiger Woods win the Arnold Palmer Invitational. I don't normally like golf but I do like Tiger. Plus the announcers are so soothing that it is really easy to fall asleep. DH is already trying to get Cameron to be a fan.

Can you say, "Tiger"?

Needless to say, Cameron has gone through multiple outfit changes, had a couple of blowouts and spit ups so it was time for her first bath! I'm hoping to make this part of her night time ritual.

I guess it's not so bad to be wet.

But being dry is much better!

I think I'm ready for bed now.

There's no place like home

It's been an interesting couple of days, to say the least! We were discharged from the hospital yesterday and I was thrilled to come home. I could have stayed another night and almost did because of the awesome lactation consultant (more on that later) but physically I was feeling fine and anxious to get home and start building a routine with Cameron. Once I got my prescriptions (including one for my ear infection, ugh!) we packed her up and brought her home. My OB was shocked I had an ear infection. He told me he hadn't looked in anybody's ears in more than 10 years. The ear infection actually hurt worse than the incision from my c-section!

Cameron in a cute outfit from Libby and Andrew. She is ready to head home!

My doctor also told me that I shouldn't drive for 2 weeks, pick up anything heavier than the baby and her carrier or exercise for 6 weeks. DH almost laughed out loud at that last one. Exercise is not exactly something I embrace...

Before we left the hospital we did have a bit of a rough patch with Cameron. She fed really well on Tuesday night off of me (4 times in 3 hours) but then didn't want to eat for another 10 hours. I personally wasn't concerned about it and just kept trying to get her to eat. But she ended up losing a pound total from her birth weight so I was asked to supplement her. I am not opposed to supplements but couldn't help feeling that if we had gone home earlier it wouldn't be a problem and I could just power through it with Cameron and get a good feeding routine down. Fortunately my awesome lactation consultant, Kathy, recommended I use donor milk and we got about 12 ounces to bring home with us. How cool is that? It should be just enough to get us through to my milk coming in.

Dad learned how to feed Cameron with her first supplement.

Breastfeeding is definitely a challenge. Cameron is a bit lazy and seems to think that my boob is a warming blanket more than a vessel for her food. I was using a nipple shield but really wanted to wean myself off of it before leaving the hospital. Kathy show me how to find the best hold (cradle position for me even though it is not a "recommended" position because of my chest size) and work to get Cameron to latch on. The biggest "ah hah!" moment for me was realizing it can and will take as much as 15 minutes to get her to latch on. And she will cry during the process. I think that has been the hardest for DH. We loved Kathy because she was so encouraging and so soothing. Unfortunately she is the on floor consultant so I couldn't make a follow up appointment with her. I will still probably make one with her boss for sometime next week.

My new routine is to try to feed her off me first, supplement with one ounce (either from me via pumping or with the donor milk) and then pump. I might change things up a little and try to get her to feed after pumping for a bit or eating from the supplement. Either way despite a lot of "oh my god what have I gotten myself into?" moments I'm starting to feel like we will get through this. But how the hell did Mommy, Esq. do this with twins?!?

We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to check on her weight and DH just ran to Babies R Us for a few things. Amazing how I thought we were all set and there still seems to be a few things we forgot! In fact I have to go call him now for a few other things I forgot...

Not too shabby considering I only got about 2 hours of sleep...I have a feeling sweats will be the main staple of my wardrobe for a while!

Isn't she perfect? No, I'm not biased!

DH and I had a very good night with Cameron last night. She cluster fed at 8, 9 and 10 so she was full up for most of the night and didn't want to eat. What did that mean for us? Lots of sleep! DH commented that if every night is that good this will be a piece of cake. I laughed and it hurt my stitches. Personally I had a fair bit of pain last night but once I got some more medication I was able to get some sleep.

Cameron seems to be picking up the breastfeeding really well. It's a bit painful at times for me but we are getting a really good latch and she has maintained her weight so she's definitely getting food. Yay! The lactation consultants have been wonderful and we are picking up our pump rental tomorrow morning when we head home.

In the meantime, here are some cute new pictures of our cutie. Enjoy!

I finally got a shower and dressed in real clothes. It was wonderful! Daddy is a champ at changing diapers and swaddling. I am already Daddy's little girl.

Snausages, mannequins and other stuff

As I have mentioned previously I have been extremely blessed with this pregnancy. After witnessing Mommy, Esq. with her feetloaves I was thrilled at the lack of swelling I've experienced. Socks are a bit tighter and I've stopped wearing my engagement ring, but that's it. No other changes necessary. On Monday I checked to make sure I could still remove my wedding ring. It was a little tight but no problem. But yesterday I noticed it felt a little tighter so I tried to remove it. And now it's completely stuck! It's not painfully tight but there is no question of it coming off on it's own. I've tried soap, lotion and oil and there is no budging it. Aside from drinking lots of water, what else can I do to try and bring the swelling down and remove my wedding ring? My fingers are starting to look like snausages from yanking on my ring. Before I know it the dog will start following me around thinking they are his treats. My ankles have also doubled in size overnight. But I'd be OK with all of that if I can just get this damn wedding ring off before my fingers swell even more and it has to be cut off. Advice please!

DH and I went to our infant CPR class last night. It was, as I thought, an exercise in fear. All of these classes focus on everything that could go horribly wrong with your child. Couple that with a really creepy mannequin and you've got yourself a hopping good Tuesday night. Thank goodness we had American Idol to help us unwind after. Biggest takeaway? Play "Stayin' Alive" while doing chest compressions and your child will live.

I had my 37 week appointment today. Everything is on track except for one thing. Apparently my opening is very unfavorable for a decent sized baby. There is some bone that is sticking out that will make it hard for vaginal delivery. Considering there has been no progress towards labor (no contractions, no cervical changes) it is looking like this baby is going to cook beyond my due date of 3/28. So my doctor uttered the term C-section for the first time this whole pregnancy. Depending on how my appointment goes next week we will probably set up another ultrasound for week 39. If the baby's been growing at her usual rate I think he's going to leave it up to me to decide if I want to schedule a C-section or not. Part of me really likes the idea. It's more a matter of not wanting to labor for a long time only to be told I need to have a C-section anyway. That's like the worst of both worlds. No decision is needed yet and who knows, perhaps I go into labor this weekend and it becomes a moot point. I'm not counting on it but stranger things have happened. Anyone else have a similar issue? What was your decision and subsequent experience?

A big baby or perhaps going early?

DH and I had our last ultrasound this morning. She's still a girl :-) and apparently is at 6 pounds 12 ounces and already has some hair. I think I can see the hair on her ultrasound picture which is very cool. My doctor said that she's definitely big if I'm really at 36 weeks 3 days so I'm probably farther along than that. I suspected as much seeing as I've been measuring ahead all along and my due date had been shifted out a week at my first ultrasound.

Of course now my expectations are that I will go early and I'm going to be even more impatient for the next 3+ weeks to go by. I also found out I'm negative for the GSB test and didn't gain any weight from my last appointment. Yay! Talk about a great appointment. Now if only they had a cure for those stretch marks that seem to be multiplying...

DH and I are meeting with a pediatrics practice this evening and another next week. We also have an infant CPR class (DH's idea) tomorrow and breast feeding class on Saturday. And somewhere along the way we need to squeeze in an appointment for the car seat check/installation and packing the bags for the hospital. March really is the month of the baby!

March will hopefully be the month of the baby

Happy March 1st, everyone.

4 weeks to go! True, the estimated due date is just that but I am hopeful that the baby will decide March is a much better month to come than April. Not to insult April as a birthday month - mine is on April 6th. I'm just looking forward to being a mom!

According to my weekly pregnancy newsletter the little one should be about 6 pounds by now. However, my family history would indicate that my baby is probably a little smaller. DH and I are going to our final ultrasound on Tuesday so we'll see what the estimate of the baby's weight is then. Although those estimates tend to be extremely unreliable.

Perhaps the best news about being 36 weeks is that by the end of the week I will be considered full term. So if I go early for some reason there should be few (if any) issues with the baby.

My weekly newsletter also tells me that I should not be able to eat full sized meals any more because the baby is taking up so much room. My gorging at PF Chang's followed by Ben & Jerry's ice cream last night doesn't lend credence to that.

My biggest complaint is that I am very uncomfortable by the end of the day at work. So I've started working from home a couple of days a week. It allows me to stretch out on the couch if I need it and not feel like I'm smooshing the baby.

AI Group A results and baby update

So 2 out of 3 isn't bad, right? It appears as though Simon's wish for Michael Sarver to still be in the competition came true. I was kind of surprised because I thought for sure he and Brent Keith would split the same demographics leaving Anoop as the third top vote getter. I can only hope that Anoop is one of the contestants selected for the "Wild Card" round. All of the judges responded very favorably to him for both his voice and personality. There is no guarantee that one person from each Group will be selected for "Wildcard" but considering how bad the other performances were the only other person I could see is Anne Marie.

That leaves us with Danny Gokey (no surprise), Alexis Grace (cute as a button but needs to stop wearing silk slips to perform), and Michael Sarver (who will need to step it up to stay in the competition). Who are we extremely happy to see go? Say it with me: Tatiana. I didn't watch the results show but DH told me she was crying loud enough to drown out Danny's repeat performance. I also heard that Michael Johns and Carly from Season 7 performed a duet. Considering the crap we had to sit through on Tuesday night it's nice to remember the good performances from last season, no?

In other news I had the start of my weekly doctor appointments yesterday. I put on a few more pounds than I would have preferred but apparently that is normal at this point in the pregnancy. I am measuring at 36 weeks even though I am not even 35 weeks. So this little one could possibly be early! But A. had Finn late and Mommy, Esq. went right up to her C-section date with twins so there is no guarantee...

Because I am measuring more than a week ahead, my doctor said I will get another ultrasound at around 38 weeks to measure the baby's size. Yay! I was hoping I would get to see her one more time before she comes out. Of course if I'm told she is already at 8 pounds I will not be a happy camper. Smaller babies run in the family so I don't think it will be much of an issue.

DH and I were supposed to meet with a pediatrician on Tuesday evening but I ended up with a flat tire so we had to reschedule for early March. Thank goodness DH works from home and he could pop over to the parking lot I was stranded in and change the tire. Yes, I do have AAA but it always takes so long for them to come. DH was there in 15 minutes and we were home another 40 minutes later. It took him about 15 minutes to change the tire. I was impressed. I am annoyed because we bought the tires 2 1/2 years ago and now I need to get a new one. It wasn't a nail or anything that could be patched. It was a decent sized rip.

DH and I are planning a big baby shopping trip on Saturday for the remainder of our "essential" items. We were very fortunate that many of our registry items were gifted to us for the baby shower. So it should just be lots of little stuff. I also have about 6 loads of laundry to do for all the cute baby clothes we received. I think I need some more little hangers...

Maternity Center Tour

DH and I had a 45 minute tour of our hospital on Tuesday night. The delivery rooms are nice and large and the recovery rooms are private which is great. A big thank you to jerseygirl77 and Danielle for their advice on questions. The only thing that struck me as odd was that they bring the baby out of the room for pediatric visits. Apparently they do that for all babies. I haven't decided whether I'm going to throw up a fuss about that or not yet. I'll be sure and read the fine print when we pre-register.

The labor rooms include a TV, VCR, DVD player, radio, jacuzzi tub, birthing balls, etc. The hospital also provides free wireless for instant gratification of baby photos sent to family and friends. They do not allow video cameras or still photos during the actual birth. I'm totally fine with that! And DH is too considering he will be firmly planted at my head and not helping the doctor "catch" the baby.

One of the coolest things they do is when the baby is born the entire hospital hears Brahms' Lullaby playing. And if it's twins then they play it twice! How cute is that?

In our group of 10 couples we were the only one having a girl which I thought was cool. One couple didn't know but the woman having twin boys made up for them. There were two other tours immediately after ours with a similar number of couples in each. Thankfully the labor rooms were not completely filled while we were there so I'm hopeful I won't have to battle it out with another mom when I arrive for my delivery. Plus most of the women in our group were delivering in April or beyond.

Today I am flying up to Boston for the baby shower my mom is throwing for me. I should be boarding the plane as this gets posted if the auto post feature works correctly. Mommy, Esq. is having a Christening for her twins so it will be a fun filled weekend. I'll post when I'm back photos from both events. Happy Friday the 13th, everyone!

Spring has sprung, I hope

DH and I were blessed with a fantastic weekend weather wise in Charlotte. Temperatures reached 70+ degrees on Sunday and will again today. I realize it is only the second week of February but I can't but feel that our cold winter weather is done for. I'm sure a nice ice storm will come along to prove me wrong. But in the meantime, I have hung up my winter coat in the closet and hope to not pull it out until next winter!

It was so nice outside I felt guilty about the massive cardinal bathing itself in my disgustingly dirty bird bath. So I pulled out the hose for the first time this year and cleaned it out. I also filled the bird feeder. We have so many birds that the bird seed lasts less than 24 hours. But Charlie loves to watch the birds so whenever I remember I fill it up.

Other than that, DH and I had a lazy weekend broken up by some shopping trips and eating dinner out on Friday. I tried to pick up an exercise ball from Target but the medium one (65 cm) seemed way too small. There are a few reasons I want an exercise ball and using it for exercise is just one of them! I have heard it is great for pre-labor and during labor for easing back tension. Plus Mommy, Esq. swears by it for bouncing and calming her twins. Anyone know what size I should get? And should I swing by a sporting goods store instead of a Target?

In other news, I am now T minus 7 weeks until my due date. Apparently the little one is now over 4 pounds (the size of a pineapple) and over 17 inches long. DH is impressed that she somehow fits in my belly. I know she does because now I grunt every time I get out of a chair or roll over in bed. I'm also a lot more short of breath and run to the bathroom at least once an hour. As I said, T minus 7 weeks!

Friday Round Up

Yesterday I stopped by the grocery store on my way home to pick up a few things. I was feeling really run down so I took at advantage of the expectant mothers/parents with children spots. It wasn't my usual grocery store so it took me longer to find the items I needed (why isn't every grocery store set up exactly the same way?) increasing my annoyance level. I waddled (yes by the end of the day now I'm waddling, or at least lurching about a bit more) back to the car. While putting the groceries in the backseat I saw a 17 year old kid getting out of his car in one of the same spots! I gave him a dirty look and he looked directly back at me while fiddling with something in his car. I finally said, "You have a kid hiding somewhere in there?" He said, with a shit eating grin, "Nope," and headed off to do his errand. Grrrr. It made me so mad! Especially because there were open spots just one or two cars away! It's not like he had to walk from blocks away. The only good thing is that he left his headlights on so I can only hope karma sent him a dead battery.

Work has been pretty stressful this week and I've officially hit the third trimester fatigue on top of it. DH has been wonderful doing most of the cooking. All I want to do is collapse on the couch when I get home. I am working from home today and might increase the number of days over the next 7 weeks. My chair at work is becoming my enemy. By the end of the day I feel very uncomfortable and I think the baby is totally smooshed. At least at home I can go from a nice padded chair to a couch if I need to. Now if only I can stop dreaming about work at night. I feel like I'm working 24x7 with that!

DH submitted our taxes last weekend and we should be getting a nice chunk of change back from the federal and state governments. Good thing since BigFinance isn't giving bupkis for bonuses this year (and why exactly does Wall Street get to give out ridiculous amounts of money?). We'll probably save most of it but we are going to have a landscape architect come out this weekend to draw up some plans for our backyard so we might help stimulate the economy too. Last year we used a tax guy and DH ran his own numbers. The guy didn't get us any more money than we could have if we did it ourselves. Not having sold any stock or made any complicated financial moves, DH did our taxes for us this year. The only crappy part is that we couldn't deduct interest from my student loans because of our income bracket. I question the government on that regulation. Isn't student loan interest the same as owning a house? Interest is interest! No wonder some students are fleeing the country rather than paying back their loans. Regardless, taxes are not hard. So why the hell are so many politicians getting nailed for not filing taxes?

My recommendation for those tax filer procrastinators is to file early and file online. It is less than 10 business days to get a refund if you file online well in advance of the 4/15 deadline. DH and I use Turbo Tax and they do everything for you. A piece of cake. I do think it's a bit of a rip off that you can't file online without using one of those software packages but I don't run the world like I should :-)

Happy Friday, everyone! It feels as though it was a long time coming this week. The weather is finally warming back up in Charlotte and I'm looking forward to a productive yet lazy weekend. I plan on dragging DH to lots of stores for baby related purchases. It's time to help get the economy moving again.

Pregnancy Updates

I had my 32 week appointment yesterday and everything is looking good. Although now I have to go in every week which seems extreme. Good thing DH and I have excellent insurance! I must be a godsend for my doctor. No real problems, 5 minute office visits, and lots of research on my own.

I am measuring between 32 and 33 weeks and my weight is very much on track (thank goodness!) so I don't have to give up the ice cream yet. The little one is currently head down but that won't be locked in until after week 36. At this point the doctor does not think I will go beyond my due date (3/28) because my original due date was 3/21. He pushed it out with the first ultrasound. Apparently if I go to week 41 I will be offered an induction and he recommended I take it. But in his words, "I would be surprised if you make it that far." Yah! Music to my ears and my burgeoning belly.

Many women get a final ultrasound at week 36 but apparently I don't unless the doctor thinks the baby is turned the wrong way. Interesting. The MBA in me wonders about the weekly doctor visits over the next 8 weeks compared to cost of an ultrasound. I might be willing to make a trade off if it was offered to me. But of course in the US health care system we are not offered choices like that.

I have been extremely fortunate with my pregnancy. Now that I'm at T minus 8 weeks, I figure I'm not inviting too much bad karma by talking about it openly in my blog. Of course this could mean that my labor will be hell, but that's a risk I'm taking regardless.

First off, I got pregnant at a great time of year. Sure, I look a little bigger in the more bulky winter clothing but I avoided pregnancy during the brutal hot months of the summer. Charlotte was blessed with a warm winter so aside from our trip to Massachusetts, I never had to deal with really cold, snowy or icy weather. And it will be well into fall once the baby arrives which means outdoor trips are not only doable but potentially pleasant.

For some reason I have been blessed with a lack of pregnancy symptoms. The only thing I've suffered from is a burgeoning waistline, some stretch marks for aforementioned waistline, occasional lower back pain and minor abdomen pains. Very occasional. All basically gone by the third trimester. I did suffer from some annoying carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms that seemed to appear only when I was relaxing in front of the TV or trying to fall asleep. But it was off and on and really only lasted a few weeks. I've had one or two bouts of heartburn but I had two bowls of chili on Sunday with nothing! And I'm carrying very high so I figure it would have kicked in by now if it was going to.

And finally, I have an amazingly supportive husband. He pitches in on everything without me even asking which is so nice! He was out raking the backyard on Sunday and didn't even bat an eyelash at my lazy ass reading the paper and watching TV. Of course I haven't really dragged him out for a big baby shopping trip so that might change. DH hates to shop. On the plus side for him I have been incredibly mellow with pregnancy. No crying outburst, conflicting emotions. Nada.

So what does this all mean? For me, it means I'm open to more kids down the road. Pregnancy hasn't been a big deal. But check in with me in 8 weeks and I might have a very different answer!

Adventures in Childbirth Class

This weekend DH and I had 10 hours of childbirth class. We had the option of 2 hours per night over a 5 week period or this intensive weekend class. I'm glad we chose this one because we "got it over with" in one shot. The class was offered at the hospital where I will be giving birth so we got a chance to see a bit of that as well. Our maternity tour is next week so I'll have a better sense of the facility after that.

Our teacher, Ann, was a very nice woman with 3 grown children of her own. I never got the feeling that she was pushing a particular agenda (natural childbirth only, breastfeeding only, etc.) which was nice and made me trust her a lot more. On Friday night we were joined by 8 other couples but one couple elected not to attend Saturday's session. It was a pretty homogeneous group. One half Taiwanese mother and one Indian father. All married couples and all within the 25-40 age range. It was pretty cool for me because there are no other pregnant women on my floor at work so it was nice to be surrounded by 7 other women who were going through the very same things I was. Unfortunately there was not a lot of time for socializing. Most couples were due in the mid to late March time frame with a couple being induced on 2/14 (she was on best rest and had a lot of blood clots in her legs) and one other due the first week of April (ironically on my birthday, April 6!).

Most of the class was focused on "classroom" style learning with slides and videos. The rest emphasized hands on practice of breathing and massage techniques.

The best part of the class for me was that it made childbirth seem much more real and less of an imagined activity. I have an overactive imagination so watching the videos really helped me to realistically visualize myself in that situation. It actually made me fear childbirth a lot less which I had not anticipated! However, I think it freaked out DH more, but I'll get into that in a minute.

Interestingly I responded best to the women who used a lot of movement in their labor. Of the three videos we saw, one woman went completely natural, one had Pitocin and some narcotics and the last had Pitocin and a full epidural. The woman who had the epidural was restrained in her movement which seemed to make labor longer (mentally). I had always anticipated having an epidural but now I am considering seeing how long I can go without one. When DH and I practiced the different positions for managing contractions I kept thinking to myself, "Sure, I am not actually having a contraction right now but I think I can do this!" We'll see how that stands up once they really start...

Every time the video showed the actual birth of the baby, DH had to look away. I was immensely interested and actually got a little teary eyed (in a good way) with the first one. After the first woman gave birth DH turned to me and said, "Are you sure they won't let you schedule a C section?" He got a little woozy at the first video and I had to tell him to turn away with the subsequent ones. I kept joking that he is going to pass out at some point during my labor. It could really happen folks! Now, in DH's defense, there was quite a bit of blood in each of the births related to the episiotemies that the women had to get. That shit definitely creeps me out too.

Ann told us that our hospital has a 90% epidural rate (!) which is extremely high but it is the main hospital and gets all the high risk pregnancies. The suburb facility has only a 50% rate which is much more in line with my expectations. Jeesh, from all the boards I read it should be more like 10%. People are extremely evangelistic about natural childbirth. I am much more of the mindset of whatever makes it work. My worst fear is that I labor for hours and hours only to be told that I have to have a C-section. All that work for nothing!

DH was pretty impressed that I already knew a lot about what to expect in labor and delivery. Um, since I'm the one that has to suffer through it I had to know as much as possible. But book reading (or Internet reading) is not the same as seeing an actual birth. I may be taping "A Baby Story" on TLC now to get even more educated.

DH and I are attending the maternity tour next week and a breastfeeding class the first week of March. He is also now interested in infant CPR so we'll try to fit that in too.

In other news, I am now 32 weeks and one day pregnant! The little one is 3.75 pounds (apparently the size of a jicama) and 16.7 inches long. Considering I feel her at the same time poking up very high on my ribs and the opposite side way down in my pelvis, I think our daughter is a bit longer. Or a gymnast. I have entered the "fattening up" period for the baby. I just hope that I don't gain too much on my end! I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow so we'll see. In other fun symptoms I am back up to multiple trips to the bathroom at night. Aside from that, I really can't complain.

Friday updates

Thanks to everyone who has been visiting my blog this week. I won't be offended if you only stop by for the AI recaps but I will still be commenting on life in general so if you come by during one of those posts, suck it up!

I had my 30 week doctor's appointment earlier this week. Because the practice has 6 doctors and it's whoever is on call who delivers the baby, I have been meeting with more than just my primary OB/GYN. The doctor I met with this week, Dr. Considerate, was totally awesome. I am now hoping he will be delivering me. Although, as he even said, the doctor only spends like 10 minutes with you in the delivery room unless something goes wrong.

Dr. Considerate told me that the entire practice has a 38% C-section rate. That seemed extremely high to me (even with the trend towards scheduling and early delivery) but it is right in line with NC stats. My preference is for vaginal delivery but obviously I don't have control over that. DH and I have our childbirth class next weekend so I'll be sure and post more thoughts after that.

I am measuring at 31 weeks which puts me right at my estimated due date of 3/28. DH would love it if I go that weekend because he's scheduled his two fantasy baseball drafts the weekend before. Me? I'll probably want this baby to be out well before then! Plus, I'd prefer to not have the baby sharing my birthday (April 6). I already share it with A. and Mommy, Esq. That's enough. I've gained just around 20 pounds which I'm pretty happy with at this point. I think that the stomach flu helped last week since I gained less than a pound in two weeks. There's that silver lining...

In other news, NC unemployment rate is up over 8% right now compared to 5% from a year ago. Charlotte is in a hot spot with the financial industry challenges. Despite some bad news earlier this week I am still feeling confident in BigFinance and that my role will not be eliminated. I even invested in some stock this week. Not much but if the price rebounds it will be a very nice return. Why do I mention this? Well, given we are expanding our family very shortly, financial considerations are very much top of mind. DH and I feel squeezed even though we are crazy conservative with savings and retirement and spending. Of course he would say I'm not very conservative with spending but I haven't been shopping in months (aside from Xmas presents)!

This has been a crazy busy week and I'm looking forward to a nice, lazy weekend. I hope you all are too! Just 9 more weekends (potentially) of kid-free enjoyment for me and DH.

Friday Updates

Thanks to everyone who commented on my daycare search. DH and I do plan on going to the facilities during the week so we can meet the staff and get a better feel for how the kids are cared for. I have a feeling we will end up with one place initially and then switch to a "preferred" location in a few months. Here's hoping that a bunch of vacancies come up right around June!

This week at work was definitely challenging. It was hard for me to get my head back in the game (is it sad that I think of the High School Musical song as I type that?). Coming off of two weeks vacation and knowing that I'm in my last trimester makes me feel like now it's just a waiting game. I have to snap out of it because I still have 11 weeks to go!

It has also been surprisingly warm in Charlotte over the past few weeks. Temperatures have been in the 50s and 60s which makes me feel like Spring is just around the corner. I have to keep reminding myself that it's only January...

This weekend is going to be errand weekend. DH and I have lots of little things to get done. I would also like to clean the house but it's not that bad yet so we'll see if that happens. I should take advantage of the fact that I can still bend over now, though. After seeing Mommy, Esq. during her last trimester I'm not sure how long that will last! I'm waiting for the "cleaning nesting mode" to kick in that I've read about on some of the pregnancy message boards. One woman said she started cleaning at 1 AM and couldn't stop until 4:30! I'm lucky if I can motivate myself to head to the bathroom during that time. I'm much more of an organizer and picker-upper than a cleaner.

I hope you all have a great weekend and I'm sure I'll post again before Monday. Happy Friday!