Thursday, June 29, 2006

Attention Moms-to-Be

My apologies to all of you!…I’ve realized that I’ve forgotten to pass along an important tidbit of vital info for “growing” moms to be. During my pregnancy, I’ve discovered the BEST invention for moms who want to keep wearing their cute pre-prego clothes, and also save some $$ on buying an entirely new wardrobe. The secret I’ve found comes in the form of an accessory called a BELLA BAND. It’s an elastic band (kinda looks like a tube-top) that goes around your waist and that cute little tummy, then over the top of your pants. The best part is, when you can no longer get the button to meet the hole, or zipper to “zip” on your pants, you just adjust the BELLA BAND over the top of the pants where they gap—the BELLA BAND holds them up and on! Put a shirt on over the BELLA BAND and it looks like you have a cute tank top on under your shirt. They come in a bunch of colors, so you can match it to your outfit. If you’re in the market for a BELLA BAND, I recommend checking out mom4life.com (they’ve got a lot of other cute Mom and Baby stuff too). Alright, just had to make sure I got that out there…it’s been a LIFESAVER for me!

Our First Childbirth Class

Hmmmm….if you would have told me a year ago that we were going to be watching Labor and Delivery videos and practicing birthing techniques on mats and pillows, I would have called you CRAZY! But that’s exactly what we’ll be finding ourselves doing over the next 4 weeks as part of our Childbirth Class.

We just had our first session last night. It was interesting, scary, and very educational. I thought I knew most everything about going through delivery from my friends who have experienced it, but I realized I have given myself too much credit! There’s definitely a lot more we need to learn. Not to get graphic, but our instructor kept using these weird visual aids to represent the uterus, cervix, placenta, umbilical cord, etc. I never realized what a likeness the whole “placenta, water sac, umbilical cord” system had to a jellyfish…is that gross?? Sorry!

It brought up a lot of great things that Justin and I need to think about before we get to the point of nearing delivery. How do I want him to respond to me when I’m in pain? How sure am I of getting an epidural, and why? Do we want it to be just the two of us in the room during delivery? Things that we haven’t completely thought through yet, and seeing that we’re only about 8 weeks away from the event, they’re things we need to get figured out. I’d love any advice you might have about delivery. Things that worked well, or didn’t. Things you preferred to have, or not have? Let me know!

I’m sure we have a lot more in store to add to our “Birthing Repertoire”, but I feel like we got a good start last night. I’m really looking forward to the tour of L&D, and to at least be familiar with the environment where we’ll be having our baby.

This is going to be fun to do together…it’s so nice to be going through this with the man I love who can laugh with me about all these crazy things that are happening to my body!

So crazy...it's AMAZING

I was a little apprehensive at first…I mean, seeing your baby’s face while it’s still in the womb, it was all a little weird to me, but after my curiosity got the best of me and with my hubby being very excited about it, we decided to get a 4D ultrasound! …and I’m so glad we did, it was AMAZING!

Our friends at B4 the Stork 4D were wonderful in guiding us through this experience. My technician Kim sat down with us before we got started and fully explained what was going to happen. I had been wondering what the 4th Dimension was, and basically it’s like a 3D picture of your baby, plus movement which is the 4D.

Before we went to B4 the Stork, they suggested I have some sugar or caffeine about 20 minutes before our appointment. I was SO excited. I haven’t purposely had any caffeine since I’ve been pregnant (besides the traces in chocolate, which I can’t get enough of!), so I was in for a treat. I spent a day deciding where I wanted to “spend” my caffeine allowance…and STARBUCKS it was! A Java-Chip Frappucino has never tasted so good!

Once we arrived at B4 the Stork, we were guided to the beautiful, relaxing room that they conduct the ultrasounds in. They have a couch in it for families who come in to view the ultrasound together. Kim said that sometimes entire families come in to get the first glimpse of their baby’s face! They project the images on the wall, kind of like a big screen, for all to see!

As the ultrasound began, we started off in the 2D mode (what the ultrasound looks like that you get at the hospital) and once Kim locked into a good position, she switched to the 4D. Of course, at the first glimpse of our little girls face, I got choked up. It was so beautiful! I was expecting her to be kinda wrinkly and scrunched, but she was absolutely adorable. I decided she has her Daddy’s lips and chin, and I think maybe my nose. I had to keep moving around so we could get a good picture because that little girl wouldn’t get her hands out of her face for us to see her!...I wonder if that means she’s going to be shy? We got to see her sucking her thumb, yawning, grimacing and smiling. And once the caffeine kicked in, there was no stopping her. She was all over the place. It made me realize what kind of effect what I put into my body has on her….wow, the pressure!

We walked out of B4 the Stork with a DVD of the 4D ultrasound, a CD of 50 pictures that were taken during our time there, and a VERY special memory. Now that I’ve experienced it, I would definitely recommend this to Moms & Dads-to-be. Just make sure you schedule your appointment between 26-30 weeks (for optimal viewing in the ultrasound picture) and that you have already had your ultrasound done at the hospital (for medical purposes).

Kim said that if any of my “Diary of a Mom to Be” friends come to visit them for a 4D ultrasound, she’ll give you a FREE DVD as part of your package!

This was a great experience for Justin too. For him to be able to see what I feel was wonderful. And now when we see her moving around on the outside, we can imagine what’s going on in there!

Monday, June 19, 2006

supermomz.com


This website, supermomz.com, has so many great things--including a Glamourmom Maternity Nursing Bra Tank. It sounds like such a great idea... I might need to get one!

The same revolutionary design of the patented Glamourmom® Nursing Bra Tank, but is tailored with more room and length for full coverage of your growing belly. The perfect transition piece, a built-in soft cup frame and elastic shelf provide superior breast support and a comfortable fit for your changing body. It is a great value because it can be worn throughout pregnancy as a supportive bra, tank, and undershirt and then used when nursing your newborn in the first weeks as your belly returns to pre-pregnancy size. Stylish, Practical, and Machine washable.

And ladies, they've offered us a 10% discount on orders over $10. We just need to use the code: chick.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

My new favorite past-time...



These days my newest and most favorite past-time is watching my belly move around. It’s a combination of amazing and weird…an ongoing reminder that there’s a little person in there just waiting to make her appearance to the world :)

I’ve officially stepped into my third trimester (I’m 29 weeks today!) and am still feeling surprisingly well. The only pains I’m dealing with are some hip/joint tenderness and the arches of my feet hurting a LOT…maybe this is a good time to invest in some new “tennies”? But for the most part, I’m feeling great...I just hope that continues. However, when I think about how much longer I have and how much bigger I’m going to get, my hopes aren’t too high. Sometimes I think I’d like to skip over the next 3 months and labor/delivery and just have our beautiful little girl here with us. But I know there’s a reason for going through the entire 9 months…I think God has a lot more “preparing” to do in me.

We recently spent some time back in Illinois with our family and friends. While there, we were able to celebrate “in person” with baby showers and family get-togethers. It was so nice to see everyone and be able to share a bit of this experience with them. My little sister who is 11-years-old was a little hesitant when she first saw me with my “big belly”…it was so funny! After giving her a great big hug (I hadn’t seen her since Christmas), I asked her if she wanted to “touch my belly”, and as excited as she is to be a “young aunt”, she said no (I could tell she was a little nervous and didn’t quite know what to think). A bit later, the baby started moving and I told her to give me her hand (she did without knowing why). After I put her hand on my belly and she felt the baby moving, she had a completely different perspective of my huge belly. It was a precious moment :)

I just can’t wait to meet our little girl! Even on the days I’m not feeling so well, it keeps me going to think about the fun we’re going to have very soon. I’m so excited to go on walks, see her first smile, watch her taste her first spoonful of something she doesn’t like…there’s so many neat memories to be made.
The idea of “nursing” is still taking some getting used to….all of my friends who have been able to do it have told me how much they love it. After reading and researching the benefits of nursing, I really want to try to do it but am obviously a little nervous. I ran across a really neat product the other day that is made to help with nursing. I’m going to use it with our baby. It’s called Nursey Beads. You wear the beads around your neck. They are the perfect length for your baby to twirl, pull, and twiddle. Scary as it may be…I found out that babies will bite, scratch, pinch, etc while they’re nursing!...OUCH! Nursey Beads help distractible babies stay focused and nurse longer. Nursey beads are also designed as a keepsake of our special times together. I’ve already picked out a set of Nursey Beads that were handmade with “love” by The Delighted Child. My strand of beads incorporates purple (my favorite color), blue (Justin’s favorite color), pink (for the baby), and my favorite verse from the Bible, Jeremiah 29:11- “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”