Yesterday I had an appointment with my OB. As usual, he found the baby's heartbeat within .5 seconds of putting the little doppler thingy on my belly. Her heart is beating strongly, she's in the right position, everything is good with her.
Me, on the other hand, managed to gain 6 pounds in 3 weeks. Now, my weight gain to date has been encouragingly slow. I haven't gained more than 1 or 2 pounds between doctor's visits, which have been more less than 3 or 4 weeks apart. The "normal" rate is 1 pound per week, for a total of 40 pounds, but that is if you were at an ideal weight before getting pregnant. Since I was not at an ideal weight, it is not recommended for me to gain the full 40 pounds. Up until yesterday, I was at +20 pounds. Ok, so +26 pounds is still good for a pregnancy weight gain, especially at this stage (34 weeks, exactly 2 1/2 weeks until I am full term! 5 1/2 weeks until my due date!). 6 pounds in 3 weeks isn't healthy, even if 2 of those pounds should have gone directly to the baby. I'm going to blame it on the entire bottle of water that I chugged before going in, since I anticipated another urine test. Which I did have to do, confirming the result of a "raging UTI" as my doctor put it. That's 2 UTIs in one month, if anyone was keeping track. In 2 weeks, I get the Group B Strep test, which I am not looking forward to, since the pamphlet explains that it consists of violating my privacy (that's as specific as I am going to get).
By far, the highlight of my time at the doctor and hospital yesterday was the waiting room experiences. My doctor was running late because he had been in a delivery in the morning, so my appointment was delayed by about an hour. I had my Kindle (Water for Elephants), and I am glad that my Doctor makes himself available for deliveries even if he has a bunch of appointments in a row, so I absolutely didn't mind. Plus, I was so conveniently seated next to a wonderful example of the white-trash that lives in Las Vegas. A 28 year old woman was there with her sister, and her sister's two pretty cute children. The sister was loudly talking about going to the Tatoo convention, and yelling at her son about having to shave his head (which he was very upset about) because he had gotten gum in it. It was the woman's first visit to this doctor's office, so she was filing out all the pregnant paperwork. She was not-so-discreetly telling her sister that 1) she couldn't remember when her last period was, so she put down "sometime in February". 2) she didn't know anything about her baby's father's medical history, and couldn't call him and ask because he was in jail. 3) didn't know her insurance information (her sister reminded her that she was on Medicaid). Her sister, in between yelling at her 2 1/2 year old son, also kept interrupting her 4 or 5 year old daughter playing a video game on her phone because she was "doing it wrong". Excellent parenting examples.
After my appointment, my doctor recommended that I head over to the hospital to pre-register for my delivery. In that waiting room, I had another delightful sample of Las Vegas locals. An extremely overweight woman, who turned out to be pregnant, was there with equally overweight mother, her 13 or 14 year old daughter, and her 2 year old daughter. She was talking to her mother about how inconvenient it was for her to get searched by the cops last week because she had two vibrators in her purse. She told her mother about how the cops asked why she was carrying two vibrators in her purse, and she explained that "I'm pregnant, as big as a house, horny, single and nobody will have sex with me". She further explained to them that she needed two because one was for "on the go (you know, like in the car and stuff)", and the other was for "prolonged pleasure". She was also there to preregister because her doctor (also my doctor) was going to schedule her for a c-section because her "uterus was liable to BUST", as she explained to the woman doing to her registration. Also, when asked about her marital status, she said, "well, I got married to the father of my first child, but I haven't seen him in 10 years, so I don't know the answer to that question". Sometimes registration questions are hard. On the way out, the 2 year old spilled the entire contents of a bag of Doritos (which she obviously got yelled at for, because 2 year olds should be in charge of holding their own Doritos) onto the hospital floor right in front of the doors to the infant nursery, so my entire time registering was spent interrupted by people's shoes crunching on the chips (which have always smelled bad to me, which is only intensified by being pregnant).
Yes, I am judgmental. I understand people all have different circumstances and everything, but come on! You don't know if you're married? You don't know when your last period was?? You're yelling at your kid for doing kid things, like getting gum in their hair and spilling Doritos? Now I know why all the nice houses are in gated communities.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Birthing Class and Softball
This past weekend, we had our Birthing Class at Spring Valley Hospital, where we plan on delivering. We chose Spring Valley because it is the only hospital in the Las Vegas area that has a Level III NICU, and although we are hoping not to have to use it, it is obviously an excellent selling point. Also, one of my co-workers is a night shift nurse in the nursery and promised that if we chose to deliver at that hospital, she would be the one to prick Mia in the heel for her blood tests, and that she would do it really nicely. The class was great, it was taught by a Labor and Delivery nurse who has been in L&D for 30 years. She also was really laid back and funny. Something I think I would appreciate while I am trying to get through contractions.
We learned that Las Vegas is a medically-conversative town, as far as Labor and Deliver goes anyway, meaning the Doctors and Hospitals are not-so-supportive of sticking by Birth Plans. So if anything is going wrong, there is a pretty good chance of delivering via C-section, or of being given hormones in the event that labor doesn't progress as rapidly as they would like it to. That is not great news, but at least we know what to expect if things aren't going smoothly. There were quite a few couples in the class, and I got the reassurance that I didn't have as big a tummy as some ladies who have the same due date as I do, although I still think my face is above-average in puffiness.
As part of our class, we got a tour of the entire maternity section of the hospital, including the delivery rooms, the recovery rooms, the C-section rooms, and all three nurseries. Everything looks lovely, and actually quite small, so we won't feel like we're in any kind of factory. As long at the babies are born healthy, they are not required to be in the nursery for any more than a couple of hours for their tests and their bath. It's nice to know that Mia will be able to be with us for the majority of time in her first few hours of life. It was great to take the class, and Brian and I definitely learned a lot more than we would have from just reading the baby books. The nurse-instructor made us promise not to get induced just because we were uncomfortable at 39 weeks, but I crossed my fingers behind my back while making that one. 6 weeks to go!
On a totally unrelated note, Brian decided to join his Bank's softball league. Their first practice was last night, and I went along for the ride (with a folding lawn chair and my Kindle in tow). Brian seemed to have an excellent time playing, and I had an excellent time watching. The next morning, Brian confessed that his arm was a bit painful, and I reassured him that many of the other players were complaining of similar ailments while they were at bat. One had jammed her finger, another twisted his wrist, another his ankle. This is exactly what you get when you bring a bunch of 25+ year old bankers together and ask them to do what they all did at 17 years old, haha. I can't make too much fun, I am sure I would be in exactly the same situation if I had been playing. Next week, the games begin and I will bring a camera. Brian declined my offer to make t-shirts for the team so that they would all match... too bad.
We learned that Las Vegas is a medically-conversative town, as far as Labor and Deliver goes anyway, meaning the Doctors and Hospitals are not-so-supportive of sticking by Birth Plans. So if anything is going wrong, there is a pretty good chance of delivering via C-section, or of being given hormones in the event that labor doesn't progress as rapidly as they would like it to. That is not great news, but at least we know what to expect if things aren't going smoothly. There were quite a few couples in the class, and I got the reassurance that I didn't have as big a tummy as some ladies who have the same due date as I do, although I still think my face is above-average in puffiness.
As part of our class, we got a tour of the entire maternity section of the hospital, including the delivery rooms, the recovery rooms, the C-section rooms, and all three nurseries. Everything looks lovely, and actually quite small, so we won't feel like we're in any kind of factory. As long at the babies are born healthy, they are not required to be in the nursery for any more than a couple of hours for their tests and their bath. It's nice to know that Mia will be able to be with us for the majority of time in her first few hours of life. It was great to take the class, and Brian and I definitely learned a lot more than we would have from just reading the baby books. The nurse-instructor made us promise not to get induced just because we were uncomfortable at 39 weeks, but I crossed my fingers behind my back while making that one. 6 weeks to go!
On a totally unrelated note, Brian decided to join his Bank's softball league. Their first practice was last night, and I went along for the ride (with a folding lawn chair and my Kindle in tow). Brian seemed to have an excellent time playing, and I had an excellent time watching. The next morning, Brian confessed that his arm was a bit painful, and I reassured him that many of the other players were complaining of similar ailments while they were at bat. One had jammed her finger, another twisted his wrist, another his ankle. This is exactly what you get when you bring a bunch of 25+ year old bankers together and ask them to do what they all did at 17 years old, haha. I can't make too much fun, I am sure I would be in exactly the same situation if I had been playing. Next week, the games begin and I will bring a camera. Brian declined my offer to make t-shirts for the team so that they would all match... too bad.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
A Decent First Attempt
I still haven't put the butterflies up, but I did finish the Flat Ted Teddy. It's not as nice as the picture, but I am proud of my first stuffed animal. I'm now working on an Easter Bunny, which I plan to make two of.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Crafty Weekend
Last week found me getting extremely restless. Even though I am exhausted everytime I spent more than 30 minutes on my feet, I'm no longer content sitting on the couch watching TV. I suspect that this can be attributed to what the baby books call "nesting", but I think it's just a cute way of spinning the fact that women are freaking TIRED of pregnancy by this point. We too big to be comfortable, but the end is still too far to count down to without driving ourselves nuts.
So, I took a trip to Michael's and made a few purchases. I've been looking at the wooden/fabric/paper letters that they seem to sell at every children's store to decorate the half-nursery we have going on (I say half-nursery because it still has a queen bed in it, so it's half-guestroom, half-nursery), and the only letters that I liked the M, I, and the A were from Anthropologie, and (you guessed it) ridiculously expensive. So, I purchased some blank wooden letters, a few squeeze bottles of acrylic paint that coordinate with our Pottery Barn Penelope bedding, and got to work. I also bought some 20 cent wooden butterflies knowing that the 3 letters wouldn't keep me busy for long. I haven't put up the butterflies yet, but those are all done in the same colors, just with varying patterns. Here is the result:
Also, I purchased a new knitting book. After looking for a few patterns online for stuffed animals that I could knit myself, I decided that I would buy a whole book so that I could have a few to make, and so that I could make some for other people's babies and kids in the future. To start, I decided on the one called "Flat Ted Teddy". It seemed like one of the easiest, and only required 2 different colors of yarn. I've already finished knitting all the individual pieces, but have yet to put it all together. Pics next time, since I don't want to show an arm-less Teddy bear.
There are quite a few super cute toys in there, and once I am done with Mia's Teddy bear, I will make Tyler one of the less cutesy grown up ones (like the snake on the cover, or the Bunny in time for Easter!).
Most women do focus their energies during the last few months on doing productive things getting ready for the baby, and I've done my share of it. If I were you, I wouldn't ask Brian how many times I've changed my mind about the stroller we should have. I actually thought about writing a post exclusively about the different types of strollers and asking for opinions, but since nobody comments on this blog (I'm telling myself that doesn't necessarily mean nobody is reading...), that wouldn't be particularly productive (or entertaining to anyone but me).
So that you don't think that I'm trying to give off the image of being productive all the time, I'll leave you with how I spent last Saturday morning, when it was 90 degrees. I even spent all of 5 minutes in the freezing water, despite the baby making plain her feelings on being submerged in the cold water by kicking me vigorously the whole time. She's fine, it was glorious once we got out.
So, I took a trip to Michael's and made a few purchases. I've been looking at the wooden/fabric/paper letters that they seem to sell at every children's store to decorate the half-nursery we have going on (I say half-nursery because it still has a queen bed in it, so it's half-guestroom, half-nursery), and the only letters that I liked the M, I, and the A were from Anthropologie, and (you guessed it) ridiculously expensive. So, I purchased some blank wooden letters, a few squeeze bottles of acrylic paint that coordinate with our Pottery Barn Penelope bedding, and got to work. I also bought some 20 cent wooden butterflies knowing that the 3 letters wouldn't keep me busy for long. I haven't put up the butterflies yet, but those are all done in the same colors, just with varying patterns. Here is the result:
 |
| Preppy designs |
 |
| Coordinates with the crib, mobile, and bird wall-decals. You can't see the bedding, but I assure you that it works. |
 |
| Flat Ted Teddy is the second picture in the left-hand column. Mine is yellow and whilte rather than pink and white. |
Most women do focus their energies during the last few months on doing productive things getting ready for the baby, and I've done my share of it. If I were you, I wouldn't ask Brian how many times I've changed my mind about the stroller we should have. I actually thought about writing a post exclusively about the different types of strollers and asking for opinions, but since nobody comments on this blog (I'm telling myself that doesn't necessarily mean nobody is reading...), that wouldn't be particularly productive (or entertaining to anyone but me).
So that you don't think that I'm trying to give off the image of being productive all the time, I'll leave you with how I spent last Saturday morning, when it was 90 degrees. I even spent all of 5 minutes in the freezing water, despite the baby making plain her feelings on being submerged in the cold water by kicking me vigorously the whole time. She's fine, it was glorious once we got out.
 |
| Non-swollen ankles, but I am sparing you (and me) a picture of myself in the maternity swimsuit that I did end up purchasing. My neighbors were not so lucky. |
Monday, March 28, 2011
Rounding down to 2 months
According to one of my favorite pregnancy guides, I can round my answer down to 2 months whenever anyone asks how much longer I have to go. Although it is somewhat relieving, it's still pretty deceptive. I regularly read 5 different guides (combination of online form, book form, and iPhone app form) and today (officially week 31), I found myself hoping that one of these guides would say something different, mainly, "It's time to give birth now!". But, no dice. Still 9 weeks until the due date, 5 weeks until full-term.
On a more positive note, the weather seems to have taken a turn for the WARM. Forcast for the week mid-70s to start, mid-80s to end. If the mid-80s keep up, maybe the pool will be warm enough for a swim by the first week of April!
We had a lovely weekend. On Friday, we went to see Limitless at the Red Rock theatre. It was pretty good, certainly very entertaining. Saturday, my friend from high school, Toni and her girlfriend J were in town, so we had a lovely afternoon of hanging out, an evening on the strip, ending with an awesome dinner at a Tapas restaurant in our neighborhood. I am thrilled to have found something decent to eat in our neighborhood. Even though we still haven't found a decent Mexican place, Tapas is certainly a good substitute for now. Too bad I didn't get to try the Sangria! Sunday was the perfect weekend day. After an excellent breakfast at EggWorks (also in our neighborhood! score!), saw Toni and J off, and brought Chloe and Swarley to a dog park in Summerlin. Although there was no water for Swarley, there were plenty of dogs for him to chase. Chloe had a lovely time sniffing rocks and eating grass. After Swarley exhausted himself a bit too quickly, we realized that Swarley needs more exercise than the zooming around the apartment he's done all winter. Good dog owner fail. We promised to bring him to this park more often, we will not allow pregnancy (or later, the baby) to be a valid excuse anymore. We have a baby bjorn-type carrier, that's what they're for!
On a more positive note, the weather seems to have taken a turn for the WARM. Forcast for the week mid-70s to start, mid-80s to end. If the mid-80s keep up, maybe the pool will be warm enough for a swim by the first week of April!
We had a lovely weekend. On Friday, we went to see Limitless at the Red Rock theatre. It was pretty good, certainly very entertaining. Saturday, my friend from high school, Toni and her girlfriend J were in town, so we had a lovely afternoon of hanging out, an evening on the strip, ending with an awesome dinner at a Tapas restaurant in our neighborhood. I am thrilled to have found something decent to eat in our neighborhood. Even though we still haven't found a decent Mexican place, Tapas is certainly a good substitute for now. Too bad I didn't get to try the Sangria! Sunday was the perfect weekend day. After an excellent breakfast at EggWorks (also in our neighborhood! score!), saw Toni and J off, and brought Chloe and Swarley to a dog park in Summerlin. Although there was no water for Swarley, there were plenty of dogs for him to chase. Chloe had a lovely time sniffing rocks and eating grass. After Swarley exhausted himself a bit too quickly, we realized that Swarley needs more exercise than the zooming around the apartment he's done all winter. Good dog owner fail. We promised to bring him to this park more often, we will not allow pregnancy (or later, the baby) to be a valid excuse anymore. We have a baby bjorn-type carrier, that's what they're for!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
3 month catch up
I realize it's been over three months since I've posted on here. I thought about deactivating this blog and forgetting about it, but once Baby Girl Caccamo makes her appearance, this might (once again) be a really good place to keep everyone updated.
Brian and I have made quite a few strides towards being comfortable calling Las Vegas home. Although Chicago still wins (except for the snow), our visit at the beginning of this month really solidified to us that we no longer live there. We even visited our apartment and were completely comfortable seeing our lovely tenant's furniture in our former living room. I hope she is as happy there as we were. We still don't have any friends outside of work colleagues though, but we are hoping that will change once the baby comes and I sign up for some Mommy/Baby classes.
Things have calmed down significantly at work since the end of November. I had a bit of a rough patch where I was constantly stressed, felt like I had a million upcoming court dates at once, and my BP was significantly elevated. I will spare everyone the details of what was going on, but I will at least say that we are getting close to a settlement, and even if we don't get there, I'm ready for the challenge.
On Monday, I start week 31 of pregnancy, which means it's only 5 more weeks until I am full term, and 9 more weeks until I am officially due. I think I would go completely insane if I didn't think of it in terms of when I am full term, because 9 1/2 more weeks trying to do laundry with this belly just makes me tired. I am in full pregnancy mode, going to the bathroom every 20 minutes, having to lean backwards in my office chair to have enough room so the Belly doesn't get crushed by my desk, and struggling to pick anything up off the ground. I have started having some Braxton-Hicks contractions, but they aren't regular, so there is nothing to worry about. With that, here is the latest side-view photo. This was taken at week 28, so I am probably already significantly larger than that.
We are fully prepared baby-gear wise, and are even almost all set clothing wise in the 0-3 month category. The only thing we are now behind on are baby bottles, pacifiers, creams, diapers, and the rest of those essentials. I have no idea what to buy in terms of baby bottles or formula since I do intent to exclusively breastfeed for the duration of my maternity leave. But, they do tell you to be prepared in case I am not physically able to for whatever reason. Brian says he didn't marry a woman with hips like mine to have c-section or formula-feed his baby. I'm glad he's so confident. We also have grand plans to switch to cloth diapers once she's big enough to fit into the one-sizes (I don't want to bother with prefolds and diaper covers, it seems like too much of a hassle), and to make our own food once she's eating solids.
Spring is a mild form of summer in Las Vegas, and I won't let the Belly stop me from enjoying the sun. Maternity swimwear, here I come!
Brian and I have made quite a few strides towards being comfortable calling Las Vegas home. Although Chicago still wins (except for the snow), our visit at the beginning of this month really solidified to us that we no longer live there. We even visited our apartment and were completely comfortable seeing our lovely tenant's furniture in our former living room. I hope she is as happy there as we were. We still don't have any friends outside of work colleagues though, but we are hoping that will change once the baby comes and I sign up for some Mommy/Baby classes.
Things have calmed down significantly at work since the end of November. I had a bit of a rough patch where I was constantly stressed, felt like I had a million upcoming court dates at once, and my BP was significantly elevated. I will spare everyone the details of what was going on, but I will at least say that we are getting close to a settlement, and even if we don't get there, I'm ready for the challenge.
On Monday, I start week 31 of pregnancy, which means it's only 5 more weeks until I am full term, and 9 more weeks until I am officially due. I think I would go completely insane if I didn't think of it in terms of when I am full term, because 9 1/2 more weeks trying to do laundry with this belly just makes me tired. I am in full pregnancy mode, going to the bathroom every 20 minutes, having to lean backwards in my office chair to have enough room so the Belly doesn't get crushed by my desk, and struggling to pick anything up off the ground. I have started having some Braxton-Hicks contractions, but they aren't regular, so there is nothing to worry about. With that, here is the latest side-view photo. This was taken at week 28, so I am probably already significantly larger than that.
We are fully prepared baby-gear wise, and are even almost all set clothing wise in the 0-3 month category. The only thing we are now behind on are baby bottles, pacifiers, creams, diapers, and the rest of those essentials. I have no idea what to buy in terms of baby bottles or formula since I do intent to exclusively breastfeed for the duration of my maternity leave. But, they do tell you to be prepared in case I am not physically able to for whatever reason. Brian says he didn't marry a woman with hips like mine to have c-section or formula-feed his baby. I'm glad he's so confident. We also have grand plans to switch to cloth diapers once she's big enough to fit into the one-sizes (I don't want to bother with prefolds and diaper covers, it seems like too much of a hassle), and to make our own food once she's eating solids.
Spring is a mild form of summer in Las Vegas, and I won't let the Belly stop me from enjoying the sun. Maternity swimwear, here I come!
Monday, December 6, 2010
15 weeks today
Apologies for the long blogging lag... there doesn't seem to be too much to write about. Brian and I have both been getting settled into both of your jobs, starting to become more familiar with the city, and starting to get used to the idea that we will not be seeing any snow except for on the tops of the nearby mountains.
The holidays are coming up and we are looking forward to spending some time with my family. My Mom and Faby are both going to for sure be spending Christmas with us, and hopefully my Dad will be able to make it after all. The owners of his hotel have been talking about opening at the beginning of January, which would make a two week vacation to the U.S. impossible to pull off. We're hoping they change their minds, but for now, are planning it this way. The Christmas tree is up, and Brian and I both will have a couple of days off after Christmas, when we plan to go to the Grand Canyon.
The pregnancy is progressing well. I'm 15 weeks as of today, and am basically in the clear for morning sickness. We've already had our first two ultrasounds and everything is looking good. We have our anatomy ultrasounds scheduled for December 28th, where we will hopefully be able to find out the sex (ad narrow down that list of names). All of a sudden, sometime during the weekend, my body decided to switch from pudgy-stomach mode to full on pregnancy belly, so I leave you with a picture of my pregnant self.
The holidays are coming up and we are looking forward to spending some time with my family. My Mom and Faby are both going to for sure be spending Christmas with us, and hopefully my Dad will be able to make it after all. The owners of his hotel have been talking about opening at the beginning of January, which would make a two week vacation to the U.S. impossible to pull off. We're hoping they change their minds, but for now, are planning it this way. The Christmas tree is up, and Brian and I both will have a couple of days off after Christmas, when we plan to go to the Grand Canyon.
The pregnancy is progressing well. I'm 15 weeks as of today, and am basically in the clear for morning sickness. We've already had our first two ultrasounds and everything is looking good. We have our anatomy ultrasounds scheduled for December 28th, where we will hopefully be able to find out the sex (ad narrow down that list of names). All of a sudden, sometime during the weekend, my body decided to switch from pudgy-stomach mode to full on pregnancy belly, so I leave you with a picture of my pregnant self.
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