Why I wish my watch went to 13.

Hi all. I feel bad that I haven't been so attentive in updating my blog. Erik and I were busy teaching CERT classes and whatnot that time just slips away. CERT classes are over though and the web site I was working on for work was having issues, so that gave me the time to come here and update you a little of what's going on.

I'm officially at 28 weeks today. Had a check up today too. The baby is growing big and strong and according to the last 2 ultrasounds, his due date has been moved up 2 days. Not enough to go.. WOW! But I thought it was worth mentioning. So much goes on in 2 days when you're that small and still growing. I'm hoping this continues and Braeden won't be staying as long as his dad did in the womb. From what I hear though, now a days, as long as the child has been in for the full time, they will encourage being induced. They don't want the child getting so big that he causes complications in delivery.

Went for my glucose screening last week. Basically I had to go in to the lab, drink a bottle of something that tasted like flat Sprite, sit in a chair for an hour, then have blood drawn. Passed the test! YAY! If I didn't, they'd have me in for a 3 hour test. No thanks.

Erik and I started birthing classes at the hospital. We meet on Monday nights for about 5 or 6 weeks. The teacher is a professional doula. Nice gal with oodles of knowledge. If you don't know what a doula is, it's basically a trained birthing coach that you can hire to help you out before, during and after labor and she'll even come in for a couple post delivery visits to check up on you. It seems that we have a good group of about 8 couples.. all of which will be delivering way before me. While I feel huge on normal days, these ladies make me feel tiny. I know that I'll soon enough be there though. Here's Erik trying out how much weight we typically put on while pregnant. Personally, I think it needed to sit lower and they needed to wear it the entire class.. or at least for 30 min.


I've thought about taking other classes at the hospital. There's some kind of newborn care class (diapers, bathing, medical, burping.. all that kind of stuff) and a breast feeding class. I really don't know how to specifically care for a newborn but I think that I'd be able to figure it out. The breast feeding though... I know it should seem natural, but it's really not. It's a learned skill. There are various ways to hold your child that might help in feeding, there's trying to get the correct latch so you child can actually eat and not just get smothered, there's how far in and the placement of breast to child... there's even instances where the child forgets how to suck. Yes.. it seems weird that a child might forget how to do something that seems so natural, but even my friend's daughter had the hospital faked out at first. For a day or so, the little one was going through the motions, but not actually eating! Do I trust that things will naturally fall into place? or do I take a class? Don't know.

Braeden's room isn't really coming along very well right now. But then, we have a little time. I'd really like to get it cleaned out and the crib up.. but that will come in time I guess. We did have the manager remove the old nasty drapes and replace them with new blinds! THAT... already made a lovely improvement in there. Still so much to do though.

Can't really go out shopping for him yet. Stupid bills. But we have been looking at things. We've settled on a Baby Bjorn carrier that we really like for holding our little one... but while at REI, I caught Erik scoping out the big hiking carriers! LOL.

Looked at the stroller that we really want too. It's expensive, yes.. but it's really sturdy and well designed for safety while parents and child are on the go! It's a BOB jogging stroller. We figure that this will also give us a chance to get out, exercise, be able to take him with us and also instill the desire and importance of getting out and exercising (or.. having fun running as we'll call it).

I did buy him one thing though... the first thing I've bought him.... I got it while working a disaster/eco fair on the Disney Studios lot. Because we had worked that day, we were able to get a discount on stuff in their store. I saw this... and couldn't pass it up. While the Baby Disney stuff is ok, I seem to like the regular Disney stuff in mini-me size.

It's incredibly soft and so adorable.

OOhh!! Hey!! Got a new bed finally! Well, kinda. Our old mattress and box springs were so badly needing to be put out of their misery but we just couldn't see spending that kind of $$$ on getting anything new right now. Started talking with a friend of ours and it turns out that for the past 6 years she's had a King sized mattress and box springs just sitting, taking up space in her storage unit that she just didn't know what to do with! I'm so thankful to her and her S.O. for helping us out like that. So now we have a practically brand new bed and I'm sleeping so much better now and I can also get up easier out of it too!! To Grant & Sherilyn... THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! I can not thank you enough! THANK YOU!

In other news... I just found out that the Los Angeles U2 concert is sold out. I'm both sad and relieved. I would have loved to have gotten tickets... I just couldn't see spending the cash right now. So, by it being sold out, it's a little less depressing knowing that I can't get tickets anyway.

That's really about it for now. If anything else comes to mind, I'll let you know.
Ciao for now!
xoxo

24 Weeks and Counting!

Hi all! I've officially hit 24 weeks today and realized that I've got some updating to do.

First of all.. we've decided on finally announcing the name. We've been too excited not to.

Braeden Mitchell Day

Isn't it just wonderful?!! We liked other names, but when we found just how popular they are... we just weren't as excited about them for our little guy. I found Braeden on a Gaelic/Irish baby names web site and just loved it. Erik came up with Mitchell. Mitchell is the name of a character in a book he's trying to get published and this character has been close to his heart for years. The name sounds wonderful... it isn't terribly popular and is yet very cool and so far very well received. Its masculine and yet compassionate. AND it's not a name he'd get his as kicked for at school! LOL

Now.. on to other news. I had an ultrasound done on Monday and Good News!!!... The placenta has in fact moved out of the way! Whoo-Hoo! And as my friend put it... "now you get to experience the joys of childbirth!" .... Oh yay. But in all seriousness, now that I know that Braeden has a much better chance of going to full term... I'll take that "joy".. even in the blistering summer heat.



Another thing about that ultrasound... last time he was quite shy and we couldn't see him all that well. Monday we got a beautiful face-shot of him and OH.. MY... GOODNESS!!! He already looks like his daddy. Seriously! The Day Men seem to have the same dramatic eyes and the same nose and it looks like little Braeden has them as well! Erik says "Poor Kid", but really.. I've always loved these features. Check out this picture. I put together Braeden... Erik as a little boy... and his father. It's unmistakable!



In other news...we've started working on converting the office to the nursery. This is not an overnight task seeing as we still use this room.. but it needs to be done and it actually feels really good. Our friend Paul and Mia are giving us their crib that their daughter is too old for now. I can't wait to get it. It will help us plan out Braeden's room and how we're decorating it.

We've started the baby registry at Babies R Us and it's amazing just how much STUFF they need. I'm trying to be lean on what we Actually need.. but even those things seem expensive and really adds up.

There seems to be days that I would think, "Wow.. I've really come a long way and don't have much longer to go!". But then yesterday I was doing the math.... I've still got 4 months!! Just when i'm feeling huge, I'll see another pregnant woman who's much further along and realize that yeah.. we've still got quite a bit of growing to do. However, I do feel that I'm going through a certain right of passage. It's getting harder to bend down, Sleeping is disturbed with either being uncomfortable or having to get up to go pee, having to pee so much now that when I go someplace I take mental note of just where exactly the bathroom is, crossing my legs and flexing my inner muscles when I sneeze so I don't pee, I've had my first random nose bleed, and I've learned to appreciate just how wonderful those ugly-but-oh-so-wonderfully-comfortable elastic bands are on maternity pants and skirts. I also think that skirts are the way to go. I've already grown out of my first pair of maternity pants. Skirts have far more stretching room and will be comfy in those months after delivery too.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my belly piercing yet. I've heard you can keep it in for some time, but it's really irritated this week. There are maternity piercings that are longer and flex with mommy's expanding belly. I just don't know what i'm going to do yet. I really don't want to lose it. I've had it for over 10 years and I'm still fond of it. But I don't know how well that belly bar will work or if i'll just get irritated by it and in a fit of hormonal irritation, just *gently* yank it out.

I'm kind of irritated with the doctor juggling at the Ob/Gyn office. I chose my doctor because I really like her.. she has wonderful bedside manor. What I didn't know when I chose that office is that she is also pregnant. She's 8 weeks ahead of me. She's also recently had to take medical leave and won't be back for a while. Now, I seem to be juggled between the doctors that are filling in for her and normally.. if I were to go to a doctor for a cold... I wouldn't mind so much. However, this is someone who needs to know my history, someone I can share my concerns with and will understand where I'm coming from, someone I can trust and who I'll feel comfortable with when that time comes to deliver the little one. The only regular there right now is the Midwife. I know she can deliver the baby... but she doesn't have hospital privileges like the doctors do. From what I've heard though, once you're in there, you barely see your doctor and you're mostly taken care of in there by the maternity nurses. Thats fine. It's just in this emotionally turbulent time, I'd like to have some consistency.

OOhh!! Completely forgot to mention... I'm totally feeling him bop around in there now. It's really kinda neat. It's not to the point where some random person can have their hand on my stomach and feel it... but if I'm laying really still... sometimes I'm lucky enough to see him kick out. I've been told to hold this time as being precious... for soon enough he'll be kicking ribs and I'll be begging for mercy. LOL.. Got a little taste of vengeance today while at the doctor's office. The midwife was pressing down significantly to be able to measure where the uterus was. Once I sat up, Braeden found my bladder and kicked at it 3 times. Each time my immediate thought was Please don't pee!. That was some rough kicking!

Thats about it for now I think. Gotta actually get some work done.
Ciao for now!