Less than 3 months to go now! This week was a busy one! Tim and I bought a crib and dresser/changing table off of Craigslist last night (will post pictures as soon as we assemble the furniture). We touched up on our registries from Target and Babies R Us earlier this week too.
Just had a doctor's appointment today: weight, blood pressure, belly measurement, and fetal heartbeat were all in excellent standing. I had to partially fast this morning for a glucose test (testing for gestational diabetes)....should know the results of that some time next week. They also drew blood for testing for Vitamin D deficiency. Did you know that about half of pregnant women end up having Vitamin D deficiencies?....wow! The positive side to this is that even if one does have a Vitamin D deficiency, it can easily be supplemented with an extra vitamin a day. Anyhow, I won't know the Vit. D. results for another 2-3 weeks.
I have another routine check-up scheduled for Feb. 12th and a 32-week ultrasound appointment on Feb. 25th. Back in November, EVMS noticed that I had a marginal case of placenta previa. Fortunately, this condition usually fixes itself as the placenta typically moves up and away from the cervix as the baby grows. If for some reason the placenta does not move out of the way, a C-section will be required. I'm anxious to see how much Chase has grown when we have the ultrasound done. I'm not too concerned with the marginal placenta previa issue....it's in God's hands.....and, statistics are in my favor since only 10% of the cases of marginal placenta previa don't clear by the third trimester.
Our child-prep class went great on Saturday! Tim and I both learned so many valuable tid-bits of information from our instructor, Tara Kramer. I also got to learn quite a bit about breastfeeding. That's something I definitely want to do...just hoping and praying that it will work out smoothly for me, especially since I'll be pumping once I return to work. I already bought a pump that was on sale at Babies R Us! I'm highly motivated to give it my best shot, but I know that some women struggle with it more than others and a lot of it depends on how well the baby latches on at first....and, some women also struggle with producing a sufficient milk supply. We'll see how it goes! The pump is something I wanted to have of my own versus renting or borrowing one...if things don't work out with nursing this baby, I'll try again with the second one (I know that's thinking way into the future since the first one still isn't here).
Pictures to be posted soon.....stay tuned!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Things Falling into Place
(This paragraph was also posted on Facebook.) We have a babysitter! I confirmed that my mom is cutting back her hours at her night-shift nursing job (as an RN) so that she can take care of Chase full time during the workweek. My older sis Dawn will be taking care of Chase for an hour or so on the mornings when there is an overlap time between when my mom will get off from her nursing job to when she can arrive at my sister's house. Dawn doesn't have to be at her job until about 8 or 9, so Chase will thankfully be covered during those early morning hours. Our plan is to drop Chase off at Dawn's house around 7:00 AM in Newport News before work and pick him up there around 4:30 PM in the afternoon. This is a huge answer to our prayers because there is nobody we can trust more to take care of Chase than our own family! Plus, my sister's house is only a half hour from our house and it's only about 15 minutes from work....not too far of a drive for us, which is awesome! A special thanks to my mom and sister for their willingness to take care of our little one! Another bonus to this situation is that Chase will get to grow up with his cousins (Dawn's girls/my nieces), because my mom will be taking care of all of her grandchildren together during the workweek. Praise God!
Tim and I took the hospital tour at Riverside Hospital on January 8th, so we're registered there and know what to expect when the big day comes. On the other hand, most of the child preparation classes at Riverside were filled up and they required a rather pricey fee; but, Dawn hooked us up with one of her co-workers who is certified to teach such classes. As a result, we're having a one-on-one session with the instructor this Saturday here at our house (for free too!). The instructor will be going over childbirth and baby basics.
The nursery is falling into place one step at a time. As you saw in my last post, the mural is almost done. Tim is working on installing ceiling fans in the nursery and our other spare bedroom now. I've started cleaning out all of the closets and bagging things to go up in the attic so that we'll have room for baby things.
We've registered at Babies R Us and Target. I'm still not done with the Target registry since I started it online and haven't actually been to the store yet. However, I feel relieved that things are gradually falling into place.
Chase seems to be healthy and kicking up a storm in my belly! I can't believe how much he's grown! I'm really starting to look and feel pregnant now.....never thought it would be difficult to shave my legs, put on my shoes, and paint my toenails until here recently!
My next posting will probably be in February (or as soon as I hear the results from the glucose test I'll have to take on Jan. 30th). These next few months are going to fly by with all of the doctors appointments, nesting, and baby showers!
Tim and I took the hospital tour at Riverside Hospital on January 8th, so we're registered there and know what to expect when the big day comes. On the other hand, most of the child preparation classes at Riverside were filled up and they required a rather pricey fee; but, Dawn hooked us up with one of her co-workers who is certified to teach such classes. As a result, we're having a one-on-one session with the instructor this Saturday here at our house (for free too!). The instructor will be going over childbirth and baby basics.
The nursery is falling into place one step at a time. As you saw in my last post, the mural is almost done. Tim is working on installing ceiling fans in the nursery and our other spare bedroom now. I've started cleaning out all of the closets and bagging things to go up in the attic so that we'll have room for baby things.
We've registered at Babies R Us and Target. I'm still not done with the Target registry since I started it online and haven't actually been to the store yet. However, I feel relieved that things are gradually falling into place.
Chase seems to be healthy and kicking up a storm in my belly! I can't believe how much he's grown! I'm really starting to look and feel pregnant now.....never thought it would be difficult to shave my legs, put on my shoes, and paint my toenails until here recently!
My next posting will probably be in February (or as soon as I hear the results from the glucose test I'll have to take on Jan. 30th). These next few months are going to fly by with all of the doctors appointments, nesting, and baby showers!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
6 Months and Lots of Pics
This is the incredible mural I've been talking about in previous blog postings. This is our soon-to-be nursery! In this picture, you can see a treasure chest, sea ray, and lots of neat coral that Tim's mom painted.
Tim's mom painting fish: the fish are the finishing touch to the mural....she's almost done!
Tim's mom painting fish: the fish are the finishing touch to the mural....she's almost done!
Dolphins swimming around....can you imagine how intrigued Chase will be staring at all of the cool stuff painted in the mural?!!
More Colorful Coral
The mommy and daddy-to-be
The mommy-to-be looking rounder by the day!
More Colorful Coral
The mommy and daddy-to-be
The mommy-to-be looking rounder by the day!
Happy New Year to all of my fellow bloggers! Tim and I had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s. It was so nice to have a break from work, and we enjoyed spending time with family. We received so many nice gifts for Christmas—in fact, Chase got a lot of nice things too! In addition to Chase’s Christmas gifts, my neighbor who had a baby boy back in October has been giving us all of the baby clothes as her son is outgrowing them. We feel like we’re off to a good start on accumulating baby supplies, but there is still a lot left for us to buy. We registered at Babies R Us on Friday—had a good time scanning everything on our wish list! Our next big task is to get furniture. We have a few cribs and dressers in mind, but haven’t purchased anything yet. Tim’s mom came up with a great idea to use our hallway closet (which is huge—it was initially intended for a washer and dryer) as a changing station, so that would be a great way for us to save space in the nursery and keep the changing table and diapers stowed away elsewhere. The closet is right next to the nursery/bedroom door, so it’s conveniently located too. In order to implement Pam’s great idea, we have to make a home for all of the stuff that is currently in the closet. So much to do in the remaining three months!
Chase has definitely hit a growth spurt (and so have I). I went from only feeling a few flutters just a month ago to feeling strong kicks and punches now. It is such a blessing to feel those signs of life! Tim has been enjoying feeling his son move around too. Sometimes when I fall asleep on the couch or in bed while Tim is still awake, Tim will place his hand on my belly and feel Chase moving around even when I’m unaware of it. Too cool! I’m thankful to have a husband who is just as excited to have a baby as I am!
What a busy week! We went on the Riverside Hospital tour for expectant parents Thursday night. I’m all registered to deliver there and we’ve been prepped on what to expect when the big day comes. We also have a pediatrician squared away—Dr. Baust at Peninsula Pediatrics in Port Warwick. (Thanks for all of your great recommendations!) I had my 6-month check-up on Friday. Chase’s heartbeat is going strong and my blood pressure and weight are still doing great (with the exception of two extra pounds I gained from all of the holiday munching I did during the last month). My next OB visit on January 30th will entail glucose testing for gestational diabetes, so I’m hoping and praying everything will be normal. After Jan. 30th, I’ll start seeing my OB every two weeks, and I’ll have my next ultrasound at 32 weeks.
We still haven’t gotten the childcare situation completely ironed out, but I trust God will provide the perfect person to fill that important position. My grandmother opted out of babysitting all together (she was originally going to cover Tuesdays and Thursdays)—I think she is afraid to bite off more than she can chew since she is almost 83 years old. There is a possibility my mom will take care of Chase full-time (Mondays-Fridays) since she says she is cutting her night-shift nursing job back to part-time hours (versus the full-time hours she’s currently working). In doing so, she would also be taking care of my two nieces along with Chase—which would be great bonding time with her grandchildren, and it would be awesome for my sister and me since we know Mom would be such a great, trustworthy babysitter. So, we’ll see what happens there. In the meantime, I’m still searching for other potential babysitters just in case the situation with my mom falls through.
That’s enough of a novel for now. I’ll post again at seven months or sooner.
Chase has definitely hit a growth spurt (and so have I). I went from only feeling a few flutters just a month ago to feeling strong kicks and punches now. It is such a blessing to feel those signs of life! Tim has been enjoying feeling his son move around too. Sometimes when I fall asleep on the couch or in bed while Tim is still awake, Tim will place his hand on my belly and feel Chase moving around even when I’m unaware of it. Too cool! I’m thankful to have a husband who is just as excited to have a baby as I am!
What a busy week! We went on the Riverside Hospital tour for expectant parents Thursday night. I’m all registered to deliver there and we’ve been prepped on what to expect when the big day comes. We also have a pediatrician squared away—Dr. Baust at Peninsula Pediatrics in Port Warwick. (Thanks for all of your great recommendations!) I had my 6-month check-up on Friday. Chase’s heartbeat is going strong and my blood pressure and weight are still doing great (with the exception of two extra pounds I gained from all of the holiday munching I did during the last month). My next OB visit on January 30th will entail glucose testing for gestational diabetes, so I’m hoping and praying everything will be normal. After Jan. 30th, I’ll start seeing my OB every two weeks, and I’ll have my next ultrasound at 32 weeks.
We still haven’t gotten the childcare situation completely ironed out, but I trust God will provide the perfect person to fill that important position. My grandmother opted out of babysitting all together (she was originally going to cover Tuesdays and Thursdays)—I think she is afraid to bite off more than she can chew since she is almost 83 years old. There is a possibility my mom will take care of Chase full-time (Mondays-Fridays) since she says she is cutting her night-shift nursing job back to part-time hours (versus the full-time hours she’s currently working). In doing so, she would also be taking care of my two nieces along with Chase—which would be great bonding time with her grandchildren, and it would be awesome for my sister and me since we know Mom would be such a great, trustworthy babysitter. So, we’ll see what happens there. In the meantime, I’m still searching for other potential babysitters just in case the situation with my mom falls through.
That’s enough of a novel for now. I’ll post again at seven months or sooner.
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