Bargain Shopper!

So I just totally scored on craigslist! I got a $60 Snuggle Nest (off our registry) for 10 bucks! It's practically brand new in the box too. i'm SO awesome!

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2266116

Blogging Boredom

So I am bored today and trying to entertain myself by searching Craigslist for baby stuff and blogging. :)

I've been posting some interesting summary articles on some of the parenting practices that we are interested in. I've copied them from AskDrSears.com

Dr. Sears is famous for writing like a gazillion books on pregnancy, birth, and parenting. Anyway, he's basically the one who came up with the term "attachment parenting".

And no, i'm not criticizing the way anyone else has raised or is raising their children. I'm just blogging about things that Mark and I are learning about and are interesting in trying.

Co-Sleeping

7 BENEFITS OF CO-SLEEPING: MEDICAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL

There is no right or wrong place for baby to sleep. Wherever all family members sleep the best is the right arrangement for you. Remember, over half the world's population sleeps with their baby, and more and more parents in the U.S. are sharing sleep with their little one. Here's why:

1. Babies sleep better

Sleepsharing babies usually go to sleep and stay asleep better. Being parented to sleep at the breast of mother or in the arms of father creates a healthy go-to-sleep attitude. Baby learns that going to sleep is a pleasant state to enter (one of our goals of nighttime parenting).

Babies stay asleep better. Put yourself in the sleep pattern of baby. As baby passes from deep sleep into light sleep, he enters a vulnerable period for nightwaking, a transition state that may occur as often as every hour and from which it is difficult for baby to resettle on his own into a deep sleep. You are a familiar attachment person whom baby can touch, smell, and hear. Your presence conveys an "It's OK to go back to sleep" message. Feeling no worry, baby peacefully drifts through this vulnerable period of nightwaking and reenters deep sleep. If baby does awaken, she is sometimes able to resettle herself because you are right there. A familiar touch, perhaps a few minutes' feed, and you comfort baby back into deep sleep without either member of the sleep-sharing pair fully awakening.

Many babies need help going back to sleep because of a developmental quirk called object or person permanence. When something or someone is out of sight, it is out of mind. Most babies less than a year old do not have the ability to think of mother as existing somewhere else. When babies awaken alone in a crib, they become frightened and often unable to resettle back into deep sleep. Because of this separation anxiety, they learn that sleep is a fearful state to remain in (not one of our goals of nighttime parenting).

2. Mothers sleep better

Many mothers and infants are able to achieve nighttime harmony: babies and mothers get their sleep cycles in sync with one another.

Martha notes: "I would automatically awaken seconds before my baby would. When the baby started to squirm, I would lay on a comforting hand and she would drift back to sleep. Sometimes I did this automatically and I didn't even wake up."

Contrast sleepsharing with the crib and nursery scene. The separate sleeper awakens – alone and behind bars. He is out of touch. He first squirms and whimpers. Still out of touch. Separation anxiety sets in, baby becomes scared, and the cry escalates into an all-out wail or plea for help. This piercing cry awakens even the most long distance mother, who jumps up (sometimes out of the state of deep sleep, which is what leads to most nighttime exhaustion), and staggers reluctantly down the hall. By the time mother reaches the baby, baby is wide awake and upset, mother is wide awake and upset, and the comforting that follows becomes a reluctant duty rather than an automatic nurturant response. It takes longer to resettle an upset solo sleeper than it does a half-asleep baby who is sleeping within arm's reach of mother. Once baby does fall asleep, mother is still wide-awake and too upset to resettle easily. If, however, the baby is sleeping next to mother and they have their sleep cycles in sync, most mothers and babies can quickly resettle without either member of the sleepsharing pair fully awakening. Being awakened suddenly and completely from a state of deep sleep to attend to a hungry or frightened baby is what leads to sleep-deprived parents and fearful babies.

3. Breastfeeding is easier

Most veteran breastfeeding mothers have, for survival, learned that sharing sleep makes breastfeeding easier. Breastfeeding mothers find it easier than bottlefeeding mothers to get their sleep cycles in sync with their babies. They often wake up just before the babies awaken for a feeding. By being there and anticipating the feeding, mother can breastfeed baby back to a deep sleep before baby (and often mother) fully awakens.

A mother who had achieved nighttime-nursing harmony with her baby shared the following story with us:
"About thirty seconds before my baby wakes up for a feeding, my sleep seems to lighten and I almost wake up. By being able to anticipate his feeding, I usually can start breastfeeding him just as he begins to squirm and reach for the nipple. Getting him to suck immediately keeps him from fully waking up, and then we both drift back into a deep sleep right after feeding."

Mothers who experience daytime breastfeeding difficulties report that breastfeeding becomes easier when they sleep next to their babies at night and lie down with baby and nap nurse during the day. We believe baby senses that mother is more relaxed, and her milk-producing hormones work better when she is relaxed or sleeping.

4. It's contemporary parenting

Sleepsharing is even more relevant in today's busy lifestyles. As more and more mothers, out of necessity, are separated from their baby during the day, sleeping with their baby at night allows them to reconnect and make up for missed touch time during the day. As a nighttime perk, the relaxing hormones that are produced in response to baby nursing relax a mother and help her wind down from the tension of a busy day's work.

5. Babies thrive better

Over the past thirty years of observing sleepsharing families in our pediatric practice, we have noticed one medical benefit that stands out; these babies thrive . "Thriving" means not only getting bigger, but also growing to your full potential, emotionally, physically, and intellectually. Perhaps it's the extra touch that stimulates development, or perhaps the extra feedings (yes, sleepsharing infants breastfeed more often than solo sleepers).

6. Parents and infants become more connected

Remember that becoming connected is the basis of parenting, and one of your early goals of parenting. In our office, we keep a file entitled "Kids Who Turned Out Well, What Their Parents Did." We have noticed that infants who sleep with their parents (some or all of the time during those early formative years) not only thrive better, but infants and parents are more connected.

7. Reduces the risk of SIDS

New research is showing what parents the world over have long suspected: infants who sleep safely nestled next to parents are less likely to succumb to the tragedy of SIDS. Yet, because SIDS is so rare (.5 to 1 case per 1,000 infants), this worry should not be a reason to sleep with your baby. (For in depth information on the science of sleepsharing and the experiments showing how sleep benefits a baby's nighttime physiology. (See SIDS)

Co-sleeping does not always work and some parents simply do not want to sleep with their baby. Sleepsharing is an optional attachment tool. You are not bad parents if you don't sleep with your baby. Try it. If it's working and you enjoy it, continue. If not, try other sleeping arrangements (an alternative is the sidecar arrangement: place a crib or co-sleeper adjacent to your bed).

New parents often worry that their child will get so used to sleeping with them that he may never want to leave their bed. Yes, if you're used to sleeping first-class, you are reluctant to be downgraded. Like weaning from the breast, infants do wean from your bed (usually sometime around two years of age). Keep in mind that sleepsharing may be the arrangement that is designed for the safety and security of babies. The time in your arms, at your breast, and in your bed is a very short time in the total life of your child, yet the memories of love and availability last a lifetime.

Babywearing

THE BENEFITS OF BABYWEARING

1. Sling babies cry less. Parents in my practice commonly report, "As long as I wear her, she's content!" Parents of fussy babies who try babywearing relate that their babies seem to forget to fuss. This is more than just my own impression. In 1986, a team of pediatricians in Montreal reported on a study of ninety-nine mother-infant pairs. The first group of parents were provided with a baby carrier and assigned to carry their babies for at least three extra hours a day. They were encouraged to carry their infants throughout the day, regardless of the state of the infant, not just in response to crying or fussing. In the control, or noncarried group, parents were not given any specific instructions about carrying. After six weeks, the infants who received supplemental carrying cried and fussed 43 percent less than the noncarried group.

Anthropologists who travel throughout the world studying infant-care practices in other cultures agree that infants in babywearing cultures cry much less. In Western culture we measure a baby's crying in hours, but in other cultures, crying is measured in minutes. We have been led to believe that it is "normal" for babies to cry a lot, but in other cultures this is not accepted as the norm. In these cultures, babies are normally "up" in arms and are put down only to sleep – next to the mother. When the parent must attend to her own needs, the baby is in someone else's arms.

2. Sling babies learn more. If infants spend less time crying and fussing, what do they do with the free time? They learn! Sling babies spend more time in the state of quiet alertness . This is the behavioral state in which an infant is most content and best able to interact with his environment. It may be called the optimal state of learning for a baby. Researchers have also reported that carried babies show enhanced visual and auditory alertness.

The behavioral state of quiet alertness also gives parents a better opportunity to interact with their baby. Notice how mother and baby position their faces in order to achieve this optimal visually interactive plane. The human face, especially in this position, is a potent stimulator for interpersonal bonding. In the kangaroo carry, baby has a 180-degree view of her environment and is able to scan her world. She learns to choose, picking out what she wishes to look at and shutting out what she doesn't. This ability to make choices enhances learning. A sling baby learns a lot in the arms of a busy caregiver.

3. Sling babies are more organized. It's easier to understand babywearing when you think of a baby's gestation as lasting eighteen months – nine months inside the womb and at least nine more months outside. The womb environment automatically regulates baby's systems. Birth temporarily disrupts this organization. The more quickly, however, baby gets outside help with organizing these systems, the more easily he adapts to the puzzle of life outside the womb. By extending the womb experience, the babywearing mother (and father) provides an external regulating system that balances the irregular and disorganized tendencies of the baby. Picture how these regulating systems work. Mother's rhythmic walk, for example, (which baby has been feeling for nine months) reminds baby of the womb experience. This familiar rhythm, imprinted on baby's mind in the womb, now reappears in the "outside womb" and calms baby. As baby places her ear against her mother's chest, mother's heartbeat, beautifully regular and familiar, reminds baby of the sounds of the womb. As another biological regulator, baby senses mother's rhythmic breathing while worn tummy- to-tummy, chest-to-chest. Simply stated, regular parental rhythms have a balancing effect on the infant's irregular rhythms. Babywearing "reminds" the baby of and continues the motion and balance he enjoyed in the womb.

SLING TIP: The womb lasts eighteen months: Nine months inside mother, and nine months outside.

What may happen if the baby spends most of his time lying horizontally in a crib, attended to only for feeding and comforting, and then again separated from mother? A newborn has an inherent urge to become organized, to fit into his or her new environment. If left to his own resources, without the regulating presence of the mother, the infant may develop disorganized patterns of behavior: colicky cries, jerky movements, disorganized self-rocking behaviors, anxious thumb sucking, irregular breathing, and disturbed sleep. The infant, who is forced to self-calm, wastes valuable energy he could have used to grow and develop.

While there is a variety of child-rearing theories, attachment researchers all agree on one thing: In order for a baby's emotional, intellectual, and physiological systems to function optimally, the continued presence of the mother, as during babywearing, is a necessary regulatory influence.

4. Sling babies get "humanized" earlier. Another reason that babywearing enhances learning is that baby is intimately involved in the caregiver's world. Baby sees what mother or father sees, hears what they hear, and in some ways feels what they feel. Carried babies become more aware of their parents' faces, walking rhythms, and scents. Baby becomes aware of, and learns from, all the subtle facial expressions, body language, voice inflections and tones, breathing patterns, and emotions of the caregiver. A parent will relate to the baby a lot more often, because baby is sitting right under her nose. Proximity increases interaction, and baby can constantly be learning how to be human. Carried babies are intimately involved in their parents' world because they participate in what mother and father are doing. A baby worn while a parent washes dishes, for example, hears, smells, sees, and experiences in depth the adult world. He is more exposed to and involved in what is going on around him. Baby learns much in the arms of a busy person.

5. Sling babies are smarter. Environmental experiences stimulate nerves to branch out and connect with other nerves, which helps the brain grow and develop. Babywearing helps the infant's developing brain make the right connections. Because baby is intimately involved in the mother and father's world, she is exposed to, and participates in, the environmental stimuli that mother selects and is protected from those stimuli that bombard or overload her developing nervous system. She so intimately participates in what mother is doing that her developing brain stores a myriad of experiences, called patterns of behavior. These experiences can be thought of as thousands of tiny short-run movies that are filed in the infant's neurological library to be rerun when baby is exposed to a similar situation that reminds her of the making of the original "movie." For example, mothers often tell me, "As soon as I pick up the sling and put it on, my baby lights up and raises his arms as if in anticipation that he will soon be in my arms and in my world."

I have noticed that sling babies seem more attentive, clicking into adult conversations as if they were part of it. Babywearing enhances speech development. Because baby is up at voice and eye level, he is more involved in conversations. He learns a valuable speech lesson – the ability to listen.

Normal ambient sounds, such as the noises of daily activities, may either have learning value for the infant or disturb him. If baby is alone, sounds may frighten him. If baby is worn, these sounds have learning value. The mother filters out what she perceives as unsuitable for the baby and gives the infant an "It's okay" feeling when he is exposed to unfamiliar sounds and experiences.

Back to top

SAFE BABYWEARING

• While you are getting used to wearing your baby, support him with your hands. As you go through the learning phase of moving and reacting, the urge to support your baby with your hands is instinctive. After you become a babywearing veteran, you can safely carry your baby in the sling with one or both hands free.
• Wear baby cautiously in the kitchen. Do not wear baby while cooking or working with sharp or hot objects.
• Do not drink hot beverages when wearing baby, although wearing baby while eating is safe.
• When wearing your baby and stooping over, bend at the knees, not at the waist, and hold baby in the sling with one hand.
• Toddlers, if worn are at your reaching level, can grab dangerous or breakable objects off shelves. Keep an arm's distance away from potential hazards.
• When going through doorways or around corners, be careful that baby's body does not stick out past your arm and strike the wall or doorjamb.
• Do not ride a bicycle or other moving vehicle while wearing your baby. Baby carriers are not substitutes for an approved carseat.

New EDD

I forgot to add that when we saw Dr. Michele yesterday she also decided to move our estimated due date from Sept. 7 to Sept. 11. The 11th was the date they gave us at the 8 week ultrasound but our previous OB wasn't going to change it. Dr. Michele said that it would help us to have a couple of extra days in there in case we went over to reduce the chance of having to induce labor.

oh, and i'm starting to look pregnant all of a sudden. yay! :D

Entering Week 18/ Month 5

See the big picture

How your baby's growing:

Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin and her ears are now in position and stand out from her head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

March Dr's Appt.

Went to the OB this morning for our monthly checkup. I've lost another 3 pounds, so that's down 8 pounds so far. they also were concerned about the glucose in my urine so she decided to do a early Glucose Challenge Screening Test which they normally don't do until 28 weeks. I had to drink a bottle of what tasted like orange soda and then wait an hour, and then get blood drawn. We should find out the results on Mon. or Tues. I think depending on what that test says, they give you the three hour version called the Glucose Tolerance Test. but I could be wrong on that. anyway, it's all to see if you are developing Gestational Diabetes.

We also scheduled our next appt. and our big ultrasound for April 25th. We'll find out the sex of the baby that day! very exciting. :)

Oh, and the baby's heartbeat sounded good and when she pushed on my tummy she said "oh good, right where it should be" lol. so i guess that's good too.

Back to Work!

Yay! I get to go back to work!

Sandy landed a judicial clerkship that starts on Monday. Go Sandy! I know she's sad to leave Ilena to go back to work but I'm making it my mission to help as much as I can to make it easier. That's why nannies are so awesome, we can do your chores, run errands and get dinner ready too! :D

anyhoo, i'm really excited to have something to do again now that i feel so much better. and i keep thinking about how cute it's going to be for Ilena and our Little One to be buddies and play together. I'm really thankful that things have worked out pretty much the way I planned it and I'll be able to keep baby with me AND work. and i couldn't ask for better people to work for, chuck and sandy are pretty awesome friends. the Norris family reigns supreme!

Infant Care

We had our Infant Care class last nite. Cyndie, Mark and I all went and sat through almost three hours of baby related info. I was the least pregnant, pregnant lady there I think, everyone else looked like they were about to pop. lol.

Mark was a superstar and asked the best question of the nite! The instructor was going on and on about all these tests that they run on the newborn and I was seriously about to freak out (Don't touch my baby!! AHHH!) LOL. anyway, so mark raises his hand and asks "sooooo...when do they start to do all these tests?" yayyy! my Mooty was on the same brainwave as me! she answered that they don't do it till the second day or right before you leave. later when we got home we were talking about how it would be awesome if they could leave all those tests for much later after Little One has had a chance to get used to his/her's new environment. I mean jeez, baby is a little tired from being born and they want to take him/her away from mommy and daddy and start jabbing and probing! not cool!

the class was pretty good i thought, she did make a big deal out of mentioning that the AAP no longer recommends circumcision and that breastfeeding is better than bottlefeeding/formula. but then she totally rained on my parade by saying that you shouldn't co-sleep! uh, we're totally co-sleeping, the hospital's policy on that can majorly suck it!

Our Doula Rocks!

Our Doula Sarah has been an awesome resource in these early months when all I want to do is absorb information. :D The other day she stocked me up with like a gajillion sample packs of organic herbal teas and a bunch more books and dvds. Thanks Sarah!

Books:
Mind Over Labor
Natural Pregnancy
A Good Birth, A Safe Birth
Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives: A Holistic Guide to Pregnancy

DVDs:
The First Hour of Life
The 3 R's of Childbirth
Giving Birth - Challenges & Choices
Delivery - Self Attachment
A Visual Guide to Breastfeeding
Happiest Baby on the Block
Research Medical Center's "You and Your Baby" (what they send home with new parents i'm assuming. was interesting even though we are not birthing at that hospital)

Attachment Parenting

7 ATTACHMENT TOOLS: THE BABY B'S

1. Birth bonding

The way baby and parents get started with one another helps the early attachment unfold. The days and weeks after birth are a sensitive period in which mothers and babies are uniquely primed to want to be close to one another. A close attachment after birth and beyond allows the natural, biological attachment-promoting behaviors of the infant and the intuitive, biological, caregiving qualities of the mother to come together. Both members of this biological pair get off to the right start at a time when the infant is most needy and the mother is most ready to nurture (see Bonding)

"What if something happens to prevent our immediate bonding?"

Sometimes medical complications keep you and your baby apart for a while, but then catch-up bonding is what happens, starting as soon as possible. When the concept of bonding was first delivered onto the parenting scene twenty years ago, some people got it out of balance. The concept of human bonding being an absolute "critical period" or a "now-or-never" relationship was never intended. Birth bonding is not like instant glue that cements the mother-child relationship together forever. Bonding is a series of steps in your lifelong growing together with your child. Immediate bonding simply gives the parent- infant relationship a headstart. (See "Birth Bonding")

2. Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is an exercise in babyreading. Breastfeeding helps you read your baby's cues, her body language, which is the first step in getting to know your baby. Breastfeeding gives baby and mother a smart start in life. Breastmilk contains unique brain-building nutrients that cannot be manufactured or bought. Breastfeeding promotes the right chemistry between mother and baby by stimulating your body to produce prolactin and oxytocin, hormones that give your mothering a boost.

3. Babywearing

A baby learns a lot in the arms of a busy caregiver. Carried babies fuss less and spend more time in the state of quiet alertness, the behavior state in which babies learn most about their environment. Babywearing improves the sensitivity of the parents. Because your baby is so close to you, you get to know baby better. Closeness promotes familiarity. (Click here for more information on Babywearing)

4. Bedding close to baby

Wherever all family members get the best night's sleep is the right arrangement for your individual family. Co-sleeping co-sleeping adds a nighttime touch that helps busy daytime parents reconnect with their infant at night. Since nighttime is scary time for little people, sleeping within close touching and nursing distance minimizes nighttime separation anxiety and helps baby learn that sleep is a pleasant state to enter and a fearless state to remain in.

5. Belief in the language value of your baby's cry

A baby's cry is a signal designed for the survival of the baby and the development of the parents. Responding sensitively to your baby's cries builds trust. Babies trust that their caregivers will be responsive to their needs. Parents gradually learn to trust in their ability to appropriately meet their baby's needs. This raises the parent-child communication level up a notch. Tiny babies cry to communicate, not to manipulate. (See Crying and Cry it Out)

6. Beware of baby trainers

Attachment parenting teaches you how to be discerning of advice, especially those rigid and extreme parenting styles that teach you to watch a clock or a schedule instead of your baby; you know, the cry-it-out crowd. This "convenience" parenting is a short-term gain, but a long-term loss, and is not a wise investment. These more restrained styles of parenting create a distance between you and your baby and keep you from becoming an expert in your child.

7. Balance

In your zeal to give so much to your baby, it's easy to neglect the needs of yourself and your marriage. As you will learn the key to putting balance in your parenting is being appropriately responsive to your baby – knowing when to say "yes" and when to say "no," and having the wisdom to say "yes" to yourself when you need help.

MORE ABOUT ATTACHMENT PARENTING

• AP is a starter style. There may be medical or family circumstances why you are unable to practice all of these baby B's. Attachment parenting implies first opening your mind and heart to the individual needs of your baby, and eventually you will develop the wisdom on how to make on-the-spot decisions on what works best for both you and your baby. Do the best you can with the resources you have – that's all your child will ever expect of you. These baby B's help parents and baby get off to the right start. Use these as starter tips to work out your own parenting style – one that fits the individual needs of your child and your family. Attachment parenting helps you develop your own personal parenting style.
• AP is an approach, rather than a strict set of rules. It's actually the style that many parents use instinctively. Parenting is too individual and baby too complex for there to be only one way. The important point is to get connected to your baby, and the baby B's of attachment parenting help. Once connected, stick with what is working and modify what is not. You will ultimately develop your own parenting style that helps parent and baby find a way to fit – the little word that so economically describes the relationship between parent and baby.
• AP is responsive parenting. By becoming sensitive to the cues of your infant, you learn to read your baby's level of need. Because baby trusts that his needs will be met and his language listened to, the infant trusts in his ability to give cues. As a result, baby becomes a better cue-giver, parents become better cue-readers, and the whole parent-child communication network becomes easier.
• AP is a tool. Tools are things you use to complete a job. The better the tools, the easier and the better you can do the job. Notice we use the term "tools" rather than "steps." With tools you can pick and choose which of those fit your personal parent-child relationship. Steps imply that you have to use all the steps to get the job done. Think of attachment parenting as connecting tools, interactions with your infant that help you and your child get connected. Once connected, the whole parent-child relationship (discipline, healthcare, and plain old having fun with your child) becomes more natural and enjoyable. Consider AP a discipline tool. The better you know your child, the more your child trusts you, and the more effective your discipline will be. You will find it easier to discipline your child and your child will be easier to discipline.

Entering Week 17

Click to enlarge

How your baby's growing:

Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and he's around 5 inches long. He can move his joints, and his skeleton — until now rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden to bone. His sense of hearing is also developing. The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker.

The Business of Being Born

This was such a good documentary. Not just for pregnant peeps like me! lol. :D

Baby on the Brain

so when i was bored and started our baby registry like a million years early, i added everything that looked cool and i assumed that you needed for a baby. now that i'm doing some more reading, i've realized that babies don't really need all that much stuff, so i've done some downsizing of our wishlist alot.

i figure mostly we are just going to need a couple of baby slings, a carseat, a bunch of cloth diapers/covers, and some onesies. lol. pretty simple. :) but i still have some "wants but not necessarily needs" items that just seem like they'd make life easier.

like this thing: MiracleBlanket
-when i was nannying for Ilena and was swaddling her, it never seemed to stay put together right, so this product seems like a super genius idea to me.

and these are a couple of the slings we looked at:MayaWrap and MobyWrap

I'm seriously considering not bothering with a crib at all. we want to do "bed sharing" for as long as we breastfeed (hopefully till about 2 years), and by that time I think baby would be perfectly safe in the antique toddler bed that I have from my grandmother ( I slept in it till my legs hung down through the slats and i got evicted and forced to sleep in a big scary bed, lol). It just seems like such a pain to buy a crib and a mattress and all this stuff when I know i'm just going to want to snuggle up with my little papoose between us in our king size bed.

The biggest issue we're going to have is laying down MANY more rugs in our house. Alot is probably end up going towards those. i look around and kinda start freaking out a little at how un-baby-friendly our house is at this point. As it gets warmer we're just going to have to take it one room at a time i guess and clean the crap out of it and do some massive rearranging and packing up of stuff.

Unfortunately, I just don't have the energy to do anything yet except plan this all out in my head, blog and read. lol.

P.S. no, i'm not showing yet. but things should start moving along a bit in the next month i hope. i can't wait to have a baby belly!

Week 16

Click to enlarge

How your baby's growing:

At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, she'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling her weight and adding inches to her length. Her lower limbs are much more developed now. Her head is more erect than it has been, and her eyes have moved toward the front of her head. Your baby's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of her more advanced body systems are working, including her circulatory system and urinary tract. Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating her total blood volume through her body many times. (By the end of your pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts.) The patterning of her scalp has begun, though her hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, her eyes are moving (slowly), and she's even started growing toenails.

Peek-a-Boo!

We found you! YAYYYY!

We FINALLY mastered the art of the Doppler and found the baby's heartbeat at home last nite! I thought we were never going to find it!

Score: Baby 1000, Mommy & Daddy 1

"This white cat makes an AWESOME pillow!"

Mmmmm...tasty nicotine fingers!

Boy or Girl?

We will be finding out the sex of the baby in about 6 weeks at our 20 week ultrasound. Just FYI.

Entering Week 15

Click to enlarge

How your baby's growing:

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

See what's going on in your uterus this week.

Lemoooonnnnnnnn!! *Bono voice*

Click to enlarge

How your baby's growing:

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

See what's going on in your uterus this week.

Mothering Mag

oooooo! neat! i just got a digital subscription to Mothering magazine (natural family living), which is right up my alley!

http://www.mothering.com/

First Class, First Fear

Monday nite we went to our first pregnancy class! I was sooooo excited. :) It was Healthy Pregnancy at Olathe Medical Center. We thought it was great, even though I was the only one really talking and answering questions (thanks alot, other people in class for making me THAT person, lol). The childbirth educator was a wonderful woman and she was laughing that I could probably teach the class considering how much preparation I had already done. I told her I was definitely considering becoming certified as a childbirth educator and doula at some point in the future.

The only part that was a problem for me was the tour of the maternity ward. I stepped into the birthing suite and even though it was very nice, I immediately tensed up. I must have had a terrified look on my face because Mark pulled me aside in the hall and wanted to know what was wrong. I didn't have an answer for him. As much as I'm surrounding myself with positive people who will help me achieve my natural birth, it's still a hospital. I'm seeing that I probably will have a lot of work to do to try to overcome my uncomfortable feelings about the hospital. When everything seems to ride on my ability to completely relax and give control over to what my body will do on its own, I don't want to have that fear in the back of my mind messing things up.

I don't really know what my subconscious thinks the hospital is going to do to me. I haven't had much experience with hospitals besides a couple of car accident emergency room visits and watching my grandmother die in one. I guess maybe I agree with the mindset is that the hospital is for SICK or INJURED people and if I'm having a low-risk pregnancy and birth....why the hell am I going to a hospital for that? I'm not sick...and i'm not injured!

Anyway i'm agreeing to a hospital birth at this point for a couple of reasons: I found an awesome OB and midwife that i have total confidence in their ability to respect me and my birth (Thanks Doula Sarah!), and Mark is really scared and I want him to have a certain level of comfort so he can not worry as much about what can go wrong and be there for me completely. Oh, and insurance doesn't cover home birth costs. lol.

Inside An Information Junkie's Pregnancy

Our Pregnancy Book/DVD List:

Finished/In Process:
Birth: The surprising History of How we are Born
Childbirth Without Fear
Choosing Waterbirth
Your Pregnancy Week by Week
The Expectant Father
The Happiest Baby on the Block
The Pregnancy Book
Spiritual Midwifery
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth
Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering
Journey into Motherhood: Inspirational Stories of Natural Birth
Hypnobirthing
Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (Le Leche League)

Still to Read:
Birthing from Within
A Good Birth, A Safe Birth
The Baby Book
The Attachment Parenting Book
The Birth Book
The Breastfeeding Book
.........and more to come!

DVDs:
What Babies Want
My Body, My Baby, My Birth
Inside the Womb
From Conception to Birth
The Business of Being Born
Yoga Journal: Yoga for your Pregnancy
Prenatal Yoga with Shiva Rhea
Life's Greatest Miracle: Nova

Happy 13 Week Pre-Birthday Day!

Dear Baby:

Hullo little one! We keep trying to hear your heartbeat with the doppler, but we kinda suck at it and you are good at hiding. Since it is now officially the 2nd Trimester, we can buy you some stuff now! How exciting! We went and learned all about different kinds of cloth diapers and baby slings yesterday, we think you are really going to like them. Mommy hopes you've been enjoying all the Twizzlers she's been feeding you, they are pretty much the best candy EVAR, except for gummi bears. Aunt Cyndie bought you a book about Irish Fairy & Folk Tales last nite, so Daddy will probably start reading that to you soon. Mommy and Aunt Cyndie are going to take you for a walk later and don't forget we go swimming at the YMCA several times a week now, I know you look forward to that!

We love you little one, keep growing and in another 6 months we'll welcome you to the outside world!

love,
mommy & daddy