Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Baby Mania

As the time dwindles down, everything is baby, baby, baby. This week we had lot going on. Monday night we started with a class. Family & Friends CPR & First Aid. The class was good, minus one of the couples taking it. The husband was an arrogant know it all, and the wife was the opposite. She wouldn't stop asking questions, which normally I'm fine with, except for when it's questions like "what if they're choking on a piece of food?" to "ok, well what if they're choking on this kind of food?" Um, they're choking, it's all the same. During the class we went over CPR for adults, children, and infants, and then went into choking for the 3 and the differences between them. The second part of the class is dedicated to first aid, and we'll be doing that tonight.

Tuesday night we finally got onto the tour of the Birth Center. I am feeling much more relaxed and at ease about my hospital stay. It's an all new wing. Very secure. There is no way into the baby floors without going past a security guard. Everyone has to show ID. Baby gets an ankle bracelet that will sound every alarm if taken near any exits or elevators. The rooms are all clean and nice. The labor/delivery room is large, has a whirlpool tub, birthing balls, private bathrooms with showers, tvs, cd/mp3 players, mini fridge, a sofa, a glider, and basically everything you could need. The Mother/Baby rooms where you spend the next 2 days are almost as nice, just a little smaller and no tub.

Started my weekly appointments today, and it didn't start out great. My blood pressure was the highest its ever been and there was protein in my urine. Early signs of preeclampsia. My doctor sent me to the lab to do blood work, which a couple hours later I got a phone call saying everything came back normal. Thankfully. Now it's just an added worry and something they are going to monitor more closely. Over the weekend I have to do a 24 hour urine check, meaning I have to collect my pee in a jug for a full 24 hours and then take it into the lab to get checked for the protein levels. They'll have the results by my next appoint on Tuesday morning and we'll just go from there. If it does get worse, then it will be delievery sooner then expected. The only cure for preeclampsia is to not be pregnant anymore. Just one more thing to worry about. This is just proving that pregnancy is difficult and I'm not very good at it. I don't know why I'm planning on doing this again.......

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Education and a Checkup

The past week has been all baby, all the time. After our shower, I spent the day going through everything that we got. There was so much! After doing a lot of laundry, a lot of cleaning, and a lot of organizing, I made a list of what we still needed. Not much was on there. So Gary & I headed to Babies R Us to use some gift cards and get the remaining things we need. Gift cards are the greatest thing ever. Shopping for free, who doesn't love that? While we were out shopping, we were attempting to make some decisions on what types of things to get. We were stuck on bottles. We have one set that I'm excited to try with Isabella. But I know that babies are picky about what they will actually take. So we ended up not getting anything, and are going to wait and see. We still have close to $100 left in gift cards, and have almost everything that we need. So I'd say we're in excellect shape.

Last Wednesday I had a checkup. Everything with baby is looking great. Heartbeat and size are right on track. As for me, well I'm doing ok. Exhaustion is really getting me down. I'm also having severe back pain. By the end of the day, I struggle to walk. Both of my doctors have talked to me about doing physical therapy, but I haven't given in yet. I am going down in my hours at work, only doing 6 hours a day instead of 8 and going to see if that helps. Hoping it will. If, after this week of reduced hours, it doesn't help then I will be forced to do physical therapy at least once a week. I'm so close to my due date that I hope I don't have to add this into my schedule.

Wednesday night, Gary & I took a class on "Baby Basics." I think it was really helpful for both of us to think about being home with  the baby and all the things that we have to do. We also got to just get into the hospitial and find where we need to go when I am in labor. We also learned more about the hospital itself and what to expect. The class was taught by one of the delivery nurses so she was very upfront with us on how things work. Any vistors that come to the hospital have to go to security before being allowed onto the baby floor. ID's are a must unless you're underage. As a patient, Gary & I have the ability to say if we want visitors or not, and when we want them. During the class we went over the basic care that we will be giving Isabella. We went over the importance of saftey and paying attention to the little things. We got to play with dolls and change a diaper and then learn to swaddle them. Also went over giving a bath and putting the baby in the car seat. Overall it was a great way to learn/relearn the things that we really need to know. Speaking of car seats, Gary went to get ours checked on Thursday and it was almost perfect. The only thing he had to change was the angle setting but otherwise everything else was perfect. :)

We are almost ready now. A few small things to do around the house, and we'll be done. Reorganizing the kitchen is the biggest thing. We need to make space for her bottles (that we have to buy) and her baby bullet from Megan. I'm so excited to make her baby food! After reading through the booklet that came with it, I realized just how much money I can really save by making her food instead of buying pre-bottled baby food. Now I just have to wait until she's big enough to start using it. It is really great though that we did get some things that are going to be good when she's older, so we don't have to worry as she grows.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Shower of Love! Again!

Again we were able to spend a day with family and friends celebrating the upcoming arrival of our little one. It was a fantastic day. My mother in law threw the party at Angellino's Resturant in CT. She had a wonderful Princess cake made. Some of my college friends that I haven't seen since my wedding were there. Gary's extended family was there, and a few family friends. And of course our cutest guest, Cameran. We ended the day with a ton of gifts, and a lot of love.

On a sad note, Gary's Gram passed away last week. We're both very sad and wish that she could have met Isabella. It has been a rough year for the Jones family. First losing his Grandfather in June, and Grandma Jones in September. We will all miss both of them very much, and remember them everyday.