Our friends held a baby shower for us this weekend! It was just down the street from our apartment at our friends' (JP and Fran) place. They hosted the party in their beautiful little backyard, and we were blessed with wonderful weather. Guests brought a dish to share and they had a little grill for cooking up burgers. It was great to hang out with everyone and catch up- I feel like such a recluse lately! The party itself was great, and we received some really nice gifts from our friends. One last hoorah before Jr. pops! A few pictures from the shower can be seen HERE via Snapfish.com.

To our friends: thanks so much for the presents and the fantastic party! I can't wait for you all to meet our little guy!
- posted by Ma @ 10:25 PM

 
The blood pressure issues seem to be in-check. I went to the Antenatal Resource Center (ARC) on Friday to have a non-stress test (basically fetal/mommy monitoring) and an ultrasound (to check for fluid levels) done. Everything looked good, so they sent me on my way. I need to come back next week for a follow-up. If I did develop high-blood pressure complications, I would not be considered low-risk, and would not be allowed to use the ABC rooms. Let's hope that bp stays where it should.

Of course I have a new problem now. Itchy, raised bumps are showing up on my tummy, mostly where my newly formed stretch marks have popped up. This stuff is driving me batty! It reminds me a lot of poison ivy. The bumps seem to be spreading and multiplying since they first arrived on Wednesday- of course they started AFTER my appt with the OB. I've been applying lotion and aloe regularly, which provide some temporary relief. My doctor recommended taking Benedryl at night for a for days. If it gets worse they'll prescribe cortisone. As long as it doesn't spread too much more, I think I'll stick to the topical relief as much as possible.

I arranged for an appointment with the midwives that my OB's group are partnered with (next Tuesday). I'm looking forward to discussing my birth preferences with them.
- posted by Ma @ 9:42 AM

 
35 Weeks

I finally posted some prego pictures online on Snapfish.com. It's kind of a pain since you have to create a "log-in" to view other people's pictures, but oh well. I got tired of trying to coordinate a time for Miller to put the pics up on the webspace he maintains. Enjoy!

Tonight Miller and I went to our second session of childbirth class. The instructor we had the first night has apparently been replaced- I really like the new instructor. She has 8 children, and has had just about every kind of labor and birth experience. She's had 3 C-sections (children 1, 5, and 8) as well as natural birth and epidural experience. She seems to be a great resource, and I like her teaching style. Anyway, class tonight focused on the initial stages of labor and breathing techniques. We were asked to bring along pillows and blankets so that we could sit on the floor and do some breathing exercises. I couldn't help but think of all those cliche scenes from every movie that ever featured a mom-to-be and her partner in a childbirth class. I felt kind of bizaro panting in front of a group of strangers, but Miller and I made the most of it. As usual, he kept me laughing through the majority of the session. I'm relying on this same support through the ACTUAL labor and birth as well!
- posted by Ma @ 10:08 PM

 
Today I had another prenatal appointment. Jr. is still measuring large (36 weeks), but seems busy and healthy as usual. I officially weigh 195 pounds! (My OB says that it's fine- I feel and look healthy.) My blood pressure was a little high however, so I had to have some lab work done to rule out toxemia and preclampsia. My doctor wants me to have a bit of monitoring done on Friday as well.

I discussed my thoughts about natural childbirth, using the ABC room, and my consideration of using a doula. My OB said that while her personal opinions vary from mine, she will support me in whatever decisions I make. Regarding natural childbirth, she feels that the medicine is there, might as well use it (why be in pain if not needed). The OB "team" that she is on has chosen (as a group) not to deliver in the ABC rooms. However, her team works with a group of midwives who DO deliver in these rooms. She gave me a contact number and encouraged me to inquire. Regarding doulas, her personal opinion was that for a well-informed and well-supported mother (baby's father/husband present), a doula is not needed. She suggested saving the money ($650-1000 range in Chicago) and investing it a college fund, for example. She did, however, admit that she would be in and out of the room often to attend to other patients, etc, and that the monitoring equiptment is there for that reason. I was a bit surprised by how differently our opinions matched up, but I was comforted by her willingness to support my ultimate decisions. Now, more pondering to do...
- posted by Ma @ 9:56 PM

 
Wow! I just realized how close that little baby (above) is getting to the end of the ticker bar! The end is just around the corner!
- posted by Ma @ 10:05 PM

 
Week 34

Well, the side effects o