Visibly pregnant voter

After my OB appointment this morning (more about that later), Corey and I voted in the presidential primary election. I was tickled to see a sign that informed everyone that the elderly, disabled, and the "visibly pregnant" would be allowed to skip to the front of the line. Wheeee!!

So we walk in all excited about skipping to the front of the line one to find that there is, in fact, no line. Bummer! Had there been a line, I would have felt bad leaving Corey at the back and probably not have exercised my right to skip anyway. Oh well -- at least we got out and performed our civic duties, right? I got one "I Voted" sticker for me, and one for my belly (the poll worker insisted).

ANYWAY, back to the OB appointment. We met the last doctor in the practice, Dr. Lynn Ellington. We really liked her, and not just because she's a Vandy Med School grad. My weight gain still looks great, my blood pressure is great, my fundus measurement is great, and the baby's heartbeat sounds great. Lots of greats. We were happy when Dr. Ellington confirmed Charlotte is still head down. Stay that way, kid!

Now we start going to appointments once a week. Dr. Bell will start checking me for dilation and effacement. Once I officially hit the 35-week mark, Dr. Ellington says they won't try very hard to stop my labor if I do go into pre-term labor (term is considered 37 weeks, even though the due date is calculated as 40 weeks). A lot of women who start getting contractions pre-term are just dehydrated, so I'm going to need to keep drinking lots of water over the next month to distinguish false labor from the real thing.

All in all, things are going very well!

34 Weeks!

I know we're approaching the hardest part of the pregnancy, and we're starting to suffer a little from a combination of impatience and worry that we're not quite ready. We want to meet Charlotte, but we still have a lot to get accomplished before she gets here. I'm having a hard time getting a good night's sleep, which definitely affects Corey (a very light sleeper!). Being tired and having less than a month left before my final day on the job is not helping me keep my mind on alumni development at work.

On the other hand, we really have to count our blessings that I'm not suffering from a lot of the physical and mental woes that the pregnancy books warn about. I'm able to go on our nightly dog walks (which are about a mile long), I'm not having pre-term labor, I'm not on bed rest, and I'm certainly not so miserable that I can't function. The biggest thing I really have to worry about it keeping my pants up and my belly covered while not getting so sick of my small pregnancy wardrobe that I want to scream each morning when getting dressed. I only have to come up with 21 more work outfits before I quit, and then I'm home free. My poor coworkers must be a little tired of seeing the same ensembles again and again.

We're excited for tonight's childbirthing class, because we get to tour the maternity floor, birthing rooms, nursery, etc. I have heard that the hospital recently completed a big renovation of that floor. It will help us get mentally prepared for the big day when it comes if we can picture in our minds the setting.

Here's what the BabyCenter.com says is happening with Charlotte this week:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

And from IAmPregnant.com:

Your baby's crown-to-rump length this week is approximately 12.8 inches and the total length is around 19.8 inches at this time. Your baby now weighs almost 5 pounds. Your baby's hair continues to get longer and thicker. Your baby's hair color probably is not going to be the same color from birth onwards, so you should expect it to change in color. Your baby is shedding most of lanugo, but the amount of vernix caseosa is increasing. If you were to deliver your baby now, it would probably be called a pre-term infant instead of premature. The only difference is in the maturity, particularly lung maturity. A pre-term baby is less likely to need intensive care because its lungs have developed. Doctors can test lung maturity with an amniocentesis that checks levels of surfactant. The baby now rests on your uterus and is no longer floating. Fingernails now reach over the finger tips and the baby can scratch itself.

Don't scratch yourself, Charlotte! We'll get you a little manicure once you have arrived. How does a nice shade of light pink sound?

Rehearsal

Apparently, Charlotte has invited some friends over for a dance party in my tummy right now. There is no way there is only one baby in there -- more like a trio of octopi rehearsing the Detroit Hustle. She was also jumping around a ton last night during childbirthing class while we learned about epidurals. I'm going to interpret that to mean she's all for them.

Anyway, the other night we took some more photos of a couple of items of baby gear with some stand-ins for the future user. Reclining comfortably in the safari bouncy seat (a gift from Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Don) is the super cute new pig I got from Sara Thomas at the baby shower (on which we put the keepsake booties sent by Great Aunt Sibyl). Below that is Charlotte, version 1.0 (aka the "Cabbage Patch Doll" my mom made me when I was little, and whom I named Charlotte after the spider in Charlotte's Web) waiting to be changed in the changing table part of the Pack 'n' Play (a gift from "Greatest" Aunt Janet, Great Grandma Meem, and cousin Lindsay). Next, I think we need to try out the swing and the carseat with another baby analog.





Last night during class, the instructor forgot to turn off one of the intercoms. Several times during class, the sound of a few bars of Brahms' Lullaby tinkled over the loudspeaker. We all figured it was someone's cell phone until Dawn explained that the music is broadcast every time a baby is born at that hospital. Everyone in the class giggled with excitement when she told us that. Now we have something new to look forward to -- hearing Charlotte's lullaby playing after she pops out!

Coming up on 33 weeks with 50 days to go

I was chatting with a colleague who raises money for another school at Vandy, and she mentioned that she had her baby at 33 weeks. CRIKEY! Corey's dad was very early (I seem to remember hearing it was about a month?), and my brother-in-law, Andrew, also came about a month early. Since 37 weeks is considered "term" (although they set the due date at 40 weeks), does that mean Larry and Andrew were born at about 33 weeks or so?

I forgot to mention in my post yesterday that Dr. Bell poked around and determined that Charlotte is in a head-down presentation. Babies are unlikely to flip around again after this point, so it's looking like we won't have a breech birth. We probably won't know whether she's in an anterior or posterior position (whether she's facing my spine or my belly) until she's born, but that doesn't matter nearly as much as head-up or head-down. We all know that babies who come feet first turn out to be a little strange (just kidding, Ernie!). Dr. Bell also mentioned that Charlotte doesn't seem to be a particularly big baby, which is music to my ears.

Here's another update on Charlotte's progress at 33 weeks (adapted from i-am-pregnant.com):

Your baby weighs about 4.4 pounds at this point. The crown-to-rump length of your baby is approximately 12 inches and the total length is around 19.4 inches. With the exception of crying, your baby is capable of doing everything that a newborn baby will do. Your baby is restricted now inside of the uterus, but still can kick and move. Your baby sleeps a lot of the time, just as newborn babies do. Your baby's eyes move in the manner of REM sleep and researchers believe that babies can dream vividly in utero. When your baby is awake, she is listening, feeling and learning. There are billions of neurons in the brain that make trillions of connections. Your baby will probably have settled into the birth position by now and your caregiver can most likely tell which way your baby is presenting. If your baby were to be born now, the lungs would probably be strong enough to function properly, but your baby may still need extra care from specially trained doctors and nurses. Your baby's eyes open during alert times and close during sleep. The eye color is usually blue, regardless of the permanent color as pigmentation is not fully developed. The final formation of eye pigmentation requires exposure to light and usually happens a few weeks after birth.

Here's what BabyCenter.com says about Charlotte:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Since Corey has one parent with blue eyes (Larry) and my mom had one kid with blue eyes (Abbey), that means that Corey and I do have a small chance of having a baby with eyes that stay blue. That would be so fun! I'm crossing my fingers.

Photos from baby shower

Erin & my bud, Sara, threw a Charlotte's Web-themed shower for Charlotte last weekend! It was so much fun, and Charlotte got tons of great presents. Corey stopped by at the end to thank everyone, and even got to open a special present. Here's some photos my mom took at the shower.

Yeah, I love my maternity dress, but it makes me look HUGE!!

The cake was shaped like Wilbur (the pig from Charlotte's Web), and the icing spelled out "Charlotte will be Some Baby!"

There were three preggos at the shower - my Aunt Toni, Erin, and me. Surprisingly enough, there was still plenty of food left over for all of the other guests.

My co-worker, Angela, and her daughters, Bayleigh & Jaeden, got Charlotte a sassy little outfit with a jean skirt, matching bloomers, and a onesie that said "Love Bug".

Aunt-to-be Stephanie bought us our diaper bag that matches Charlotte's stroller.

Aunt-to-be Erin crocheted Charlotte her very own filet-crochet doily so Charlotte wouldn't forget how to spell her name.

Corey got to open a special present from his mom. Let the Michigan State indoctrination begin...

For Charlotte to wear to her first MSU football game.

Thank you to everyone who came to the shower or sent gifts! We had a great time, ate way too much, and generally wreaked havoc at Sara's house. Charlotte is one lucky baby to have so many loving friends before she is even born!

32 week appointment

We saw Dr. Bell today for the 32-week appointment, and everything is going very well! I do need to drink more water though, so I'm obeying her orders and sipping on agua as I type. We go back in a couple of weeks to meet the last doctor in the practice (Dr. Ellington), and after that we'll go every week until Charlotte is born.

We got a lot of questions answered this week. Although I am prepared to basically do whatever Dr. Bell tells me to do once I go into labor, it was nice to hear that her policy is to give me an epidural whenever I feel like I need it (no waiting until I'm dilated a magic number of centimeters) and to avoid an episiotomy unless absolutely necessary. The same goes for the other doctors in the practice (which is terrific, since I have about a 40% chance of delivering with a doctor other than Dr. Bell). Corey also asked if he should give blood in advance in case I have to undergo a c-section, and Dr. Bell said it is very rare for a c-section to require her to give a patient blood. Since Corey has the magic O-blood type, she encouraged him to give blood anyway. My B+ blood is not quite so much in demand (nor should I be giving blood while I'm pregnant anyway).

Our childbirthing instructor told us to have everything ready to go for Charlotte's arrival by 36 weeks, so we have a little over 3 weeks to complete the preparations. We're probably in pretty good shape, but we need to confirm dog and cat care arrangements with the neighbors and buy some diapers! The last coats of varnish are being applied to the changing table this week. Now we just need to teach Corey to change a diaper. Thank goodness future grandparents Barb & Larry are heading down to help us out after the birth!

Like a champ!

Big compliments to my normally weak-stomached husband. Not only did he refrain from barfing during the live birth video last night during childbirthing class, but he didn't squirm, look away, or even blink. He handled it like a champ! The film was pretty tame -- there was very little in the way of crotch shots, and there was much to make fun of in terms of the complete weirdos featured giving birth. One of the mothers had such a weird-looking belly and gross, biker-looking husband that you couldn't help but be distracted from the whole birth aspect. Another couple featured included a husband wearing my Duke football jersey, but also sporting a gold tooth and a whole bunch of suspicious-looking body art.

We did practice some breathing in class. The instructor made us close our eyes while we did it so we would't be self-conscious about breathing in front of other people. Huh? From what I can tell, the whole childbirthing process is all about completely losing your dignity anyway. I'm also confused as to why we had to sit on the floor to practice the breathing. All that did for me was to make it hard to get back up on my feet again. Poor Corey was trying to lounge comfortably on the floor in his suit, but it wasn't working.

Check out how Charlotte is coming along as she reaches the 32-week mark, according to BabyCenter.com:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Jicama? Yeah, I don't eat that very often. I'm definitely starting to gain weight faster though. We'll see what the doctor thinks at my visit next week. After this visit, I have to start going once a week. We also need to come up with plans on how to get me to the hospital in case I can't get a hold of Corey in time and all sorts of preparations for animal care while we're at the hospital. Good thing we live so close to Williamson Medical Center!

Breathing

Crikey - I have really been short of breath these past few days! The books say it's normal, but it's still super annoying. As my boss and I met today to talk about a transition plan so I won't leave the office in a lurch, it really started to hit home that my life will be changing dramatically. After my last day of work on February 29th, Charlotte will be my full-time priority. Perhaps this is contributing to my difficulty breathing!

Corey has a new worry -- that the hospital will mix Charlotte up with another baby. I told him it was his job to follow Charlotte around until she's properly fitted with an ID bracelet, 'cause I'll be kind of busy trying to recover from giving birth. Corey's back-up plan is to mark Charlotte with a Sharpie (like Michael Scott does to the Benihana's waitress at the Christmas party during the third season of "The Office"). So, if you meet Charlotte in her first few days of life and she looks like she has some strange disease, it's probably just Corey's paranoid handiwork.

Madeline and two months left to go

First of all, congratulations are in order. Kristin and Justin Banz had a baby girl - Madeline - a few days ago, and I'm sure she's going to be the cutest thing ever. Madeline joins a whole slew of grandkids for Kenny & Sally, but she is the first for Kristin & Justin. Those are going to be some wild family holidays!

Corey and I spent all weekend finishing up our organizing and beginning to clean for next weekend. We will have a whole bunch of guests -- Corey's mom, my mom, my Aunt Toni, and my sister Erin. Together we will have three pregnant women (Erin, Toni and I), two women who are probably glad they are past that stage (Barb and Mom), and one poor guy who will have to deal with all of the craziness (Corey). Good luck, Corey -- you're going to need it. Everyone is going to be in town for a baby shower thrown by Erin and my friend, Sara Thomas.

Yesterday was January 13th, which is two short months away from Charlotte's due date of March 13th! Thank goodness we finally started childbirth classes, though we were amazed to find that there were a few people in the class whose babies were due on or a little before the last class! At least we didn't procrastinate THAT long. I'm also signed up for a breastfeeding class next month. The class description invites the fathers to come along as well, but Corey emphatically refused when I brought it up. Guess I'm on my own.

Charlotte's Web

As we wrote before, we had a LOT of help getting Charlotte's room whipped into shape (though there are some finishing details left to be completed) from my parents and Grandpa Chuck. Here are some photos of the room to give you an idea of our progress.


Alicia from across the street painted us this sign before we even knew we were having a girl (but had already picked out the name, obviously!). Alicia's instincts were correct!


Here's the crib my parents bought for her, along with the crib sheets from Grandpa Chuck. The bed does convert to a double bed, but we probably won't use it as such since we have Corey's old twin bed and the matching one we found at the antique store in Rochester.


I absolutely love the glider and practice gliding in it often. The color of the fabric we chose was named "ginger", and I tried to tie it into the room with some of the fabric in the valances.


The Michigan State mobile (a gift from Corey's cousins, Erin and Katie) plays the MSU fight song in such a pretty way that it really does sound just like a lullaby. If Charlotte's first words are "Sparty" and "East Lansing", I won't be surprised.


The moon light Corey found is set on a dimmer so we can turn it on very low for late-night feedings. It's probably my favorite part of the room and really adds a lot of character.

Anyone think we need to put up a little spiderweb in the corner with "Some Pig" spelled out in it? Maybe for Halloween...

31 Weeks Down, 63 Days to Go!

Okay, so the illustration of Charlotte at 31 weeks is a little creepy because the eyes are partially open, but don't let that distract you from the fact that we are starting to barrel down the home stretch -- LITERALLY! I'm pretty sore from my ligaments/tendons/whatever on my sides stretching to accommodate Charlie Jo as she continues to grow. I'm starting to look for any excuse to avoid having to climb stairs, and Corey is sick of me offering to pay him $5 every time I need something from the second floor. Sorry about that.

The good news is that we start childbirth education class tonight! The bad news is that it means we're going to miss the party our neighborhood is having to watch our neighbor, Alicia, on the gameshow "Don't Forget the Lyrics" (airing on Fox at 8 pm CST). Considering I went with her to try out for the gameshow last summer (yeah, I didn't even make it to the second round!), I'm especially interested to see how she did. How in the world she managed to keep her winnings quiet for all these months since the taping is beyond me. Tune in an watch for her if you get a chance.

Here's what is happening with Charlotte at 31 weeks:

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. She weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn his head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. She's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

Charlotte is definitely moving around TONS lately. I think she may have already hit her growth spurt based on the aforementioned side pains I have been getting. My belly button is getting shallower and shallower. Soon, I may look like a certain male relative of Corey's who forever lost his belly button after hernia surgery. (Though he has a MUCH flatter tummy!) Hee hee.

Lots of babies

I'm following the courses of four other pregnancies besides mine at the moment: (1) Erin's, (2) Aunt Toni's, (3) Kristin Banz's, and (4) Susan Nelson's. Susan is the wife of Matt, who is a law school buddy of my brother-in-law, Andrew. I met them when I got to stay with Erin and Andrew last fall after a business trip. Matt and Susan have an absurdly adorable daughter named Fiona (she's just shy of 2 years old, I think) and Susan just gave birth to a second daughter, Whitney. Whitney was diagnosed in utero with a serious form of spina bifida, and the Nelsons have been writing a terrific blog about the entire experience. (http://www.whitneynelson.blogspot.com/) It looks like Whitney's post-birth surgery to close her spinal lesion went really well, and I'm going to continue to follow her progress. After meeting Matt, Susan and Fiona, I think that if there ever was a family special enough to have a baby with such special needs, it's definitely the Nelsons!

As for the other pregnancies, I'm DYING to hear how Kristin is doing. (For those on Corey's side of the family, Kristin is my Aunt Kim's neice who lives near San Diego.) When she wrote me a few days ago, she was fast approaching her due date and was already starting to dilate a couple of centimeters. She and Justin chose not to find out the baby's gender, and the suspense is killing me. Considering how close Kristin, Erin and I all were to the entire process of bringing our "susin" (sister/cousin), Abbey, into this world, it seems fitting that all three of us are going to have babies within 5 months of each other. Now that Kristin & Justin are living back on American soil, I'm hoping we can all meet up to show off the new little ones later this year or next -- maybe up in San Luis Obispo at Uncle Jerry & Aunt Kim's??

I'm still cracking up that my sister and I are both pregnant at the same time as our Aunt Toni. Yes, she is closer in age to use than our father (her oldest brother), but isn't it hilarious that she will become a great aunt while she's still pregnant? I can't wait to see if big sister Emma will end up with a little brother or sister. I hear Uncle Eric is convinced the baby is a girl, so we'll have to see if his intuition was as accurate as Corey's was.

Finally, I just heard from Erin that the results of her quad screen were totally normal, which means her baby probably does not have neural tube defects (like Whitney's spina bifida). Too bad there's not a test to check to see if either of our babies are going to suffer from the Scott eyebrows. Do you think that could be corrected with fetal surgery before birth? JUST KIDDING!!! I'm so happy Erin finally seems to have gotten past all of her morning (actually, morning/noon/night) sickness and is feeling a whole lot better. I can't wait to see her in a week and a half when she comes down for a baby shower. Watch the blog for a photo of us comparing bellies!