Rashy Baby

Our first night at the hospital I noticed that Jonah had a rash emerge, first I saw it on his legs but then changing him I saw it was all over his body but not his face. The pediatrician at the hospital said it was some sort of infant dermatitis and that we should consider double rinsing his clothing at home (at that point we were just using the baby undershirts and receiving blankets at the hospital). When we changed Jonah into his own clothes, washed in Ivory Snow detergent the rash went away in a matter of hours. I think it was due to the hospitals using harsh detergents on everything.

Jonah would then get during the first two weeks the occassional red bumps on his cheeks, like little pimples but not white heads. They would clear up overnight and didn't need to be bothered at all. Starting this week though he broke out in a rash all over his face, ears and some on his neck. It seems to be mostly where he gets milk or spit-up on his skin. I looked it up online and in the Sears Baby Book and it said that it was Baby Acne. Treatment is to just wash his face with water and keep his hands clean and nails trimmed. Evidently it will clear up on a few weeks, its just his skin getting used to the outside world.

He also has a little crusty stuff up by the corners of where his eyebrows meet. The books and web say that is Seborrheic Dermatitis, the same as what it commonly referred to as cradle cap. I had noticed earlier in the week that he was smelling a bit on the top of his head like body oil, again it just another step in his skin getting accustomed to life outside the womb. We've just used warm water on cotton and occasionally on a baby washcloth to clean it up and his skin seems to be responding. Jonah doesn't have cradle cap but he does have a little dandruff so I'm making sure to wash his hair every other day to help keep the oil production in check.

At the other end I've been paying mind to Jonah's rear to help make sure that any diaper rash is treated quickly and early. We are using A+D Ointment at one changing station and Desitin Creamy at the other station. I also have Butt Paste if things should get desperate. In looking it up prior to Jonah's arrival I learned that it isn't the wet diapers that causes diaper rash but rather its when the baby's feces mix with the urine that the rash develops. Evidently there are some enzymes in the poo that react with the urine and that causes the problem. Infant poos are pretty loud though so most of the time all you have to do is listen and you know when it's time to change baby. It's also important to wash baby's backside at changing to remove all poo residue -- we're just using water on cotton and not baby wipes for the time being. Then reapply the barrier cream after patting his tushy dry. It seems to be working and it definately helps keep him comfortable.

Here are some links to reference

Newborn Rash -- Is It Baby Acne?

What is Baby Acne?

Back to basics: Caring for the newborn's skin

Diaper Rash — What It Is


Diaper Rash

Here's a Jonah shot from February 21st.


I have to post a couple others -- have to load them from the camera onto the computer first. I also need to take some more shots of him -- he's growing so quickly!

Jonah and I are doing well. My dad is in town this week and we have been venturing out a little bit more as the temperature has been up in the 50s-60s. We've been to the grocery store, bookstore, locksmith, park and Toys R Us to exchange a gift. I tell ya I need a personal assistant to be able to deal with moving the baby about -- my purse, the diaper bag, the baby, a blanket, the car seat, the car seat frame, and then whatever else we are porting along with us -- who has a free hand to unlock a door for instance.

Jonah has been sporting Mama's handknits though -- his striped baby cardi, booties, hats, etc. He's so cute and I love keeping him warm in things I've made for him.

He sure makes a lot of noise at night for such a small baby

I'm up at 4 AM with Jonah in my arms who is for the moment quietly pretending to sleep. With any luck he actually will doze off for good. He's a great baby, not a lot of crying or anything but at night he just does not settle easily and he groan, grunts and stares around if we try to put him to sleep in the bassinette. During the day I can get him good and tired and sleeping in a baby seat or even the bassinette but at night I'm just too tired to wait with him until he's fully out.

Last night I fell asleep in the nursery in our big soft chair for an hour with him sleeping in my arms, that's how tired I was. Sleep seems to come in snatches of an hour or two and sometimes three. I'm probably averaging somewhere between 5-7 hours of sleep a day. People have this wonderful advice that one should sleep when the baby sleeps but in the morning is when I'm awake and a nap isn't really on the agenda. I try for afternoon naps which if I time it right can run as long as almost 2 hours, though more likely just over an hour.

My partner has a client meeting in the morning so I'm just having to suck it up right now. As my mother is gone now I could set up with baby in the guest room and try crashing out there but for now I figured I would try typing and see if that didn't wear him out.

I noticed the other night that there was a lot more singing going on in our bedroom at night now -- both my partner and I try lulling Jonah to sleep. We can calm him down that way for sure (and again, he doesn't really upset easily so we're just winding him down) but it doesn't yet totally put him out.

About Diaper Changing and New Mama with the stomach flu

Jonah has surprised us every few days with poo spewing out in the middle of the change, wetting while you are trying to get the new diaper out and getting the changing table, his clothes and the new diaper wet, or spitting up half of what he just ate in a flood that makes us wonder if he isn't related to Linda Blair. We're getting more savvy now though so we wait after a feeding for him to have a BM and I now know better that after he poos then he pees. The cloth diapers are working out well and my partner and I have a good handle on the changes. Jonah's only had a touch of a start of a rash but its responded quickly to ointment -- I don't want my boy to have a sore tushy. (did you guys know that it's the poo that combines with the ammonia in the urine to cause the irritation -- not the pee itself)

I was soooooo sick on Sunday. It started at 11pm on Saturday night as I went up for bed; I started feeling nauseous. I was up most of the night with gastroenteritis and a 101+ fever (12 hours of spewing from both ends). My mother called the nursing hotline for new moms at the hospital on Sunday so we were operating under their guidance. I also look it up in What to Expect the First Year and it said that you should continue to nurse through your own illness as it would help protect the baby from the illness though you need to help prevent the baby from getting sick from limiting his exposure elsewise.

I was in bed all day with my mother bringing me ginger ale, saltines and chicken broth while my partner minded the baby and just brought him to me to feed. It was awful and I think it was the sickest I've ever been. It made me think that for however well Jonah is doing he really is only 2.5 weeks old and pretty vulnerable. He's doing fine though and it didn't seem to affect him at all -- though my supply dropped temporarily but he just fed more frequently and seemed fine. What a nightmare it was.

I'm in the middle of working on sewing up a Mei Tai carrier for Jonah. With any luck he'll let me focus on it for more than 20 minutes at a time. Here's the style of carrier if you aren't familiar -- http://www.kozycarrier.homestead.com/

About my c-section delivery after myomectomy

Friday morning I woke up early, as was typical for my pregnancy, though I couldn't have a snack as I would normally do -- no food after 1:30 AM. I took a shower at 6AM and got myself, my mother and partner ready to head out to the hospital by 7:30 but we were still a little late.

I waddled into the hospital entry and we figured out which elevator to take up to obstetrics where my sister was patiently waiting for us (actually she had texted me on the way to the hospital and I jokingly replied that I had changed my mind about the delivery).

They got us into a room right away, which was used for both pre-op prep and recovery. I changed into a hospital gown with nothing else on though I did leave my socks on for a while as my feet were cold. The nurse hooked me up to a monitor on my belly and the baby started kicking right away -- he hated having things resting on the belly such as books when I was reading in bed at night. They were checking his heartrate and checking me for any contractions. I didn't think I was having any contractions, braxton-hicks or otherwise and this was confirmed by the nurse (I was proud to know my body so well). They got my IV started, hooked me up to some IV fluids to keep me hydrated and then the nurse gave my pubic area a shave with an electric razor.

I explained that my sister would be attending as a doula and they were cool with that. My partner and sister both changed into surgical garb with booties, hats and masks. My sister had brought some lavendar with her to help calm me during the procedure -- a French lavendar sachet smelled awesome. My doctor came in to check in with us, and soon it was time to get into the OR. I rubbed my baby's knees and feet inside of me for one last time.

They wheeled me down the hall just a few doors and into the cold operating room which was full of people who would be assisting with the delivery. There was my OB, another OB, the surgical nurse who helped prep me, another nurse, two anaesthesiologists, my partner and my sister -- and possibly more. The first thing was getting the spinal set up which wasn't painful at all as they had one of those automatic blood pressure cuffs squeezing the life out of my left arm -- I didn't feel anything in my back. Next they lay me out on the operating table and pulled a drape up close to my face -- closer than I thought it would be. We then waited for the spinal to take affect, first a warm feeling and then they kept checking to see if I was getting numb where they would be cutting me open. Finally I was numb enough and they quickly got into action.

The anaethesiologist said to let him know if I felt nauseous and quite soon after I was hit with a wave of nausea. I barely had to say a word before he put in some medication to help control it and it passed quickly. I was feeling stressed and overwelmed though as I could feel pressure of them working on my belly and the curtain was so close to my chin and the spinal does make your breathing feel a little weird. I had my partner rub my shoulders and my sister brought the lavender close to my nose and that helped to keep me together. It was intense being awake during the procedure and they don't give you any sedatives or anything as they don't want to affect the baby, just the spinal which removes the pain sensations but not the touch sensations.

The time came for them to pull out the baby from me and one doctor was pressing (more like heaving) high on my belly while they yanked him out with a suction cap. Oh boy that was a crazy feeling.

Then there he was. A wet, vernix coated crying baby boy. He was a big healthy baby I could see as they whisked him across the room, with long arms and big hands. I got misty at seeing this little being finally here -- and with me in such a state. My partner was recruited to help trim down the umbilical cord and they wiped him off some and did what not and all I could do was look over at him in wonderment. The doctors continued working on me but having the baby to focus on helped to distract me from the pushing and pulling sensations.

Finally they brought the baby over to me (really it was only a few minutes after he was pulled out) and as I started talking to him little Jonah started cooing and making all sorts of noises to me. There was no doubt about it, he knew I was his mama -- what a precious memory that is for me. I was able to touch his soft cheek and give him a kiss and then they had to tend to him some more mostly stabilizing his body temperature I think.

The whole affair lasted about 40-50 minutes total and after that we were wheeled back in to recovery where they got me set up with the PCA pump. A nurse helped to get the baby to latch on and showed my partner what to do. I was totally out of it with the narcotics. My partner, sister and mother got to hold the baby lots at this point while we tried to stay ahead of the pain. I loved how they would try to give me directions and things while I could hardly keep my eyes open.

They moved us into our private suite and over the evening hours they removed my catheter (inserted after the spinal took affect), had me go to the toilet, had me drink cool water, took my and the baby's temp religiously to make sure we were both stable, and switched me onto percocet and ibuprofen. I was able to nurse Jonah with my partner's help and he was wetting diapers, and soon started passing meconium.

I fell asleep with Jonah layed across my chest at one point and when I woke up and saw his little face I just about melted; he was so tiny and perfect. My partner stayed with us in the room and slept a few stretches with the baby next to him. I also shifted to one side of the hospital bed and he lay next to me with Jonah which was super nice as well. It was just a really nice nesting experience and it was like the rest of the world didn't exist for those couple of days.

He was very tied into my voice in the first few days post delivery and would seek me out and start to root if he heard my voice. He's more confident about my presence now so he isn't quite as anxious to seek me out and knows I will come if he needs me.

We decided to check out of the hospital as soon as possible on Sunday as the nurses kept pushing percocet, stool softeners, gas-x and ibuprofen on me. I didn't have that much pain after my myomectomy and also since I had been through that experience my body wasn't as shocked about the pain and I found it manageable. The nurses couldn't seem to understand that even though I kept telling them I was doing okay. On a scale of 1 to 10 my pain never got to be more than a 4 -- unless I was moving around a lot and most of the time it was barely a .5. I also hated that the percocet would make me feel all loopy and I couldn't keep my eyes open. I took ibuprofen for the next five days and after that I didn't need anything.

I found one of the most interesting things about my recovery from the c-section is that compared to how tired and big I felt in late pregnancy my body felt a lot better post delivery. The operation itself also was less invasive than excising the large fibroid and even my OB confirmed that nature wants to make the mother heal quickly to help tend for her baby.

My incision actually looks better than after the myo. The skin lines up better and that extra pad of fat above the incision isn't there any more. Not bad, now I just wonder how I'll look in a bikini (LOL).

My OB said that they felt around while they were cleaning me up and the fibroid didn't feel too significant. He said I can get an ultrasound in six months to see how its doing. My partner asked him how soon we could start trying again (oh brother) and my doc said 8-9 months post-partum as ultrasound studies have shown that the site where the placenta had attached still showed signs of healing at 7 months post-partum.

So, while I don't think the c-section was fun, it was definately not an entirely miserable experience and all things considered I would rather have a scheduled c-section than an emergency c-section.

(I'll add more details as I recall them)

Early Breastfeeding Observations

I didn't do anything special to prepare other than study and read about proper latch techniques -- lips flared outward, nipple pointed up towards the back/roof of the baby's mouth, bring the baby to the boob not the boob to the baby, proper posture, etc.

I had a c/s delivery two weeks ago and was still able to get the baby to latch on all right -- first with the help of the post-partum nurse and then for the first tries with my partner managing both baby and nipple.

I did have colustrum and he seemed to be doing great at getting it out of there but dang all that suction was really intense those first few days. His bowels started moving pretty quickly (he was passing meconium for several days) but by the fourth morning my baby's lips were looking a little dry and his skin was starting to lose some of its hydration. I think it's par for the course the first few days which is why term infants have some extra body fat to help get them through. My milk came in hours later though, and not a moment too soon.

Within the first hours of nursing him I did notice tiny blisters on my nipples. I don't think you can really avoid this or prepare your nipples for it. It's way more than just friction. The blisters did scab over a little bit after a couple of days and I used Lansinoh to help them heal which thankfully only took a couple of days -- its really important to stay on top of this irritation early on.

The first or second night after my milk came in baby had a massive suck fest, feeding ever 1-1.5 hours for hours on end. I believe his body was trying to catch up on the calories he lost in the first few days. You might notice something similar with your baby. Typically now he eats between 1.5-3.5 hours and not usually that closely together overnight.

Your baby very well may consume more milk than he can handle so make sure to have some bibs, washcloths, etc. at hand as he might spit back up half of what he ate. If you are sensitive and pay attention you can actually help moderate how long he nurses to help make sure he doesn't over fill himself.

My baby typically still only takes one breast at a feeding and that seems to work out fine for us. A lactation consultant from the hospital called to check up on us a few days post-partum and she said to burp him and then try him on the other side but I've not had any supply issues -- rather he takes in too much or even ends up choking sometimes as the letdown can bring on too much.

One of my friends emailed me a couple weeks before baby arrived and said to me that no matter what I know my baby best so I've used that as a rule of thumb. (he had gained 10 oz by 12 days postpartum so I know it is working for us).

Use wet and soiled diapers, plus baby's swallows and satisfaction as your guide that he's taking enough nourishment.

Also, something I haven't really seen described anywhere is that not only do your baby's lips need to be flanged outwards but inside his mouth a large part of him working the nipple involves your baby chewing down on the areola with his gums. The lips can look perfectly positioned and still your baby might end up with his gums chewing on the nipple. This kills so you need to pry his mouth off by inserting your finger in the side of his mouth until he breaks the latch and try again.

I feel fortunate in that it was only about 5 days of pain/discomfort and my baby is a real trooper about working with me on relatching him as many times as it takes.

One more thing, your baby will start rooting around and making little noises indicating he is ready to eat prior to crying. If you respond to his early signals then he's going to be more patient with you, if you wait until he is upset and crying then both of you are going to be agitated and frustrated.

I found that as I got closer to the end of my pregnancy I started to be able to let more of my fears go and just be. I hope you will find the same as you get into those final weeks where the baby's health even if s/he should come early is more certain. I still am amazed at how long it took for us to get here, but I learned so much along the way (not that it was all willingly experienced) that I know I'm stronger for it

I've talk to my partner some in the past few days about how many tears I shed thinking that we would never get here -- negative doctors, difficult diagnoses, our losses, the surgeries, etc. And, for all the times my partner was like "it doesn't matter to me either way if we have a baby" he's now totally in love with his baby and he's upstairs right now working on editing songs from his band on the computer with Jonah in a pouch and he can't wait to have the chance to bottle feed him in a few weeks.

I don't know if one can ever totally reconcile what infertility does to you, but in the present moment there is such a sense of satisfaction and joy at being able to take care of this perfect little guy (with his tiny puss) that I can honestly say I'm happy -- tired yes, but happy.

My animals have been a little out of sorts, but mostly they are doing well. One cat pooped in the hallway the other day but I've been slowly showing him the baby, giving him extra attention (or even just more of the regular attention he's used to) and extra brushing and he seems like he's relaxing about it a bit.

We are co-sleeping at the moment and rather liking it -- all three of us. It makes it easier to give each other a bit of a break over night, even if just for a couple of hours, to know that the other one is one duty with the baby. We've also had some giggles with middle of the night diaper changes when we put the diaper on the wrong way or the baby decides to shoot out some poop right as you are in the middle of changing him into a new one -- twice in the space of a minute. We'll continue to make adjustments as needed though as my partner is going to have to be able to get a bit more rest overnight so I'll be likely doing more changes and feedings in the nursery in the coming weeks. My partner goes back to work tomorrow -- only 4 days off though he's going to work from home when he can, and work shortened hours.

I've got to eat some lunch before we head out to the pediatricians for a little check-up. Since we are nursing they wanted to have Jonah checked a couple days after we left the hospital for hydration, jaundice and weight. The kid has been nursing so vigorously and soiling so many diapers that I would be surprised if he isn't over his birth weight already.

Just dropping by for a quick note. Baby's sleeping downstairs with Grandma at the moment so I've got a bit of a break.

So Jonah's birth weight was 8.05 lbs. His discharge weight was 7 lbs 7 oz. At his ped appt. he was back up to 7 lbs 13oz. -- so gaining over an ounce a day.

He's a great eater, and getting him to latch hasn't been that difficult. Granted it takes us a few tries but we're both determined and we've always worked it out.

Little things I've noticed over the past few days...

In spite of a careful latch I still developed tiny blisters on my nipples in the first few days, which then scabbed over slightly. Lansinoh helped to get me over that hump. I don't see how one could not get blisters though as the suction of the little one isn't like something your nipples can prepare for.

Milk letdown has built up over the past few days to the point where the breast I'm not feeding from will start leaking while I'm nursing. It's good to keep a towel on hand to help out with that and the inevitable spit up.

Lying in bed the other night I suddenly felt like my breasts heaved a little on their own, and I got a tiny little headache in-between my eyes (yin tang point in acu). I figured out quickly that it was letdown -- just on its own, without nursing -- probably because I was just relaxing thinking about baby lying next to me. I've noticed that I get that little headache for a few minutes at the start of letdown at each feeding -- so weird and I'm thinking of asking my acu about it.

I haven't had a lot of post-partum bleeding, just pink. It does increase some after a feeding and I can definately feel my uterus contracting while I nurse -- which at the moment just feels like an uncomfortable pinchiness -- probably due to my c/s.

I'm learning about my baby's patterns when he requires attention -- usually it is tied to digestion. He fusses b/c he is hungry, has bubbles (or is trying to help move food in his GI tract) or is trying to have a BM. These things can happen in almost any order though, so you start with the obvious:

If he's rooting he's hungry
If he's rooting but fussing and won't latch then he either needs a diaper change or he's in need of a tummy rub
If he starts fussing in the middle of a feed then he needs a tummy rub or a burp
If it's been a while since he was last changed then start with a diaper change
(lather, rinse, repeat)

Since my milk came in we had to adjust our expectations as there are now more wet diapers to deal with. Also, he can eat more than his stomach can hold and in the middle of the night I went to pee and came back and my partner was asking me what this big wet patch was on the bed. It turns out that Jonah had a huge spit-up all over my partner and the bed.

Here's a suitably cute pic of Jonah

Jonah is an awesome little guy, pretty alert (always looking around), eating really well, and cooing a lot. We're really enjoying our time with him.

Friday was a bit rough (no I don't recommend c/s if you can avoid it) as I was overwelmed and drugged up. Still we got nursing going well and it was great having my partner, mother and sister there to help look after Jonah.

My milk finally came in today, and not a moment too soon -- I was really mindful of getting him to latch well but colustrom sucking hurts after a while. The meconium poops were a yucky mess there for a while too, but now we're moving on and they are easier to clean up.

I came home yesterday afternoon, pretty tired but ready to leave the disruptions and overmedicating of the hospital behind me. It's been interesting trying to sort out a little bit of a schedule and where to change him etc. but we're figuring it all out. I love to hold and look at him, he's so tiny and perfect

Introducing Jonah Blue

Born via cesarean section February 9th 2007, 9:58 AM weighing 8.05 pounds.

Belly at 38 weeks 5 days

Here's the last belly shot before baby gets here. It's not the best comparison to the earlier shots but it will have to do.


Looking forward to sharing new adventures with you in the coming weeks and months. Thanks for all the notes of support :)

I've got my last few things on order and in route or planned (just to help myself keep them straight here they are):

Area rug -- arrived this afternoon
Shades for windows -- on order, should be done by end of next week from Lowe's
Diaper pins and fasteners -- on order from local WAHM
Changing pad for changing table -- coming Thursday from BabyCenter
Infant Carseat Frame -- in place of stroller coming next week
Bottles -- Sassy Mam, coming next week
Baby socks -- my partner got them this evening at Gap

I've got my cloth diapers, breast pump, diapering accessories, sorted out.

I need to finish up packing my bag for the hospital, though I'll have to do some more laundry as there isn't much that's comfortable that fits right now. We'll take one more belly shot before we go in.


------

My partner went all out and laid out the new area rug in the baby's room this evening. He kept saying afterwards -- Instant baby's room -- though honestly it's taken a good 7 weeks to get it to where it is now. It's feeling pretty ready for us now though and I'm comfortable in it and looking forward to getting to bond with baby boy in it.

I'll have to see about getting a post up here over the weekend if I can. Still, I can't believe I'm about to become a mother.

Diaper Delivery Today

As I have mentioned previously, we are going to try our hand at cloth diapering. It will have its challenges I'm sure, but we don't really like the idea of adding disposable diapers to the landfill (you use something like 10-12 diapers a day with a newborn!)

I signed up with the local diaper service for a month, and then we can decide if we want to continue with that for a while longer or shift over into our own stash of diapers.
Cloth diapering has come a long way in the past 10 years, there are new microfiber options that keep baby dry and can be reused. Pretty fancy stuff. We're just starting out with cotton diapers and diaper covers made from new materials.

This morning the diaper service dropped off the first lot of diapers and a diaper pail, maybe not that exciting for you but for me it's one more thing crossed off the list.



Earlier in the week I was able to find someone selling diaper covers through Craigslist. It's really common to buy these items used and they are in fine condition -- half price for the lot, not bad.

I've also got a bunch of diaper creams, cotton, etc. I just need a changing pad and diaper fasteners and we're good to go. Phew!

My Delivery Plans

I'm going to have my partner and sister (a doula in training, she just needs to attend more births as a doula) at the delivery. My OB did mention it was partly up to the anaesthesiologist how many people we have in the room though. I'm thinking it will work out how I'd like though.

My doctor said he would lower the drape when they are going to pull baby out if I like. He said that the baby will stay in the room with us the entire time after the delivery (provided there aren't any issues needing extra care for him). My partner isn't interested in cutting the cord he has told me.

Actually my partner is rather liking the idea that he's going to be the first one to interact much with our baby boy. He tells me he's going to take him off to the side and get to know him and name him and eventually I'll get to be introduced. I think he knows that it's not totally up to him how it goes, and we will try to offer the breast to the baby soon after delivery.

I worry that trying to figure out nursing and the new baby with too many visitors is going to be a little overwelming. I'll probably be in the hospital for a few days, but my inclination is to send out an email to friends and family ahead of time letting them know what my expectations were about visitors. I just have a feeling that with my temperment I'm going to need some room to be able to figure out how to care for my baby without additional outside pressure and expectations.

For anyone reading who is also going to have a planned cesarean, The Essential C-Section Guide is a helpful book to read as it will run you through the paces of what to expect including breastfeeding post surgery.

My partner has struggled a little with the idea that my sister and mother will be included in the delivery and post-partum period (my mom's coming for 3 weeks and she's soooo excited about her first grandchild's arrival) but for me it just feels right. After talking to him more about it, and him talking with other female friends who have children, he's come to see that having a grandmother's help is a good thing, even if they might drive you a little crazy in the meantime. For me I feel like it helps take all the pressure off of me to have extra hands to help mother our baby boy -- and hopefully it will let me rest and heal better.

------------

Changing the topic slightly, the doctor's office called and my test results came back great. I tested negative for Strep B, my ferritin had jumped up from 7 in November to 13, and my hematocrit was up from 31 to 35.7. The nurse said that compared to many other woman at this late stage in pregnancy my blood work looked great. Its nice to know that taking all the vitamins is helping. I just wanted to be sure that things were looking okay prior to going in for surgery next week.

37 Week OB Visit

I had my appointment with my doctor today. The nurse claimed she tried to reach me a few times but all I got was one message. My c-section has been scheduled though, for 9:30 am on Friday 2/9. One more thing out of the way.

My blood pressure was good, urine test clear, I gained another 6 pounds but that's still only about 30 pounds gain total. I got a surprise check today. The hospital requires a strep B test for all women so I got swapped down below. The doctor also checked my cervix, which is softened but not dialated at all and the baby's head is down there but ballotable (he's not engaged or fully pressing down on the cervix yet).

I asked pointedly if we should be checking on my anemia and he agreed (hey, I don't think someone with a history of anemia should be going into surgery without a good sense of where its at beforehand). So that's out with the strep B and I guess I'll have some results later this week or something.

Lots of braxton-hicks this morning, and some achiness in my low pelvis, something feels like it is banging into my cervix, probaby the kid's head or hand or something.

While I was in the restroom my partner ran into a friend of ours, she asked if he was there because we were expecting. Later I joked with him that he should have said that he was there for his own gynecological appointment (hehe). She's expecting as well and has been on bedrest for weeks due to cervical thinning issues but she made it to 26 weeks so far which is great.

My next appointment will be on Monday and then we'll deliver on Friday. Finally we are really in the home stretch.

No word back from the doctor's office -- I'm going to talk to him on Monday about how disappointed I am to be neglected in this manner at this late stage. I called in 5 times over the past week and all I got back was one message with a couple of times on my home phone from a nurse or something. Totally unacceptable. My friend said last night that this was how my pg could be like a natural delivery -- you just never know when its going to happen.

I got through the work week, and finally got a bit more rest Wed and Thurs nights. No more going into the office for a while.

My big things this week are (mine you my partner is going to be helping with many of these things):

• Get windows repaired in baby's room (Sun)


• Get infant car seat installed in my car


• Baby shower tomorrow afternoon (I just know I'm going to cry)


• Color my hair (since it's going to be a while before I can do it again)


• Arrange for moving a sofa from my house to the office


• Work on finding a pediatrician


• Order some Prowrap diaper covers and Snappis (for the cloth diapers, due for delivery next week)


• Get furniture moved back into baby's room from guest room


• Move boxes of my books into my office out of the hall


• Order new mattress for guest room bed so my mother won't hate me when she comes to stay and help out (it's a really crappy mattress that I bought when I was 23 and had no money)


• Tidy up around the house (including washing the kitchen floor)

And when I'm not keeping busy with all that I've got knitting and work to keep me busy.

36 week Belly Shot

Yes, I'm still growing. Baby feels like he's definately starting to run out of room in there. I can't believe how much he has grown since December when he was all small and flipping around. Now all he has room to do is kick his legs a bit and rotate side to side. I do feel him more down by my bladder now as well.



I've not been sleeping well at over for the past 2.5 weeks. I wake up at 5am almost every day. Sometimes I have a hard time going to sleep, sometimes I just have a hard time sleeping for longer than 3 hours at a time. My last day in the office will be tomorrow, after that I'll work some from home but mostly rest and take care of my remaining to-dos, like trying to get a pediatrician, something I haven't had time to do.

We've been busy at work on the nursery and house today. Things are still a mess from the work that we've been doing, and I'm not going to be able to do much more, yet baby's going to be here possibly on Feb 8th, maybe sooner.

I've been shopping online at drugstore.com for various nursing and baby care items. Its easier on me to just have them delivered. I still haven't decided on an nursingwear, but I figure I'll just deal with that when I know how big my boobs are going to get and what not.

I'm also going through the baby clothes we have in the house and I'm going to be doing some laundry today to have the smallest outfits ready. I still can't believe we are going to have a baby. I've spent more time around puppies and kittens so I'm trying to prepare myself for that instead -- at least I can relate to it. My partner raised a rainbow lorikeet (a type of parrot) from a baby so he's thinking of leveraging some of that to get himself ready.

We're both getting more and more tired and grouchy. My hips hurt when I sleep at night so I have to roll back and forth all night long, and then get up a few times to go pee. It's not very restful. Oh, and the past couple of weeks its gotten harder to walk when I do get up in the middle of the night, my hips just feel all weird. What happened to my dancer-trained body? Will I ever get it back? It's so strange to feel these changes in my body.