Christmas!!!

Matt and I just returned from a short trip back to California to celebrate Christmas with our families. Although I was 34 weeks along, and both Matt and my Dad didn't really want me to travel "just in case", I was determined to celebrate Christmas with family. Thankfully all turned out great, and Baby B decided not to make an early entrance!

I arrived in California on Tuesday night and spent Wednesday and Thursday running errands, trying to avoid the rain (on Wednesday), getting my hair done (very high priority!!), having our annual dinner with my friends and wrapping lots of gifts! Dinner with my friends was great and we were commenting how different the dinner has changed over the years... when we started most of us were single (except Tammy and Sau of course, who have been married the whole time we've known them), so there was usually a lot of drinking going on! Now both Nicole and I are married and both Nicole and Tammy have young children... and we of course have one coming shortly! So now the dinners are about catching up and presents for the kids.

Matt arrived late on Thursday night... he didn't want to take time off work this year since he'll be taking a week or two at the end of January when the baby arrives. So he really had a short trip out! On Friday, Christmas Eve, Matt and I got a chance to visit with one of his close friends, Garret (who married us) and was out visiting his family from Washington DC. It was great to see him and catch up... although whenever Matt and Garret get together, topics turn politics and the economy and I often am lost! Afterwards, we headed to Gretta's for dinner with Matt's family. Gretta did a beautiful job of setting a gorgeous table (although we forgot to take a picture of it!) and we had a really nice time with Gretta, Joseph, Maggie and Matt's cousins, Jose, Gay and Amanda. Normally Matt's family has everyone open gifts all at once, which can make it a bit chaotic and hard to see what people are getting (our family does one at a time), but this year everyone opened gifts one at a time and it was great to get to see their reactions!

Christmas Day is at my parents house. We start the day with my favorite... my Mom's Eggs Benedict... nothing better! Then Bethany, Ryan and Shaye came over in the early afternoon and we opened gifts. In addition to the educational gift Bethany requested for Shaye, we got her two Sesame Elmo and Abby dolls that were just her size.... She loved them and I loved it!!!

Bethany and I also ended up getting my Mom the same gift... the new Kindle! Every year we usually talk to each other about what to get our parents... except this year of course! So I cracked up when I saw my Mom open the Kindle from Bethany and Ryan. At least we also bough her a case for the Kindle, so she got something from us! She actually ended up giving the Kindle we gave her to her Dad for a very early birthday gift, so it worked out great for everyone!

Christmas dinner included many more family including my Grandpa, Uncle Matt, Uncle Jeff and his family. We had a great time catching up, watching Shaye and Sylus play and talk about the pending arrival of Baby B.

Overall it was a great trip and we really enjoyed our time with family! Now we are back home, and will be spending time getting ready for Baby B to join us!

Childbirth Prep Class

This past Sunday, Matt and I attended an 8-hour Childbirth Prep class at Memorial Hospital. This isn't the hospital we'll be giving birth at, but the one across town. We learned about the stages of labor, what to expect during those stages, when to go to the hosital, breathing and relaxation techniques and different positions to use during contractions and to help rotate the baby to move labor along. It seems to be really important to continue to move around during labor, including walking, going up and down stairs, doing lunges and sitting or squatting in different positions to open up the pelvis to give the baby room to move down.

I felt it was really helpful for me to get all this information since I really didn't know any of the specifics of labor and delivery. For example, it was good to know that it's really best to stay at home during early labor for as long as possible... you should wait until contractions have been 5 minutes apart for an hour AND the pain gets so strong you can't talk during them. I wouldn't have thought that you have to wait that long.

One exercise we did to show how focusing and breathing techniques can help was that we learned how to use our brain to sort of overpower our body's reaction to pain. When a contraction hits, your body's natural reaction to the pain is to tense up and create adrenaline, which slows the process of labor. So instead we need to focus on something, breathe and use our brain to focus our body off the pain as much as possible. So she taught us that technique. Then she gave us each a bag of ice and had us put our hand in the bag for 30 seconds (to represent a contraction) and told us not to use any techniques. It was really painful and seemed to last forever. Once the "contraction" was over, we practiced our relaxation technique, and then when we put our hand in the ice again, we were to use our focusing and breathing techniques... it really did help! It still was painful, but not as painful and didn't seem to last as long. So I definately saw the potential for using these tools!

We also got a tour of a hospital room (we are also taking a tour of the actual Memorial Hospital downtown that we will be at), which are practically idential at each hospital. The beds are pretty fancy and can move into tons of positions allowing you to continue to move around even if you've had a epidural and are confined to the bed. Since it's so important to continue to move around during labor, sometimes receiving an epidural too early can keep you from moving around because you are to stay in bed. But because these beds can move into many different positions, you can continue to move.

Overall, I felt it was a great class and really helpful for me. Matt felt it was helpful too... even mentioning that he thought it would be a great class for med students to take before they take their OB class and learn all the medical technical terms. It would be helpful to learn the techniques that help Moms as a doctor. I feel more relaxed about labor and delivery knowing what to expect... although I'm still scared of labor and just pray I don't become one of those horror stories! But I definately feel much more prepared having much more knowledge than I had!

New Ornaments

We recently bought some new Colorado ornaments for our tree. We got a cool Colorado one that features the Aspens that turn golden in the Fall, as well as a Broadmoor one since we live near and love that hotel. They look beautiful up on the tree!!

8 Months!!!

As of yesterday, I started my 32nd week and my 8th month! We only have about 7 weeks left... I can't believe it! I also had a doctor's appointment today and all went well. As I expected, the scale I used on my last visit with the other doctor was very different. According to my doctor's scale, I'm at the same weight, so it looks like I gained 5 lbs. this month... this is the most that I've gained in one month, but the baby is also growing a ton and should be about 4 lbs in weight this week! This brings my total weight gain so far to 18 lbs. Not too bad...

My sugar levels are still a bit high sometimes, so my doctor again adjusted my medication. I told her of my frustration that especially during this past week, we finally joined a gym, and I have been walking everyday, so I thought my numbers would get better. But she said to just keep up doing my best with diet and exercise and we'll just try to control things with medication. Between pregnancy and placenta hormones there is a big part of this diabetes I can't control.

We talked a bit more about a birth plan. She said that it's really important to monitor my sugar levels during the delivery, and that they'll be checked every hour. They can give me insulin if needed via an IV... the concern is that my levels could be high, which make the baby's levels high... and once delivered and the cord and placenta are cut, the baby can become hypoglycemic and kind of be "shocked" at the sudden lack of sugar. I also asked her about pain meds and she said that is up to me... whatever I want so I made sure to tell her I meds as early and as much as possible!!!

So overall, a good appointment. I heard the heartbeat and it was good and strong. The baby's head was down low today, although that will change I'm sure. I'm getting lots of movements, but also have long spells of quiet... according to my book, the baby is getting more REM sleep, so there is more down time. Thankfully the baby doesn't feel the need to be super active at night, so I'm not being woken up by kicking!

Below are pictures taken today of the growing bump... definately getting big!!

An Upgraded "Rock"

So I finally got to the point where I couldn't wear any of my rings on my ring finger. And I felt weird being pregnant and not having a ring on my finger, so this weekend while Matt and I were out doing some shopping, we came across this ring and I just couldn't resist... of course it's a fake (it was only $10), but I think it's hysterical because it's ridiculously big! But I feel better having a ring back on at least...

Another Baby Shower

Today we had a second baby shower... this time at Matt's work. I headed over there just before lunch and they had ordered PF Changs for everyone. The staff was there, as well as Bill's wife, Bette, and Wynne, our realtor and friend. I had a great time visiting with people and meeting some of the new staff.

We received many very generous gifts, including several gift cards, some books, and a few outfits. But the best and most thoughtful gifts were 2 blankets that two staff members made by hand. One is a beautifully crocheted white and green blanket that will go perfectly with our beach themed nursery and the other is perfect for laying on the floor and letting the baby hang out on. It was so amazing that they would make these items for us and we are very appreciative! Overall, it was a great shower and we were so thankful for everyone's generosity!!!

Our First Christmas Tree!!!

Although Matt and I met 4 years ago (on December 3rd), we have yet to have a Christmas tree together. Either we lived apart while dating, or when I did move to Connecticut, we were visiting California for a long time at Christmas and also didn't really have the money for a tree. So finally this year, we got our first tree together. I am a BIG believer in having a real tree (even though my parents and sister have now moved to fake trees!!!)... there is nothing better than the smell of a Christmas tree in the house!!! So we headed out to Home Depot on Saturday and got a tree, stand and tree skirt. After a few issues with the tree stand, we finally got the tree up and lights on. After that, however, I was exhausted, so putting ornaments on didn't happen until this morning. And I don't have as many ornaments as I remembered... of course, I had forgotten that I use to put up a tree with my roommate in California, and he had his share of ornaments. Plus, over the years, the cats have broken several. But we've got enough for now... I'll probably get some more after Christmas when they are cheap! I love that the tree is in our main family room so we can really enjoy it... and smell it!!!