Surprise Baby Shower-Work

On Wednesday my co-workers through me a surprise baby shower. We had a lot of fun, had some great food, and got a lot of nice presents. Here are a few pictures from the party. One of the best parts of the shower was Julyla came for it and brought her daughter Allison, or Princess Alice as she's being called. She is so adorable and I loved getting to hold her!

The Potluck:

 Some of the gifts:

 Me holding Allison:

Week 30 Ultrasound

We had another ultrasound this week to measure how large baby is. They estimate his weight at 4.7 lbs. Still about a l lb over what they'd like him to be.  A few days later we had our pre-natal appt with our new Dr, Dr. Wright. I really like her, but am sad that Dr. Hicks won't be with us anymore. Dr. Wright talked with us about his weight and wanted us to prepare ourselves for a possible c-section if he's still measureing large when we deliver. I expressed to her that I do not want a c-section and would make a determination on that at the last moment if we were to run into problems during birth. I explained that we want to have a natural child birth with no medications and would like to labor in water. She was very receptive to our wants and signed our form for a water labor. Even though we are going to deliver at SW Washington, and they allow their patients to birth in the water, because we have Kaiser insurance, Kaiser will only let us labor in the tub, we have to get out and birth the baby on the bed. I'm okay with this, but don't like that there are so many restrictions on birthing in general.

Other than that, the Dr. appointment went well. We go again in 4 weeks, and then after that start our 2 week appointments.

Here is a picture from our ultrasound. It's he so adorable!

We are registered...

Last week, we registered for our baby shower. My sister's Mandy and Angela are planning one for me on October 22nd. We registered at Amazon.com, Baby's R Us, and Target. Raj went with me to Baby's R Us...it took us a long time to register, and I was compeltely exhausted after it. But it was alot of fun and I felt good at the decisions we made on the things we need for the baby. I am expecially excited about the stroller we picked out! Also a pretty cool policy they have is anything left on your register that hasn't been purchased, you can buy at a discount of 10% off! Pretty cool!

Bradley Method Classes 1 & 2

We started our Bradley Method classes series last week. I was really anxious to go to the first meeting...just curious what it would be like and wondered if I'd like the instructor and what not. After the class, I felt really good about it. I was surprized at how many couples are in the class...typically there are 5 or so couples, but we have double that! But it's been really cool to get to meet everyone so far, I hope at least with some of the couples we can stay connected after the class.

The first week we learned about relaxation techniques as well as exercises we should be doing and read an article on epidurals that was very informative. The second week, we focused on nutrition. While I was studying our homework on nutrition, I found myself concerned about how much weight I have gained, and wondering if I've increased my blood volume enough. In these classes, they concentrate more on the types of food you are eating, rather than the amount of weight you are gaining. I am totally fine with that, but I haven't gained that much weight, so it concerns me that my blood volume hasn't doubled like it should. The blood volume is important for many reasons, but mainly because it is providing nutrients to your uterus, a muscle that needs to grow considerably during your pregnancy (from 2 oz to 2 lbs). If this doesn't increase you can have problems during delivery with it contracting properly, which could hinder your progress in labor. Also we learned the importance of protein in our diet. I should strive to eat about 100 grams of protein a day. After tracking my food intake, it appears I do a pretty good job of this, but will try and concentrate more on eating protein from now on and less carbs.

I have all but decided I will not be betting a epidural for my labor. I am basing this on a couple of things. I want to experience the natural progression of labor and don't want to hinder it by putting drugs in my body. Also, I don't want to deliver a baby that is drugged up. A small percentage of me is worried about the side effects of the medication on me both temporary and long term. I am not completely confident yet to say I am doing it without an epidural. I am hoping that these classes will help me gain the confidence to say for sure that I will do it naturally, but as of right now, it is my wish to do it naturally.

Shopping...

Last weekend I headed out second hand shopping for some baby things. Raj had to work, and it was raining and I couldn't think of a better way to spend my day! I was going to try and go to some garage sales, but most had been canceled because of the rain, so I decided to hit second hand stores. It's always a fun adventure and you never know what you might find!

First I hit the Good Will in Fisher's Landing. I can always find good stuff there. And this trip didn't disappoint. I found a brand new bouncer seat that vibrates for $20! I was so excited. I also got a couple outfits and a pair of shoes and some baby towels. I then went to Spankies. I found a jack-pot of name-brand clothes there! I probably got 10 to 12 outfits plus a bunch of onsies (Calvin Klein baby)! Next I headed to my old stomping grounds, Once Upon a Child. At this point, I was feeling a bit tired, and when I walked in there and saw all the stuff they had, I felt completely overwhelmed. I looked around a bit...they have a TON of stuff there, and finally decided on a set of baby bibs. After there, I took a quick look at the Value Village on 4th Plain and the Good Will on 4th Plain, but didn't come up with much, just a crib sheet.

I had a great time looking for things for baby. Once I got home, I decided I needed to do an inventory of everything I've received so far for the baby. So I got everything out, and washed and the organized into size/category. Then I made an inventory of everything I had in word. Call me anal...but it felt really good to get it all done!

We have an accrobat inside of me!

Two days ago, I was startled by movements the baby was doing inside of me. It felt like he did a complete flip inside of me! It was completely crazy! I've never seen my belly move like that before. He is definately very active, especially at night and he seems to like to kick or punch down near my bladder...which is not very fun for me! But I do love to feel him move inside....so I'll take it!

I passed!!!

I took the horrible 3 hour glucose test last week, and thankfully I passed it! I was so relieve to get the news. The first hour of the test was the worst and it got better each additional hour. It just suckes that you have to wait in the office for 3 hours 1/2 hours.