Wow…seven weeks in, and boy has it been a ride. I think it goes without saying that any time not filled with playing, calming, loving or visiting has been spent sleeping, not blogging. I’ve been taking lots of pictures with my new camera, and hope to get a gallery installed here soon. I dont even know how to begin writing about what has happened already, so lets dtick with the present for now. Recent developments:
- Piper is totally sick of sleeping in the bassinet/playpen thing for more than a half second. She now spends nights with us in bed, nestled in a sleep positioner. I love spending the extra bit of time with her in the mornings! She also sleeps longer and calmer between us.
- This week has marked the beginning of a new era…she can now be quite content just laying on her back and watching stuff. Especially if the stuff in question is her crib mobile, AKA Piper’s very Best Friends In The Whole World. While Mr. Bee makes great conversation and Ms. ladybug has seen the world, she really prefers talking with Mr. Caterpiller. That guy rocks.
- Physically, she’s continuing to fill out a bit and taking on a more feminine facial shape. In my opinion, anyway.
In the past week, she has had her first:
- Wedding
- Road Trip
- Cloth Diaper (more on that another day…)
I’ll try to blog more soon, but don’t forget where you are, buddy!
October 7th, 2009
Well, the last pregnancy-centric post i can find is from 28 weeks. We’ve done so much in that time, and while I’ll be cranking out some posts that are event specific, I also feel the need to play catch up for those of you that come here for the sweet, sweet baby news.
We were incredibly fortunate to have family and friends throw three showers for us. I was kinda surprised that we knew that many people, much less that so many actually liked us. And by us I mean me. I attended two, missing one in Indiana that wasn’t really co-ed anyway. I think two showers is more than enough for any dude to attend, so I’m not crying about missing one. DARE YOU CHALLENGE ME?!? Our dear friends threw one hell of a party here in Columbus, complete with real-deal barbeque and an Elvis impersonator in honor of Tiny E. Friends came from out of town, and so many wonderful people we’ve met in our few years in C-bus turned out as well. Tori went solo to southern Indiana for her family’s shindig, and most recently we traveled with the k9′s to Buffalo where my family got their chance to let us know how much they love us.
We started childbirth class two weeks ago. We debated between having class at St. Anne’s, where we would get a good overview of how things are done at that hospital specifically, or at CHOICE where we would get a wider range of opinions and thoughts about birth. Our classes started six weeks before the EDD, so we ended up begining with class 6 of 6, and participating in class 1 next. So far the classes have been informative and fun. It turns out that I had been following the midwife who teaches the class on Twitter for a while without knowing it! She gave her email address to the class; “you can contact me at amazonmidwife at…” and I kind of babbled out “I follow you on Twitter!” recognizing her @amazonmidwife handle. Ahh, to be a socially networking expectant daddy…
The nursery is all but complete. Artwork hung, furniture assembled, bedding laundered and bed made.
I posted a couple of weeks ago that our friends had their baby, Esther. We visited at the hospital, of course, but it’s been rewarding to see how they have transitioned back to their house. It has been inspiring, as well as making me incredibly anxious about the logistical problems we may face having a newborn in a small Clintonville house with one bathroom. But then again, I’m getting anxious about everything at this point.
Tori is looking as good as ever, and I have nothing to share from her recent visits to the OB. All is well and progressing nicely. The last few weeks, the fatigue has set in. She’s usually in bed by 10 at the latest, although she’ll fight it till midnight now and then. Tiny E just goes CRAZY in there now…rolling and kicking and punching, all visible to the naked eye if you watch her belly for a few minutes. This has led to more peeing, more uncomfortable nights and every once in a while, pain in her abdomen from the movement. Sleep is challenging these days.
We’re in a really good place with names (no, dude…we’re not sharing) for either sex. We’ve had a few in mind for most of the pregnancy, and it’s looking like it’ll be an easy choice when the time comes. We’re both still in love with them after having 7 months to mull them over, and we think that’s a good sign.
We met with our doula again at 32 weeks, and had a good open conversation about how we see things going at the hospital. The birth plan was the focus of the conversation, and we decided it would be best to wait for our first few classes before we put anything on paper. Right now all we really have is the idea that we want to be kept informed and have the right to consent to any procedural diversions.
Just this week, we had our initall consultation with the doctor who will be our new family doc. We know her through some mutual friends, and she showed an ability to be our kind of doc…not an alarmist, able to deal with my incestant questions, and a good sense of humor. She’ll be Tiny E’s pediatrician as well.
That’s really all I can think of for now. We have just over a month to go until our estimated due date (I found out this week that Tori’s mom was a week late with Tori and her sister, so we’re expecting Tiny E a little late as well). We’ve been slacking on pictures of Tori’s belly, but I’ll leave you with a photo I took today at the water park:
July 10th, 2009
This week marked the beginning of Tori’s second trimester. Last night I was lying in bed with her, reading Ina May’s book and sharing information I was picking up from this most famous of midwives. She stopped me at some point and let me know in no uncertain terms that I needed to shut the hell up. I explained to her that the stack of books on my bedside table was one of the ways I was connecting with the pregnancy right now. She was sweet and understanding. I guess what I was trying to do was see which side of the fence she was on regarding numerous labor decisions to be made. I won’t go into it now, but there are a lot of different ways to go through labor!
The fact is, I’m a baby geek. My interest in Linux, banjos, LOLcats and pirating music has waned as I’m learning about this wild ride we’re on. I can’t help it, I’m a sucker for information. With that in mind, here’s my current snapshot of where she’s at.
- The first trimester sucked. Tired, gaggy, gassy, bloaty, gaggy. Food was never Tori’s friend. She didn’t really ever vomit, but was on the verge of vomiting almost all the time. I will never forget her plate when we ate Christmas dinner in NY. One tablespoon of ten different foods. She almost finished it. Somewhere in there she craved rice for three days straight. The look of wonder and amazement in Target when she discovered their rice section…
- We crossed into the second trimester last week, but her first trimester symptoms have faded for a couple of weeks now. Food may now be consumed without the threat of vomiting. Not only has that threat passed, but food actually tastes good for her! Last weekends trip to the farmers market was productive.
- Peeing has become even more frequent. My wife got up in the middle of the night to pee before the pregnancy, now it’s just ridiculous. The good news, I suppose, is that this means she’s not dehydrated. But it is frustrating for her. It now takes us about 70 minutes to watch LOST without commercials, due to the jog upstairs to pee every fifteen minutes.
- Itchy. This is a common symptom of pregnancy, but the frigid winter spell we’re having isn’t helping. Oatmeal baths and medicated lotion are.
- Yoga continues. She is taking a class she found through CHOICE. It’s nice and easy on her, but she’s already feeling better from it. She’s in love with her instructor and the old building it’s in.
- She’s showing. At least to me. You would be hard pressed to notice it in public, but it’s obvious when she undresses that there is someone growing in her belly. Her uterus is pushing out, and it’s a hard little bump. That’s pretty fucking cool.
- Baby attended it’s first roots music concert. The ears aren’t developed enough to hear yet, but it’s still a pretty big milestone for me.
- We have our birthing class scheduled, as well as an initial chat with CHOICE about their doula programs. It felt good to get those crossed of the list.
I’m forgetting stuff, I know. But the truth is that most of the amazing things that are happening are developmental right now. I suppose the biggest milestone is that the second trimester brings with it an amazingly low chance of miscarriage. This is really going to happen, and we’re both no less amazed and excited than we were when we saw the digital PREGNANT on the pee stick. I’ve noticed that the time really is flying by. This baby is going to be here soon, and we’re enjoying the ride.
February 6th, 2009
