Birthing Class the Natural Way

Last night Jeff and I had our first birthing class experience with our very funny and experienced instructor, Jennifer Maloy. Jennifer is a private instructor who will be coming to our house once a week for six sessions to teach us about the exciting endeavor of birthing a child the natural way. She is a licensed instructor with major first hand experience. She has birthed 4 children of her own and experienced labor in all different forms. With her first child, she did it the "all American way," as she describes it...with an epidural. Her second child was a natural birth, which she prepared for with yoga and lots of exercise. Her final two children were delivered safely in the comfort of her own home! Our first session was an introduction that focused on healthy eating, specific exercises that she wants me to do each day, and terms and definitions. We really liked how honest yet comforting and excited she is about labor. It was so nice to have her all to ourselves so that we could ask lots of questions and really find out what we wanted to know. Doctors are so into their routine sometimes that they don't always stop to explain things and don't realize that you, as the patient, don't know what is going on. So having Jennifer a phone call away is very reassuring. In our future sessions we will continue to learn about the labor process, obviously, but she will also work with us on massage, breathing, emotional and mental satibility, visualizations, drug options in case I do decide I want them, and c-sections. I know that there is really no way to be prepared for the pain that will come with labor, but I know that if I stick to her regimen and have great coaching support from Jeff, I will try my best to get through it. The best way she could describe labor for me was in terms of track...or a marathon. In the beginning, there is excitement and adrenalin keeping you going and pushing you through. Then you move to endurance and strength. After that you are tired and begin to lose the feeling in your legs (it is at this point that people give up if they aren't mentally prepared). However, if you have heart and mental strength you can make it to the finish line. So, although I cannot visualize labor like I did my races prior to those events, I hope that if I am mentally strong and able to keep my cool, I will be able to a make it to the finish line on heart alone.

26 Weeks

Look at that Belly!
Not prepared for this photo to be taken.
Overprepared for this photo to be shot!
Can you tell I am not too happy with Jeff in this picture?

Happy with Jeff again. I am sure he said something funny here.

Making Progress

I had my 26-week appointment today, and everything is still looking good. I am measuring right on schedule and Lily's heart rate was fine. Each week I have been getting significantly bigger, and last Thursday I had at least 4 people make a comment about how big I am and questioned whether I am having twins. I became a little worried that this could indeed be the case, seeing as my mom is a triplet, Lily kicks all the time from several angles at once, and the size of my belly really has increased a lot in the past 3 weeks. Nonetheless, Dr. Thorton has assured me that 1) the nurses would not have missed a second little one on the 20-week sonogram, and 2) I really am not that big (I would be measuring about 30 weeks now instead of 26 if I did have twins). Thank goodness! Twins would be fun, but I don't think we're prepared for that right now.

I have been super busy with the start of the hockey season, and my weekends are now pretty jam-packed with concerts and games. Therefore, last week Jeff and I decided to take a day off from work and go up to Oakbrook to register for baby showers. We had a really great day going to Pottery Barn Kids and Babies 'R' Us. Everything at PBK was so cute, making it hard not to register for the entire store. We did find a bumper for her crib that was on sale for $20, and we decided to buy it and bring it home. Luckily, it looks perfect! Shopping at Pottery Barn Kids was all about the accessories and fun stuff, but Babies 'R' Us was a different story. When we got to Babies 'R' Us, we were greeted right away and given a list and a scanner to start doing some major registering. The store was set-up so nicely (the registry list was color-coded and corresponded to different departments within the store), it was very easy to navigate. We started at bottles and diapers and worked our way around the perimeter of the store until we ended up in the clothing section. Jeff and I had our own list that we had made after reading our Baby Bargains book, but having both our list and the store's did not really relieve the overwhelming feeling that I started to get when I saw all the different brands, gadgets, and accessories. Looking at the large wall of bottles, I started to feel very unprepared and worried about being a parent. As we moved on to the bath section and butt cream area, I felt a little worse. We couldn't decide which diaper rash cream to get and that's when I told Jeff how I was feeling. Before that moment I felt like "Hey, I can handle this. I have babysat before and have younger siblings and cousins. I can take care of a baby." Somehow, knee-deep in butt creams, that feeling changed, and luckily Jeff was there to calm my worries. As we were looking at the first aid kits, medicines, cotton balls, rash creams and humidifiers, he soothed my worries by saying, "Katie, we're humans too, and we don't come with a manual. When we get a rash or get sick we go to the store and buy something for it. We don't have to have everything on hand for the baby. We'll be fine." From that moment on, I totally relaxed and figured if we didn't register for enough or for the right things we could always buy them later. No big deal. The pressure was off, and we had a good time once we got past that bottle, medicine, and butt cream area!

Jay and Buster still seem to be oblivious to the change that is about to take place in all our lives. Buster still tries to leap across my big belly and I have to catch him in mid-air before he touches down. The one time he did hit my belly, Lily kicked right back. Jay may have some idea that something is going on because he doesn't seem to like it when we are in the nursery and begs to be held whenever we go in there. We try to tell the dogs that they are going to have a little sister soon, but unfortunately their English is limited to "hungry," "go out," "upstairs," "treat" and the like. Luckily, both dogs do love kids and are very good with them. Hopefully, they won't be too jealous and will love her as much as we do.

I go back to the Doctor in a month, and at that time we will have our 30-week sonogram. Yeah, we get to see her again! It's not too long now, and we can't wait to finally hold her...and pass her around to all of you.

* The picture above is of Jeff wearing the head of "Chip," our hockey mascot. Chip is the mascot for the Bloomington PrairieThunder and happens to be a Buffalo. Buffalo Chip is sponsored by Kitchen Cooked Chips. Coincidentally, there are still great tickets available for all PrairieThunder home games this year, so come on down and bring the kids!

Lily's Room

Picture of the lily that bloomed in our yard

All her pink outfits

Dad loves to practice pushing her in the stroller

Daybed with new pink comforter

Crib with little friend hanging on

23 Weeks

Belly at 23 weeks. As you can see from my previous picture to this one my belly button has now popped out. I am feeling really good right now and little Lily is still kicking away. Every night she does some sort of acrobatics in my belly that Jeff gets to feel. As soon as he starts talking the show begins as he places his hands on my stomach and I get pummeled from the inside. Then in the mornings I wake up to a hard knot of baby sticking out of one side of my belly. I love putting my hands on her when she does this because I can really feel her moving and swishing around. I can't wait for the day that we see a hand or foot sticking out!

Jeff and I are making progress on Lily's room with the recent addition of her crib, stroller, and new comforter for the daybed that will stay in the nursery. We have a had a lot of fun planning for all the things we need to get for her room before she gets here. We have yet to pick out bedding that we love and will possibly have it made. We were picturing a toile fabric for the bumper and actually found the perfect pink toile at the fabric store the other day. So we are playing around with the idea that we may just have the bumper and bed skirt made. How spoiled is this child already? Jeff will probably order the dresser in a couple of weeks and we will start registering soon. Being the super organized couple that we are, we of course already have a list and have a had a list for a long time now of the different items that she will need. Hockey season starts next week and I will start to get really busy with work so we plan to try and register this weekend if we aren't too tired from all the I.W.U. homecoming festivities.

You may have noticed that I have been referring to the her as Lily still. We still like this name the best, but there is a chance that it will change. The response to the name so far has been very positive and everyone seems to be referring to her as Lily already. Lily has received a plethora of gifts from her loving family already. Her favorite aunt on the Mavros side has given her a darling outfit with matching hat, onesies, and blanket. While her other favorite aunt, Molly, is weaving her a pale pink blanket and given her her first ornament. Both Grandmas are doing there best to spoil her with clothes, stuffed animals, and anything cute that they come across. She is going to be a very loved and spoiled daughter, niece, and grandchild!