Childbirth Preparation Class

Michael and I spent the day at the Center for Health Promotion attending the one-day condensed Childbirth Preparation class with 8 or so other expectant couples. We decided the one day intensive class worked better for our schedules rather than trying to juggle doggy duty and attending classes after work for several weeks in a row.

In the class, we had a review of some of the things to expect when we get to The Family Place to have Gabriel. We went over and practiced comfort techniques, and talked about pain control options, c-sections, and post delivery expectations. As always, they can't include every thing we'd possibly want to know but we got some good information. We signed up for a tour of The Family Place for next Tuesday night.

The class finished by 4 pm, so we went to The Longhorn for an early dinner. I told Mike I would drive home so he could enjoy a cider margarita as a treat for sitting through yet another child preparation class. We each got Ribeye steaks, and I am hoping I got a good dose of iron. We were by far the youngest couple in the restaurant. Michael and I figure we might as well get use to eating with all of the "blue-hairs" in restaurants since having a small child soon will mean we might not see prime time dinning again for a few years.

28th week of pregnancy

I am in the 28th week of gestation. Gabriel's eyes are partially open and can perceive light. His eye lashes and eye brows continue to grow and subcutaneous fat is being deposited to put a fat layer on him. Our baby is almost 15 inches from head to toe and weighs over two pounds. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes and perhaps even sucking his fingers. His brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were born now. About 9 out of 10 babies born now will survive with intensive care services and the help of medical technology according to babiesonline.com. I've experienced Braxton Hicks contractions in the past couple of weeks. Braxton Hicks are sporadic uterine contractions that actually start at about 6 weeks, although most will not feel them that early. Most women start feeling them during the second or third trimester.

I had another appointment with my OB/GYN on Wednesday morning. My blood pressure was fine. I got my paperwork for the next one hour glucose tolerance test and blood work to check for anemia, all normal testing that occurs at this time frame. I just need to find the hour to take off from work to do the one hour glucose test. I had no weight gain from my last appointment a month ago. I heard Gabriel's heartbeat on the doppler again. Another ultrasound in 4 weeks has been suggested to try to pinpoint exactly where Gabriel is in size at that point. So we get another chance to view our boy on November 7th.

On Tuesday night, Michael and I attended a breast-feeding preparation class. Mike was a trooper sitting through the whole thing. I still didn't learn everything I wanted to know, but there are good lactation specialists at The Family Place where we hope to deliver Gabriel. They will be able to give us some one on one attention then. Meanwhile, I will keep reading my books to learn more.

Michael has been working on sanding and prepping the walls of Gabriel's room for painting. We have narrowed down to three possible wall colors.

Monthly Appointment

I am in my 6th month of pregnancy now, the far side of the second trimester. I've completed 23 full weeks of pregnancy. The photo below is a representation of the typical size of a baby in the 23rd week of gestation, though our boy is much cuter than this example baby. I am feeling movement throughout the day now, and starting to notice some patterns to the sleep and movement cycles. I can feel the baby move, but the movements aren't strong enough yet for Michael to feel them. And I have read that the baby is now much more aware of what is going on outside of the womb. He can feel my movements and his hearing will pick up loud noises in the environment. It might be time to start playing him music. So another month done of pregnancy means another monthly appointment with my doctor's office. I visited today with my regular doctor's partner, in case she ends up attending the actual birth in my regular doctor's absence.

I learned today that the baby is fine according to the last ultrasound we had on August 29th. The baby is in the 44th percentile so he is running small, or at least 56% of all babies born would most likely weigh more than him. I am starting to think that maybe I better have more little newborn sizes of clothes on hand and not just assume I'll have a big baby that will fit right into 3 month clothing quickly.

The baby's heart rate was 150 and strong. I could actually feel him hitting or kicking the Doppler when the doctor pushed it into my stomach/his space to listen to his heart rate. I could hear a different thunking noise on the Doppler in conjunction with the movement I felt.

And my blood pressure remains fine at 120/70. I've started a prenatal pool exercise program on Monday and Wednesday nights after work so I can guarantee at least twice a week I get some exercise in. I've had some pelvic pain due to the hormones relaxing the pelvic ligaments, so it is nice to have an hour in a heated pool to get the weight off my lower back, pelvis and knees. And it is fun to talk to other expectant mothers my age and compare notes.

Michael and I are also all signed up for the prerequisite baby classes, so starting next month we will learn infant CPR, basic baby care, attend the child birth class, do a tour of The Family Place where we will have the baby, and even take a quick course on breast feeding.

We've also done a handful of child care center tours and have the baby on multiple waiting lists for child care for next April, when I assume my maternity leave will be over if everything goes as planned.

I am going to stop referring to our son as "the baby" in my blog entries because Michael and I have decided to call him Gabriel. We are using his name already and have had a chance to tell both sets of Grandparents. So baring any strange events that change our mind, like he turning out to be a she, we are going with Gabriel.