Wyatt's Birth in Pictures

Ok, so I still don't have a birth story typed up, and I'm not sure when it will happen. But if you're interested I did throw some pictures together in a slideshow from my labor & delivery, and the first 10 days of Wyatt's life. The video is about 10 minutes long, and I would've put more time into perfecting the slideshow, but, with a newborn in the house I'm finding that there is no such thing as spare time.

They zip and button

... So I'm gonna wear them. My favorite pre-pregnancy jeans that is. Yes, they are a little snug. Yes, my post baby belly hangs over the top. I don't care. 10 days postpartum and I can zip and button them, and I'm gonna wear them.

Today was an absolutely gorgeous November day! We took Wyatt for his first walk to Starbucks and then strolled around the neighborhood. Although he slept through the entire walk, I'm certain that he enjoyed every minute of it!


*P.S. - I'm still working on that birth story and hope to have it up soon!

HE IS HERE!!!

World, meet your newest member:

Wyatt Peter
10/23/09
8:59pm
7lb 7oz
21in

Birth story and more pictures to come just as soon as his mommy gets some sleep. To tide you over until the update comes, the brief summary is that it was 22 hours of intense 100% back labor, done completely without an epidural, and ending with an unexpected and beautiful delivery in a birthing tub.

38 Weeks!

Do you want to play Where in Chicago is Cuckoo's Belly? The first picture probably won't tell you much, so I'm posting a scenic picture as an additional hint!




How far along: 38 Weeks, 3 Days

Total weight gain: 33 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Only a few remain, the rest I have outgrown or I inevitably shrunk in the dryer.
Stretch Marks? I'm still sad.
Sleep: I can't wait to have this baby so I can sleep again! Wait, what? That's not going to happen? We'll see about that.
Best Moment This Week: Spoiling myself rotten. My toes and fingers are soo pretty!
Movement: Hey kid, my ribs are not the exit route.
Food Cravings: Nope, still got nothing.
Gender: It's going to be a boy.

Belly Button in or out: It's still flat, and it's never been cleaner in my whole life!
What I miss: I miss putting on socks and shoes without feeling like it is the biggest chore ever.
What I am looking forward to: I'm looking forward to this child being evicted out of the uterus.
Labor Signs? Nothing new to report, but labor watch can be exhausting at times!

Weekly Wisdom: One day at a time...
Milestones: Uhhh, I don't know. I guess another week means my child has gained another 1/2 pound or so. I suppose this is a good thing, but I'm fairly certain I'm lugging around a good 8-9 pounder baby already!

37 WEEKS! Any day now?

We love our glider...

I actually have lots to say this week.

First of all - I am full term! Which means the baby is fully cooked and welcome to come any day now... Maybe I should say it a little louder so that the baby hears me.... BABY, YOU CAN COME ANY DAY NOW....

Second - I have this "Baby To Do" List that I have been diligently following and trying to cross things off the list as much as possible. Well, one of the items on the list was to "pamper me." For example, get a haircut, get a manicure, get a pedicure, etc. I figured that I'm getting to the end of the line here and once I pop this kid out of me I will need some things to make me feel good about me. Because we all know my body is not going to bounce back to the way it looked 37 weeks ago, and I'm most likely going to feel frumpy and yucky (although of course ecstatic to have my child), but you know what I mean. I started with the haircut, and it's not that I dislike my haircut... it's that I HATE IT!! Hmph. That's not the way it was supposed to go. I was supposed to pamper myself to feel good about me. Instead I find myself now cursing my hair every.single.day. The good thing is that pregnancy supposedly causes your hair to grow faster. The bad news is, my pregnancy is almost over. So I wear my hair in a ponytail every day, from now until I can tolerate looking at it. To forwarn all, please don't comment on my hair, ever. You will only cause a hormonal chick to cry, and you don't want that happening, do you?

Third, I am done shaving my legs. Done I tell you. Thank goodness it is cold and Fall, but even if it were summer right now I still don't think I would care anymore. Listen, I dare all of you to test this - go out and buy an 8 lb watermelon. Strap that bad boy onto your belly, and then attempt to shave your legs. Not so easy now is it? So forget it. I have shaved my legs for the last time until I have this baby.

Fourth, things have done a 180 at work. Thank the good lord. I mean I was really starting to lose it with all of the stress and was on the verge of breaking down... oh wait, that's right, I did break down. In my office one day, I walked right in, shut the door, and had me a good cry. But apparently word spreads around fast when the pregnant chick is sobbing uncontrollably in her office. Obviously not one of my finest moments at work. But if any good came from this embarrassing adventure it is that my boss realized she was doing a huge disservice to me (and herself, because you know I was really close to saying "Eff this job, I QUIT"). And now, the stress has not only been eliminated, but I have also been given the privilege to work from home now until I have the baby. And I swear I did not ask for this, it was offered up, and I said "OK." So that's what I'm going to do most days, although I will still pop in the office once or twice a week because I really like a lot of my co-workers, and like to get out of the house. So that's that.

Now onto other things...

How far along: 37 Weeks, 3 Days

Total weight gain: All over the place this week. But as of this morning I'm at a total of 31 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Oh yes.
Stretch Marks? Just as I suspected, stretch marks STRETCH and MULTIPLY. Shit.
Sleep: I wake up to go to the bathroom between 4:00 - 4:30am every night. Just in case you wanted to know.
Best Moment This Week: Taking a nap on the couch. Anytime I am sleeping is good.
Movement: You know, sometimes he/she shakes a tail feather in there, and sometimes not.
Food Cravings: Meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Thanks mom, it was delish.
Gender: I still think it's a boy, what do you think?

Belly Button in or out: Meh. I'm developing stretch marks around it which is totally awesome.
What I miss: I miss my old, stretch mark free belly :(
What I am looking forward to: Having my baby!
Labor Signs? Some very mild cramping here and there, and a little added pressure, but that's about it.

Weekly Wisdom: Just because the midwife says the baby is fully baked, doesn't mean the baby believes he/she is fully baked. This could be a long few weeks.
Milestones: FULL TERM BABY!

36 Weeks!

I'm really, really feeling too tired to keep up with these updates. If someone wants to come over and take a picture of me, and then upload it, and then publish it to my blog, by all means you are welcome to do so. But our computer is going downhill and downloading pictures from the camera is a lengthy and annoying process. So here's what I got for you, with the little energy I have to give:

How far along: 36 Weeks, 4 days
Total weight gain: According to the scale at my last appt = 30 lbs. According to my scale at home = 31lbs. So somewhere between the two I guess.
Maternity clothes? Yes.
Stretch Marks? If you were cheering that I wouldn't get any, put down your pom poms, as I am passing out kleenex. One stretch mark showed up, and he brought several friends. I hate when stretch marks bring un-invited friends to the party!
Sleep: I've had a few good nights sleep, and a few not so good nights.
Best Moment This Week: Eating a Pumpkn Pie Blizzard from Dairy Queen. It was pure HEAVEN. But, it was immediately followed by the worst moment of the week, which was massive heartburn. Seriously, I was almost in tears.
Movement: The baby settled into a pattern of moving pretty regularly between 9-9:30pm. It will be interesting to see if that pattern continues outside the womb as well.
Food Cravings: Nope.
Gender: I still think it's a boy, what do you think?

Belly Button in or out: I don't know. My whole belly button area just looks ugly and silly in my opinion.
What I miss: Heartburn free meals.
What I am looking forward to: Oh lots of things. Our last birthing class is tonight. Our nursery dresser and changing table arrived today so we can finally start putting away baby clothes. Our new camcorder arrives this week. And I'll be considered full term in just a few days!
Labor Signs? Now that we're super duper close, I think it's time to add a new category. And the answer is Nope, no labor signs yet!
Milestones: Weekly doctor appointments have begun!

Great Expectations

Have you been anxiously awaiting my 35 week belly picture? Turns out, you're not getting one. I meant to take one while we were in the city yesterday for our class and tour at the hospital, I brought my camera and everything, and then Whoops! I forgot. Oh well.

Here is my (very long) take on the whole experience at the hospital. First of all, I walked in the door of the lobby and felt this overwhelming sense of emotions. A mixture between excitement, anxiety, fear, and who knows what else. In a nutshell it was this moment of "holy shit, the next time I walk through these doors it's going to be because I am here to have a baby!" And I honestly felt a little choked up over the thought, and feel a little emotional even when talking about it now. I've survived most of this pregnancy without being the cliche emotional pregnant chick, so it's kind of funny to find the few little things that do make me emotional. After I had my moment in the lobby that lasted a split second, I realized that I am the cliche pregnant lady that has to pee all the time, and so I wandered (waddled?) off to the nearest bathroom.

The class was set to begin at 8:30am, though several couples arrived quite late and the instructor decided to wait for them to arrive, which I found more than annoying. There were 3 of these classes going on at the same time on the same day, not to mention the fact that they have these classes every Saturday and Sunday, of just about every month of the year. But as my luck would have it, someone from my work walked into MY class with his wife. Super. There's nothing more fun then sitting around discussing graphic birthing stuff with a colleague from the office sitting directly across from you. I'm sure we'll be hanging around the water cooler chatting about episiotimies and such now. Right.

The class was taught by an RN at the hospital, and she also just had her own first baby a year ago, so she came with experience from all angles. As a side note, Tim and I have been taking a 12 session course in the Bradley Method of childbirthing, which emphasizes un-medicated and husband coached childbirth. I just want to say, I personally try to refer to it as un-medicated birthing and prefer not to ever use the word Natural Childbirth, because I find nothing unnatural about those that have epidural births. To me, having a baby is having a baby, no matter how you go about it. Personally, the thought of sticking a needle in my spine freaks the hell out of me more than the thought of having really intense contractions. But to each their own. Also, having never experienced labor before, I'm going into this whole experience completely open-minded and I am trying to prepare and educate myself for all of the options that may present themselves in labor. Which is why we opted to take this class at the hospital in addition to the Bradley classes we have been taking.

The morning portion of the class went well, and we enjoyed the tour in the afternoon. It was good to get a feel for where we will go when we arrive to the hospital, and what will happen at that time. The labor and delivery rooms are big and beautiful, but I have to admit that I looked at the bed and thought to myself "that doesn't look comfortable." Maybe it is comfy though, as looks can be deceiving, I guess I'll find out for sure in due time. Every L&D room has it's own baby bed, which I think they called a Giraffe, where the baby is weighed and measured after they are delivered. I stared at it for a good length of time, trying to envision my baby there, and I just couldn't picture it. Sometimes I think this thing moving in my belly still looks like a little alien bean, and I just can't visualize the fact that it really looks like, and is, a human being.

After the tour we returned to the class to wrap up on post delivery talks. Our instructor handed us a duffle bag filled with items that she said we will all see after we deliver, and she told each couple to take out one item and pass the bag around the room. Tim was the first to select, and he proceeded to take out an item and the second he did I wanted to yell at him "put that back and choose a different one!" But it was too late, he already passed the bag onto the next person. I just knew our instructor was going to make us talk about the item, and Tim looked at me puzzled and said "what is this?" I calmly try to explain to him that it is "disposable underwear" without bursting out into a fit of laughter. I was succeeding at holding my laughter in until he said "oh, I thought it was a hat for the baby or something." At which point the rolling laughter was impossible to hold back. He threw the disposable underwear at me and was like "you're talking about it, not me." Fortunately I got my laughter under control before the instructor went around the room, and I proudly held up the disposable underwear for all in the group to see. Yep, once again I'd like to mention how awesome it was for a work colleague to be in the same class.

Now on a serious note, our instructor wrapped up the class and day with information on SIDS, which I was not anticipating. She went over risks of SIDS at which she said "don't put your baby to sleep on its stomach... And don't let your baby sleep in the same bed as you... Because these things can suffocate the baby and SIDS is suffocation". I was really enjoying the class and instructor up until this point. At that time, after I removed my jaw from the floor, I pretty much lost all respect for her and her ignorance. Listen, if you're going to work at a well respected birthing hospital in Chicago, and if you are going to teach an expectant parents class, please KNOW the information you are teaching. For the record, SIDS is not suffocation, and it bothers me that I let all of these parents to be walk out of this class not knowing any better.

Other than ending the class on a sour note, overall the class was good and informative and we're glad that we went. And of course the tour of the hospital was the highlight of the day, and the next time I am there it will be to meet our baby.