Bump Check!

So, the picture doesn't do the bump justice, so I'm putting a pic from a month ago (below/to the left) next to the one from today (above/to the right) so you see the comparison. There's for sure a bump (look in my lower belly - see - bump!). Matter of fact, I actually wore some maternity jeans on Saturday for the first time - very weird...but oddly comforting. I felt very secure and held together :)



To continue the saga of having a little tiny bit of stress every two weeks, this week I learned I am Group B Strep Positive (GBS+), a bacterial infection that causes little harm to the mom (they found out when they tested me for the UTI), but can cause serious problems for the baby if passed on. But don't worry, if I'm on an antibiotics (through an IV) during delivery, it will reduce the chance of me passing it on to 1 in 4000, so we're fine. Just another little hiccup.

The last few days we were supposed to be in Omaha, NE, visiting Danny's Doda Eva and Uncle Marty, but we were snowed in. In many ways it was a blessing in disguise as we spent much of the weekend packing up the apartment for the big kitchen remodel - which starts this Wednesday! It's very exciting, but a bit of work packing and storing (and then we'll have to unpack and restore in a month!) and we're going to be out of the house for at least 4 weeks, so a bit of logistics as well.

Alas, things continue to move forward and we're doing well.

The business of being born

A friend asked me today if I was enjoying being pregnant. It was a great question - one I guess I haven't been asked! The truth is - I'm doing fine - I feel good - I'm excited about being a family and all that good stuff - but a big part of this pregnancy has been an undercurrent of fear and anxiety. Not every minute, not even every day, but certainly every week.

First it was the bleeding, then the swine flu, then the UTI, then the NT tests (btw, we got the second round back, which were still great numbers - 1 in 1000; so we opted not to have the amnio). Now it's the anatomy screening on January 5th. There's just always something (real!) that we're battling or testing or trying to figure out.

I guess I've just wanted to get through this part before truly accepting that this is happening. That we're going to be parents...but when is it "safe" to go there? Alas, if I am going to go there, I need to begin to think about how I may want to birth!

So, that's what I began this week. I started with watching "The Business of Being Born" (wasn't prepared to see Ricki Lake give birth in a bathtub, but...there she was!); I began to research OBs and midwives (it turns out my OB doesn't do births in the Birthing Center - only the hospital), made some appointments, talked to Mandy on the phone, watched a water birth on YouTube and today I'm going to start reading a bit more.

I also need to keep my eating and exercising in check. I would like to walk for an hour 3 times a week and do yoga or pregalates 3 times a week. I think that's reasonable - I just need to do it. (I've been walking at least once a week and the same for the yoga/pregalates, but that's not enough)

So, stay tuned for this weekend's bump pic - I think you're going to be impressed.

Bump Check!

Okay - so, though the changes in the pictures seem subtle, I'm growing and growing and growing. I can't seem to eat enough. Alas, still wearing my normal clothes, but got a huge bin of clothes to borrow from a friend and feel like it's just a few more weeks before I'll need'em. We'll see. Meanwhile, I'm feeling well - the little guy is bigger than an avocado at this point and has toenails - which I think is crazy. We had lunch with some friends who recently had a home birth and had nothing but wonderful things to say about it - interesting... I've really always thought those people were crazy, but it does sound semi-appealing. Once again - just now allowing myself to even think about the birth, so lots of reading to do and....we'll see.