Life On The Other Side

After only 35 weeks and 5 days, our son was born on May 17, 2006 at 9:39 PM. He was 6 lbs, 14 oz and 20 inches long. The last few days have been a rollercoaster ride. I was diagnosed with PIH or pregnancy induced hypertension which facilitated the speedy birth of our boy. We were fortunate enough to have ourselves a healthy baby boy although he was considered premature due to his gestational age. The whole family is home and happy and adjusting to our new lives.

I feel rather confident we have all the tools to raise our son. By using the word “tools,” I mean that both the hubby and I are rather well-rounded folks. We have many varied interests that I hope will make some connection with our son. For example, we both like to read and read about different subjects such as science fiction (hubby), history (both of us), chick lit (me), social issues (both), etc. We also enjoy things like music, museums, movies and traveling. We watch a variety of sports though we don’t actively participate in any. But that’s okay because if the “boy” as my hubby calls him wants to participate in any sport, we’ll be the first ones out there helping him. We’ve also done other things in our lives that can and will contribute to the boy’s life such as camping and fishing. I mention these things just because of a conversation I had a few months ago with with the hubby’s sister-in-law before we found out the gender of our babies. She said she wasn’t sure what they would do with a boy since they don’t like sports. Well now they have to figure something out. But the hubby did point out that since it’s their son, he would most likely have similar interests as his parents. So having a boy doesn’t necessarily mean raising a sports player or even someone interested in sports.

In other pregnancy news, I am almost at the end of my 29th week. Only ten more weeks to go before we meet the boy. It’s both exciting and scary at the same time. We still have a ton of things to do. The weight and the cravings remain steady. I’ve started a new blog specifically about the baby and the pregnancy for family and friends who don’t know about this one. If you’d like to be included, let me know.

I’ve been pretty busy the last couple of weeks since we’ve been home from our vacation. We’ve begun taking some of the classes offered by the hospital we plan on having our baby at as preparation for the changes ahead. The first class we went to was more of an informational seminar than a class: epidurals. I have yet to swing either way when it comes to having or not having the epidural. Frankly, I’m pretty middle-of-the-road if that’s possible since I don’t really know what to expect or how I will be feeling when the time comes. Also, I learned that there might be some point during labor where it would be impossible to even get an epidural so I really have to be middle-of-the-road. Truthfully, I really hate needles with a passion and anything that resembles a needle or goes inside my veins (i.e. cathether) so it’s going to be a challenge for me to overcome the hatred or rather fear. In any case, I know the pros and cons, and what to expect and that’s more than I could ask for at this point.

The second class we took was an infant CPR class. It really was more than a CPR class because we talked about potential dangers and hazards a child might encounter in the home, what to do in an emergency, what is an emergency, etc. I think every new parent should take some kind of class like this because what you think you might know about handling things like fevers, cuts, bites, etc. goes out the window after you hear this information. Plus, you need to hear things from the perspective of a child or rather an adult who has a better idea of what a child might encounter. Things we take for granted such cords, outlets, cleaners, small objects, et al become deadly for an infant. I would definitely recommend this class for any parent.

In other news, I finally have a job. It’s not a job in the traditional sense where I get up and leave the house everyday, but rather I have a stay-at-home job. I applied to do some editing for an online secret shopper type of company a few months ago and got an email about a month ago to do a test for that job. Well I passed the test and was put into their apprentice program. Last week I spent doing their online orientation and this week I started doing some editing. It’s been a slow process because of the training and now the apprentice program. The apprentice part is expected to be about four weeks and once that is done, we have two chance to pass the junior editor test. Once we pass, we’ll be junior editors but if we don’t, well you can guess what happens. This job sounded interesting because it was a chance for me to get back into something I haven’t done professionally in awhile which is editing. My editing mainly came with writing for a newspaper many years ago and it’s a pretty thankless job not to mention without much recognition. However it is important if not one of the most important aspects of any written piece. This job will give me a chance to brush up and sharpen my editing skills while making a little bit of money.

Finally, the last bit of news is that the hubby and I went out on a “blind couple’s date” with another couple we met locally. Rather, I met this girl through a local online board and we decided to meet up for dinner with our husbands. She and I are both pregnant with our first child and they are due about two weeks before we are. It’s nice to finally make some connections with people in town and we’ll see how it goes.

After going through the first 20 weeks of pregnancy with only a slight weight gain of 3.5 pounds, I have officially joined the rest of my counterparts with a significant weight gain in the last five and half weeks. Drum roll, please!!!! I have gained an additional 5.5 pounds bringing my grand total at about 25 weeks of pregnancy to 9 pounds! Doesn’t seem like much to you but it is to me. Suffice to say that my blood pressure continues to rock at 120/80 and hopefully will stay that way. The doctor did not seem at all concerned about my weight especially when it came out to a pound a week. Can y0u imagine if that were to happen as part of our normal lives? Yikes!

The appointment itself was pretty quick since there wasn’t much to talk about. We heard the baby’s heartbeat though he was being his stubborn self by trying to hide from us. Got measured for the fundal height to make sure I’m on target and I was at 25 weeks. The OB also went over our results from the last ultrasound which is no surprise to us that the report said they still could not get the baby’s heart measured. The interesting part was that the OB showed us in my chart the estimated due date of the baby at each visit. And as if the little bugger wasn’t almost right on target going back and forth between June 16th and June 15th. Despite the fact that his arms and legs seem to measure a week or more ahead as does his skull size, we are still expecting him to make his grand entrance in mid-June. I would expect that he might measure longer in the arms and legs with my six feet, two inches tall hubby! Another four weeks until the next prenatal appointment and we’ll be back with our regular OB then. We also have the gestational diabetes test to look forward to. woo-hoo.

I remember a few toys that I had as a baby and surprisingly some of those are still around today though they are much more sophisticated. Unfortunately those toys are for babies age six months and older. I wanted to have some intelligent toys that our infant son could enjoy and also help with his development. Fisher-Price makes some wonderful toys that help with the development of a newborn including helping them to focus and to help strengthen the muscles in his neck. These toys can also be used as he grows older. The two toys we got happen to be on sale at that big bad toy store at a good deal.

These blocks are something I saw in a pregnancy magazine that I really wanted:

The purpose of having the black and white side of the blocks showing to the baby in the crib is that in his first month, he is most attentive to black and white pictures or high-contrast patterns. These will help him to focus and help with his vision. The other sides of the blocks include some tactile material and other interesting patterns. When he gets older, he can take these out and play with them.

The other toy we got is called a “Track & Play” center:

The face at the top will move slowly back and forth to help with focusing and there are other things on this such as a mirror and objects he can press, twist and move around. This has a battery that helps operate the face moving and also includes some music and even a voice that says something like “Ohhh baby” but in a motherly way.

I really like the Fisher-Price toys because of some of the nostalgia connected with the classic toys that I had growing up and because of how they promote certain types of development in a baby. In the first couple of months of our child’s life, he will probably not need as many toys but these are just two to get him started in the right direction when it comes to growth and development.

The latest and greatest pregnancy news today is we had another ultrasound to see if the doctor could get some crucial measurements of the baby: his heart. The last ultrasound we had about 5 weeks ago showed the baby in a breech position and hiding his little ticker. Today showed he had turned and was head down but the position wasn’t much of a help. They weren’t able to see his heart clearly because of the shadows cast by the bones. Our little guy is as stubborn as his two parents put together… oy vey! They still took some other measurements and he is still measuring about a week ahead. He is about one pound, 10 ounces now and heartrate at a strong 150 bpm! They also used a doppler to track the movement of blood in his heart and what the doctor could ascertain was just wonderful. It was flowing beautifully and no cross over problems as she put it which means, I think, the chambers look good. In trying to get pictures of his heart, they did a transvaginal ultrasound in addition to an abdominal one. Not a very pleasant way to have an ultrasound but I was willing to try anything to get the pictures. Unfortunately that wasn’t too successful either though they got a really good look at his brain, ribs, hand, etc. The doctor said his brain looked great and said it with this sort of awe in her voice. I take that as a good sign. At that stage of the ultrasound, I didn’t get to look at any of the pictures since the screen was turned the other way– pooh! The hubby did agree that the pictures were just awesome. I’m just happy that our little boy is doing well. So one last try before the bugger gets too big and too squished inside of me which will be three weeks from now. After that, they said the bones will definitely be harder and he’ll be in a position too difficult to see his heart clearly. I’m not worried at all but I’m glad the doctor wants to thorough.

Another prenatal appointment today and I don’t think I’ve ever gone to a doctor this regularly in my life. So far, another 1.5 pounds gained for a total of 3.5 pounds over 20 weeks; blood pressure excellent; and iron levels slightly low but not low enough for the doctor to say anything. We saw a different OB this week as our regular OB is off having her baby. I’ve seen this doctor before and he’s okay but we both like other regular OB. My uterus is at my belly button where it should be at this stage. My only stress today was when the nurse came in with the doppler and seemed to have a hard time finding the heartbeat. Not sure what was going on but she thinks the baby was moving around a bit but we heard it ever so briefly. We don’t have another appointment for 4 weeks but we do have another ultrasound in 3 weeks.

As far as the weekend and the pregnancy, we bought a few more baby clothes and I also got some maternity tops. I also put on maternity clothes to go out for the first time yesterday. The hubby said I definitely look pregnant now. I think my tummy will begin to grow a bit more now that I’m in the second half of my pregnancy. I hope I can keep the weight gain to a minimun and so far I’ve been doing really well without compromising the growth and health of the baby. Oh believe me, I am not dieting or doing anything of the sort so I wouldn’t be hurting the baby but I’m also not eating tons of food and I’m certainly not eating for two though there are days that I do. Keeping my weight under control is more for the baby than for me and I hope will aid in a smooth delivery.

A couple more of our purchases over the last week including the absolutely necessary infant carrier that goes into a car base and also a stroller for when the baby is a little older.

This is the crib we purchased and the hubby put together for our son. We were very lucky to get it and I especially like the fold down front rather than the slide down front. The baby should enjoy at least his first few years in this little gem. Later it does convert to a toddler bed and can even be made into a full sized bed if we want to. The price was phenomenal and we’re happy with it though most importantly it is very sturdy and safe. Among the other things we also have in the room are a dresser (not shown) and that bookshelf to the left of the crib. In addition, we did some shopping for clothes including getting that cute little one piece sleep and play wear coverall. We’re hoping to get a few more things for the little guy this weekend. I’m really not sure how much clothes a baby needs or how long they will wear it. The joke to the hubby last night after we left with a bag of clothes was that we should keep track the amount of times he wears each piece before he outgrows it. We’re not too concerned being that we did get almost every outfit on sale with the exception of one or two; that’s really the trick to buying baby clothes.

This was our big weekend to get a few major pieces for the baby and to register. Before going to the baby superstore (BRU), we stopped in at a smaller chain store that I had been hearing about. We were lucky to find that they were having their “trimester” sale and we happened upon a crib that we liked at a nice price. It’s pretty simple looking but not entirely too plain. We liked how it looked in the store and found an added bonus of a fold-down front. So instead of one of the sides “sliding” down, about the top fourth of one of the sides folds down with a piano hinge. We like it a lot better because for one thing we get how it works without anyone telling us how it works. We also found a perfect stroller at a great deal too. We still haven’t gotten the infant carrier or a mattress so that will be our next purchases in the coming weeks. After that big purchase, we were off to the the baby superstore to register. I think if it wasn’t raining, that place would have been packed. As it was, it was pretty busy with lots of people registering but at least the aisles weren’t overcrowded. In addition to registering, we purchased some cute onesies and a little blue dinosaur (I didn’t say purple). While the hubby and I don’t really have a “theme” or color scheme for our nursery, we decided to register for a cute airplane bedding set and mobile. I guess we could have chosen baseball since we both love the game but perhaps that will come later when our boy is a little older. Pictures will be forthcoming when the crib gets assembled.