A Watermelon is Born!

Caleb Andrew Moccari, formerly a watermelon who made himself very comfortable in my womb, was born on May 15th, 2011 at 1:55pm!!!

Read on if you're interested in the birth story :)

Caleb was due on May 2nd....May 2nd came and went, along with many, many more days! I tried hard to be patient but it was pretty tough because every day was the last day...kind of like the movie Groundhog Day!

We finally decided to schedule an induction for May 15th, but held out hope that I would go into labor without any help before the induction....as we all know, I did NOT go into labor on my own, so we went in to be induced. (One upside is that we got to spend a few last days with Mommy and Daddy in town).

We left for the hospital at 5:40am, in order to be there by 6am. After some paperwork we were admitted and taken to the labor and delivery room. I got into a glamorous gown and waited for the nurse to come in. She got me all hooked up to the fetal heart rate monitor and the monitor that checks contractions (same as I had for the non stress test). When pitocin is used for induction the fetus has to be continually monitored incase it doesn't respond well. I was not too happy about being hooked up to so many things, but I accepted that because I was ready to meet my son! One cool thing we noticed was that I was actually having some little contractions on my own, so my body was FINALLY deciding that it might be time to have the baby!

Last picture of me pregnant in regular clothes!

After a shift change we got a new nurse and she checked me and started the pitocin at 7:30am. In addition to my mini contractions I was already dilated to 3cm (many inductions start with 0cm, so I was in good shape). At first things were kind of boring and we were just hanging out, waiting for something to happen.

I wasn't very happy about being all hooked up!

I slowly moved from comfortable to less and less comfortable. My OB wanted me to be checked again at 11am to make sure that I was making progress. If I wasn't, she was going to come in and break my water. Thankfully, 11am rolled around and I was already 5.5cm, so no need to break my water (pitocin was enough of an intervention!). I started to get more and more uncomfortable and I wasn't able to get into any position that made me comfortable. I also felt really restricted because I had the monitors on me and I was hooked up to a pole with the pitocin, an IV and the antibiotic (penicillin) for the Group B strep. Cameron was trying really hard to help me get comfortable, but I wasn't terribly responsive to him :/ I do remember telling him over and over again that I wanted this to be over! I was anxious with anticipation about how much worse the labor was going to get.

At this point Cameron decided to call Michelle, our doula. Since I had progressed so quickly she decided that it was time for her to come. Thank goodness! By the time she got there I was in serious active labor and really needed help staying comfortable. It was great to have Cameron to hold on to and Michelle to massage my back and use a heated rice sock to soothe some of my back pain. She also had me sit on the exercise ball and rotate my pelvis. She said that this would help to move the baby down faster. She was also great because she was telling me to listen to my body and just give into the feelings and urges, so I was able to "relax" a bit.

Things moved pretty quickly I think from this point. The nurses wanted to check me to see where I was...8cm already! Michelle told me to get on my knees and rested my head on the raised hospital bed. This was as comfortable as I was going to get! My contractions were getting stronger and I think I was really ready to push. The nurses told me not to push if I had the urge, but Michelle kept reminding me to listen to my body. Shortly after the nurse left to go call the OB to tell her that I was at 8cm and progressing quickly Michelle told Cameron to go get a nurse to come in and check me because I was pushing all the way through my contractions.

The nurse came in and checked me...well, I was 10cm already. She had to get someone to call my OB again to make sure she was going to get there in time! After a little more pushing on my knees they had me go on my right side and hold me leg up. (This is a better position than flat on my back because it helps to move some bones out of the way). Shortly after I got on my side the head was crowning (I got to feel his head once, which was kind of surreal). After I felt his head I was even more motivated. I was apparently pushing really well and every push was very productive. Everyone in the room was amazed at how quickly Caleb was born once I really started pushing. I figured I might as well push as hard as possible and use all of my air for each push...the harder you work the sooner your done!

So, after starting the pitocin at 7:30am, Caleb was born at 1:55pm--6.5 hours of labor! I could not even believe it! I was expecting a much longer labor, especially being a first time mom! So, aside from being induced and using pitocin, I was able to go through the entire labor and delivery without any other interventions or medication (aka, no epidural).

Shortly after we officially became a family of three.

There is a really no way to describe labor. I felt uncomfortable, but I never really felt a lot of PAIN. I suppose it was painful, but the feelings were strange and uncomfortable. I'll leave it at that :)

The very happy family about to leave the hospital :)

2.9 Moccaris

Cameron is great at taking photos of me to document the progress of my belly during this pregnancy, but we are both so bad about getting photos of us together!!

On May 7th we went to visit with the Howards and we asked Peter to take some photos of us. (Peter takes excellent photographs!).

Now we have a nice set of pictures of the Moccari Family...all 2.9 of us :)

Check out the rest of the photos! http://moccari.smugmug.com/Pregnancy/40-weeks-5-days-050711/16947164_Rtd9V3

Top 10...

Top 10

Things I will NOT miss about the last month of pregnancy...

10. Not being able to exercise the way I normally can...my 100% now is closer to my regular 50%!

9. Lower levels of energy.

8. Stretch marks (I didn't get any until the last month!)

7. Fitting into fewer and fewer clothes...

6. Tailbone pain.

5. Needing to roll out of bed and push myself up on my nightstand to get up!

4. The constant urge to urinate...

3. ...followed by very unsatisfying trips to the bathroom!

2. Pubic Symphysis--> http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/symptoms-and-solutions/symphysis-pubic-dysfunction.aspx

1.WAITING for my sweet baby to be born!

Non-Stress Test

We went to the hospital for a non-stress test (NST) yesterday. My doctor wasn't concerned about anything but this is a standard test when you are "past-due." So, off we went to the hospital!

The purpose of the NST is to check to make sure that the baby is responsive and that his heart rate goes up and down. I think that I got some little jolts or shocks (nothing I felt) on my belly and then the baby's heart rate is monitored to make sure he reacts. We passed with flying colors :) We got a reactive result in 20 minutes, which is great. The test needs to last for at least 20 minutes, but some people who don't have very reactive babies may have to do the test for 90 minutes!

The monitors would also measure any contractions I had during the test. Well, I could have told them, but I didn't have a single contraction! Alas....more waiting :)

There were some very positive things about this appointment though. First and foremost, the baby is doing well. He's reactive and his heart rate goes up and down perfectly. Secondly, we got to see a labor and delivery room! We'd seen a recovery room when we visited a friend last summer, but never the labor and delivery room. It was a pretty large room. I suppose it needs to be large in order to have so many people there when the baby actually decides to come!

Check out this link to see the other photos from the test yesterday :)

http://moccari.smugmug.com/Pregnancy/Non-stress-Test-050511/16923539_C3FNvx

All we're missing now is the baby...

Here are some more images of our nursery! We've worked really hard to make it a room that we feel our little boy will enjoy and a room he can grow into. We haven't put too much on the walls yet, but this will allow us to decorate more once he's here.

One piece that had been missing was a bookshelf/toy shelf and we finally found one that is exactly what we were looking for for months! (It should look very familiar to Ben, Amy and Jack...it's the same shelves as Jack has in his room!). Ikea came through on this one and we LOVE the cubes. It is really important for me to have books in his room. While he won't notice them now, I want them to be there as soon as he does notice them. We are so fortunate to have received so many baby/kid friendly books so we can let him do as he pleases once he gets his hands on the books :)

Of course the cubes are the perfect place for toys! (We have more in the closet too...and I'm sure the room will be taken over with toys before we know it!).

It's also amazing how his closet has filled up! He has more clothes for his first year than I have for my life!!!!

Check out this link to see all of the nursery pictures! http://moccari.smugmug.com/Pregnancy/Nursery-050511/16923419_FCVMxg

Appointment- 40 weeks 1 day

This afternoon we had another appointment. I'm now 40 weeks and 1 day, so I'm "past due." They shouldn't really say that though, since only about 5% of babies are born ON their due date and most first time babies (well, all babies are born for their first time, so first time moms) are late...so......I'm trying to convince myself that I'm not late.

Anyway, since I'm late we got to have another ultrasound. The purpose of this ultrasound was to check the amniotic fluid levels. The further along in pregnancy the less effective the placenta can be and sometimes fluid levels drop. They wanted to see a fluid level of 5 and my number was 14, so we're good to go :) The fluid level indicated whether he is still urinating (meaning his functions are still, well, functioning) and to make sure he has enough to live on in there. Since the level is fine then there is no need to think about induction (phew!).

Other than that, he was resting for the most part...his heart rate was close to 130. He had his legs crossed and they were over on my left side and his bottom was on my right. We got another photo of his face (I think he was WAYYYY cuter on the ultrasound screen than in his picture) and he had his arm near his face. We can attest to the fact that he is still a boy :)

When I was checked I had not made much progress since last week. I'm ALMOST 2cm dilated and now just 60% effaced. (This effacement calculation isn't an exact science really because I was more effaced last week!).

I'm trying to enjoy my time and not just WAIT. It's tough though because I've been thinking, "it can be any time now" since I was 38 weeks, so I'm kind of been waiting for more than 2 weeks now.

I told Cameron that we might need to start a project and leave it unfinished and THEN he will be born. We keep accomplishing too much :)

40 weeks pregnant....what to do, what to do???

So yesterday was Cameron's birthday (Happy Birthday!!!) and it was also a gorgeous day outside. In North Carolina spring is often a little blip between winter and SUMMER (HOT, HOT, HOT), so we really wanted to take advantage of the day and spend time outside. Cameron has been wanting to do some work in the yard but we've been putting it off because we've been making sure that things IN the house are ready for the baby.

Anyway, we decided that we would go buy some plants and work in the yard. Yes, I was 39 weeks and 5 days yesterday and I spent 2 hours outside planting. I had planned to just "supervise" and keep Cameron company, but then I got started and I didn't really stop! We accomplished a lot, but let me tell you, I do NOT plan on doing that again next time! The lower back pain I caused myself is something I have never felt before! We were seriously wondering if I was having back labor or if it was simply pain from planting!

Needless to say, I'm trying REALLY hard to take it easy today so that my body will fully recover before my actual labor starts...whenever that may be!

Appointment Update

I had another appointment again this morning to check on the baby. Everything is still looking good and going well!

His heart rate was right around 150bpm. Last week he was closer to 130bpm because he was not really active last week (probably sleeping last week). Dr. Tahtawi is happy with how he sounds, so I'm happy too :)

My weight is still going up (as it should....but I really do wish it would stop!). My blood pressure is still great though...104/68 I think :)

Dr. Tahtawi says that I have 1cm dilated and 70% effaced....this just means that I'm heading in the right direction (or rather, the baby is heading in the right direction!) and that my body is getting ready to give birth. I obviously need to be 10cm and 100% effaced when I actually deliver, but I could be 1cm now and then 10cm in the morning....or I could stay at 1cm for 2 more weeks!

Since I am due on Monday, Dr. Tahtawi will consider me "past due" when I come in for my appointment next week. If I don't have the baby before next Tuesday afternoon I will go in for another ultrasound to make sure things are still going ok. Apparently the placenta becomes less effective....who knew!

Advice from my students :)

I asked my students to write me a piece of advice on how to be a good mom. I am including each bit of advice I got...student spelling and all. Enjoy!!!

1. You can be a mom by giving food to your baby and make food to your hosben.

2. I think you should make sure your baby is very safe. I think you should help your baby eat his baby food. I think you should be nice to him. I think you should keep him away from Ramsey.

3. You can be a good mom by buying good food for your baby. You can play outside with your family.

4. When he crys either hes hungry or he needs a diper change. And when he hadnot had enough sleep then when he crys he needs sleep.

5. You can chang his diper. You can put his diper on.

6. Change his diper and feed him and give him a nap.

7. Play with him and make him laf.

8. You can give sum milc and you can plays wheth a toy.

9. Be nais to your baby. I love you. I hope your baby is cuoot.

10. I think you should play with the baby.

11. I think you should make a card to your baby with the name you want to name him.

12. You give your baby malk.

13. Make food.

14. Pay lots of attention.

Busy Boy!

I wish you could all feel 'Lil Dude moving....but since you can't, I'll just let you know that this is one busy boy!!!

He's started moving more and more over the past couple of weeks and even more the past few days. I think he's realizing that I am not giving him enough room! Hopefully he'll be happy to be out in the world with more space :)

Feeling pretty good...

Right now I'm 38 weeks 4 days...WHOAH! I really never imagined being at this point. We've known that I'm pregnant for so long that it's really amazing that I'm so close now!

It's funny....back when I first got pregnant I thought I'd be totally huge and constantly uncomfortable by this point. I'm not totally huge (still only measuring 36cm even though I "should" be 38cm). I'm certainly not small (today Cameron asked me if I brought anything with me on our way in to Target. I had my purse on the opposite side from him...he could not see my purse around my belly!). Sometimes I feel big, but I can't comfortably rest my arms on my belly, which I thought was something that happened to everyone.

I also thought I'd have a really hard time putting Ramsey's leash on and picking up after him. Don't get me wrong, I prefer for Cameron to do it, but I'm still capable of getting down to him and taking care of him like before. Of course this makes things easier. (When given the option, I ask other people to pick things up for me...especially in my classroom where they are eager to help me with anything!).

I'm not saying things are EASY these days...it take mind and body effort to get up off the floor after I do my back stretching and heating. I am certainly looking forward to being able to sit up from a reclined position without thinking about it and making a plan :)

Overall I am feeling pretty good. I am finding that I'm getting tired more easily, so I'm trying to slow down and take breaks so I don't overdo it. This will be much easier to do after Monday, when I am tracked out and have a week off before the due date. I'm having some back pain...mostly from a rib that seems to be pooped out a bit and does not want to go back in and stay in (even after twice weekly visits to the chiropractor!). As I mentioned above, stretching on a ball and heat are the best remedies at this point!

The million dollar question...

If anybody is wondering when the baby will come, just ask one of my students: "When he gets too warm in there, that's when he'll be born."

17 weeks makes a difference...

The first photo is from when I was almost 20 weeks and the second photo is from tonight (almost 37 weeks). Same dress....with 17 weeks of progress! :)

36 weeks 5 days

It's been a while since I've posted some photos...I've come a long way!!

Ramsey and the Bump

Airplane Baby Shower!

My AMAZING big sister, Diana, planned a wonderful baby shower for me! She did the planning all the way from California...now THAT is what I call love! :) There was extra out of town love too with Mommy coming for the weekend and Amy and Jack driving down from DC for an overnight visit! (Ramsey was THRILLED to have Jack come visit!)

The airplane theme was super cute and everyone was so impressed with how cute and clever everything was! The house was decorated, complete with signs for the "lavatory" and directions to the nursery! The favors were little airplane shaped luggage tags....so cute AND useful!

We played a game where everyone guessed how big my belly was...Kathryn Howard was the closest (within about 1/2 inch!). For the record, I was 44 inches around on March 26th :)

There was a really cool flight map in the nursery. People wrote me little bits of advice and well wishes and posted them on the map. Pretty cool (and I got some good advice!)

Lots of friends came to celebrate and I had an awesome time. We were very blessed with so many great gifts. There was so much love for 'Lil Dude!

Ahmad came in at the end....just to say hello a be a little silly!

Thanks for coming!!!!!

Coming Soon- Doula Visit #3

Doula Visit #2 (Part 2)

After we went over the homework from the week we moved into our next topic--Labor and Delivery.

We learned about the stages of labor and what typically happens during those stages. We also watched a couple of short videos of women actually delivering their babies.

We focused a lot on understanding how the stages differ and what to do during each stage. In the first stage (Early Labor) I'll be at home and trying to relax. The contractions shouldn't be too intense and they are between 3 and 20 minutes apart (so no pattern). As I move into Active Labor the contractions will be more regular and get more intense.

MIchelle wants me to stay at home for as long as possible. She has found that this results in shorter labors. The reason for this is because the stress and craziness at the hospital often slows or stalls labor. She can't check dilation, but she has a way of telling by spending time with the mother (during her labor of course) and she is usually within a cm! Pretty impressive I think :) She said that it is ideal to get to the hospital between 6 and 8cm.

We learned about different positions for me to be in during labor in order to alleviate pain. The often "seen on tv" way to labor is on your back, but that is the WORST thing to do! There is NO gravity helping the baby move down, so it takes much longer and is more uncomfortable. There are a lot of things I can do to move and rock and change positions to help the baby get ready. Walking doesn't get labor going, but it can help position the baby. There is also some massage Cameron and MIchelle will be able to do (if I let them touch me...hehe!).

Next week we are going to learn about interventions, just so we are educated. We will also start making our birth plan. The birth plan is where I'll write that I want to hold the baby as SOON as he's born and I want them to do as many tests as possible of him while I'm holding him. We also don't want to clamp the cord right away because he needs that blood. I'll share more about the plan once we've written it!

Doula Visit #2 (Part 1)

We had our second visit from our doula, Michelle, on Friday night.

We started the class by going over the homework that Cameron and I had to do. We had to write down our fears/anxieties about the rest of the pregnancy and the labor and delivery. Many of our concerns will be taken care of once we learn more...or so we hope! I also had to write down things I have accomplished and overcome in my life and how I've surprised myself. Cameron had to answer basically the same questions, but about me. I had a pretty tough time thinking of things I've overcome! The point of this activity was to find places to pull strength from later on (in labor).

I also had to write down what I ate for 2 days. The bottom line? I eat too much sugar and not enough fat! It turns out that not enough (good) fat increases my cravings for sugar...so I eat sugar and then I crash so I need more sugar. Bad cycle. I need to work on improving my diet (which is expensive!). Today I bought almond butter, an avocado and more walnuts. I'm not beating myself up about my food though...what I have been doing seems to be working fine, so I'm looking at it more as fine tuning and making improvements :)

32 weeks 4 days

Photo credit to my wonderful husband, Cameron! <3

32 Week Appointment

I had my 32 weeks appointment today (I'm 32 weeks 3 days today). I go every two weeks right now and then at 35 weeks I'll start going every week! I really can't believe I'm at this point already!

Here's the run-down from the appointment :)

~ My blood pressure was 92/58! Apparently this is pretty low (but not bad). My appointment was in the morning before work, so maybe that had something to do with it...I hadn't had a chance to get stressed out yet!

~I didn't really gain any weight in these past 2 weeks. I'm not sure why, but hopefully it's ok :) I'm still right at 20 pounds, so I SHOULD stay under 30 pounds (which has been my goal).

~ I measured at 31cm, which is a bit small. I should be measuring at 32cm.

~Since I'm only 31cm right now she wants to get the baby's weight at 35 weeks. The way to get the weight is another ultrasound! I'm not worrying about being small...I'm just praying that he's going to be a smaller (healthy) little guy :) (Let me dream at least!)

~Another reason I'm not worried about being small is because his heart rate is 150, which is great :)

My next appointment is March 23rd and then hopefully we'll have the ultra sound on March 30th :)

Doula Visit #1

We signed up for labor and childbirth classes with our doula. She will come to our house three times for the classes. Each class is about 2.5-3 hours.

She came to our house on Friday for our first class. In this class we went over nutrition and exercise...which we're doing pretty well already thank goodness. There are a few things I need to add.

-cranberry juice (helps with bladder stuff)

-Red Raspberry Leaf tea (it's a uterine tonic)

-vitamin C (strengthens the bag of water---which I do not want to break until I'm well into labor)

-olive oil and apple cider vinegar dressing (uncooked oils are good)

-Greek Yogurt (probiotics)

Another thing we talked about a bit was mind over body, which is obviously huge when it comes to planning a natural (drug free) delivery. We'll talk more about that next Friday I think.

She showed us the position we want the baby to be in when I go into labor (head down of course with his face towards my back, so that his skull is not bone on bone with my spine). After watching her demonstration with her doll and pelvis it seems amazing that a baby can actually be born (again, MIND OVER BODY!!!).

Fun Game---give it a try :)

I had my first (AWESOME) baby shower on Saturday...more about that to come in a later post. We played a game at the shower and I thought I'd see how you all can do :)

Name That Candy!

Think of a candy (candy bars and other kinds of candy) that you think of when you hear the clue. (If you want some hints, I'm including a word bank at the bottom of this post).

1. Girl's Name

2. Contractions

3. Epidurals

4. Hospital Bills

5. Chubby Baby

6. Breast Engorgement

7. Mommy's Sleep

8. Baby Giggles

9. Postpartum Stomach

10. Triplets

11. Dirty Diapers

12. Preemies

WORD BANK

Three Musketeers

Life Savers

Baby Ruth

Hubba Bubba

Jelly Belly

Now & Later

Snickers

Laffy Taffy

Milk Duds

100 Grand

Zero

Runts

Mounds

Milky Way

Whoppers

Super SWEET student story!

Every year my school has a fundraiser...this year it was called Frosty February Fun! The biggest way that the PTA makes money from this event is with the baskets that are raffled off. Each class is in charge of assembling a basket (in the past my class has had the "Boys Will Be Boys" basket. There are a lot of really cool ones...Chocolate Lovers, Dress-Up, Golf, Car Care, etc...This year my class was assigned the Baby Boy basket (oh, the irony....my kids were a bit confused about bringing in baby things and having them not actually be for me!) (This year I won the Wrapping Paper basket--I LOVE it!).

I also put tickets into the Baby Boy basket (last year I won the Baby Girl basket...not a lot of people put tickets in the baby baskets, so it was my best chance of winning something :)). I didn't win the baby basket this year.

One of my students had some extra tickets at the end (after she played the games) and her mom let her put the tickets into any baskets she wanted. Where did she put her tickets? In the Baby Boy basket! She wanted to win it for me.....and SHE DID!!!! Here mom brought it in to me at school yesterday. There were so many baskets that would have appealed to a 7 year old girl, yet she still chose to use her tickets to try to win the basket for me. SO sweet :)

(I do now have 3 bathtubs....one from the baby girl basket, one that my friend Joanna gave me, and then another one from this basket. We will have one clean baby!!!)

8.5 weeks....?

Last night it occurred to me that I only have 8.5 weeks of teaching left. Cameron mentioned that he hopes that I can enjoy them. I pretty much lost it (in a controlled way) when I realized that yes, I do indeed only have 8.5 weeks of teaching left.

I'm SO excited to be a stay at home mom (for a while at least), but I never actually stopped to think about what it would mean in terms of not teaching. Sure, I knew I wouldn't be going back to teach (and I've had issue with--"Who will I be when I'm not a teacher?" already), but I never slowed down to think about the things I'll miss when I'm not teaching.

My goal and my prayer now is that I can slow down, close my door, and really enjoy and appreciate my students. There is so much else that can get my down at work, so I'm hoping that keeping my eyes on my students only will allow me to finish the first part of my teaching career on a positive note.

I have a feeling I've got some pretty emotional days coming up in the next 8.5 weeks before I track out in April 25th!

Latest appointment

I had an appointment this afternoon and all is still going well! It was a very short visit with the doctor...she listened to his heartbeat and then took my measurement.

His heartbeat is 148bpm (right where it should be) and I measured 30cm (I'm 30 weeks, so this is perfect).

I start going for appointments every 2 weeks now until I'm 35 weeks, and then I will go every week. In the beginning I thought it would be forever before I started going every 2 weeks....but here I am! :)

When will he be born?

Recently I've been thinking that it would be nice to know exactly when this little guy will arrive. I know that that is not possible, so I thought I'd use this website for people to make their guesses about when they think he will arrive and how big he will be.

Go ahead, make a guess!

http://www.expectnet.com/game.php?babyid=1&tx=1298252290
The name of the game is MoccariBaby (in case you need it).

Ultrasound from February 2nd

Since our 'Lil Dude is too big to get a full body shot in the ultrasound, we don't have any of those to share. (We were much happier with good news about our baby than a full body shot of him!). Here are a few that we DID get though....you may need to use some imagination!


What a good looking spine we have there! All of his bones are in the right spot and the right size. Well done 'Lil Dude!



So, this is his leg. What you can't see exactly is that his ankles are crossed...it really was pretty cute! (Even cooler because he also had his right arm over his face and his ankles crossed at the same time. Back when I was allowed to sleep on my back, I would fall asleep with my arm across my face and my ankles crossed!!!)




This is his face....eyes and nose and lips.....can you see it? If not, you'll just have to wait until he's born!!!

Ramsey, do you want a little brother?

His eyes say it all!!! (Just kidding...Ramsey will LOVE his little brother!)

29 weeks 5 days

Look---you can start to see my belly button!

28 weeks 3 days

Taking pictures in the morning=sleepy face...oh well....focus on the belly!!! (I am still not looking or feeling huge, but I'm fine with that because I know that all is well with our 'Lil Dude!)

Inside an ultrasound....

In case anybody is curious what it looks like to have an ultrasound, Cameron took a few photos last week. The technician had to use a LOT of the goopy stuff this time because she had to look at so many parts of our little guy. (I have no idea what is on the screen, so don't ask. It's some part of the baby).

Does a Body Good

I'm not sure if I've posted this before, but my HOPE and INTENTION is to have a natural delivery...meaning no interventions of any kind. We have a doula who will teach us what we need to know and who will be there with us on the day of the birth and in the delivery room.

In addition to having the support of the doula, I want to do as much as I can to prepare my body. Going to prenatal yoga is one thing that's helping me prepare my body. I hope to be able to strengthen muscles and learn a few relaxation techniques.

I have also started going to a new chiropractor. I am seeing the chiropractor to make sure that my pelvis is aligned. Having my pelvis aligned will help with the delivery of 'Lil Dude. In addition to having my pelvis aligned the chiropractor can help alleviate sciatic pains and other back pains that I'm sure to develop over the next couple of months!

Glucose Test Update

So my glucose tolerance test was on Wednesday.

We woke up at 7:25 and then Cameron went downstairs to get my Glucose50 from the fridge so I could stay comfortable and drink it in bed. Here is my take on this drink---imagine orange soda with 5 times the sugar taste and no carbonation. It wasn't AWFUL, but it's not something I would choose to drink again! One of the worst parts about drinking it was that I had it on an empty stomach, so it was all just sitting there in my belly.

My doctor has her patients fast before the glucose test because she found that there were too many false positives when patients didn't fast. (Not all doctors have you fast).

So, after finishing the drink (in 5 minutes) I got up and finished getting ready. We drove to the doctor's office and I had a few vials of blood drawn shortly after we arrived. No biggie :) I was very thankful that we had about 40 minutes between getting my blood drawn and our ultrasound, so we went over to Whole Foods for some oatmeal. I was SO hungry by this point, so oatmeal tasted great! Haha!

I didn't end up having a huge sugar crash like I expected, but I was certainly pretty tired for the rest of the day. It was great to be tracked out, since I was able to come home and watch tv, have a nap and then go for a walk :)

The doctor only calls if you don't pass your glucose test (they need to set up another test which is a 4 hour test and really no fun). I wanted to know either way though, and I was curious about my numbers, so I made sure to call the office today. After waiting for a few hours, the nurse called me back.

I PASSED!!!! In order to pass, the number needs to be below 141....my number? 71!!!!! I passed with flying colors :)

Nurse Nancy thought I was cute that I was worried about this, considering I had NO risk factors or reason to believe I might not pass. I figure that I've been relatively calm during this pregnancy, so I HAD to have a few things to worry about :)

Weighing in at...

...2 pounds!!!!! Our 'Lil Dude is coming along great so far! They don't measure for a length, but they can (somehow) see how much he weighs. He is now 2 pounds, which is exactly where he should be. Dr. Tahtawi told us that he should gain about half a pound a week between now and delivery, so that will put him at a little more than 8 pounds (we'll see!).

In addition to his weight being on track everything else is looking good :)

They measured his leg bones and they are a good length, his heart is beating well (167 bpm), his belly is a good size and his head is looking great :) I love seeing the heart...it's amazing because we can see the ventricles and the little flaps opening and closing. It's really amazing how hard everything in there is working and he's not even born yet!

There were a few funny points during the ultra sound. First, when the ultra sound technician found his bladder she said, "his bladder is pretty small right now...he must have just emptied it." How funny and cool is it that our little baby is peeing?! (Not gross, cool!)

Another great thing was seeing how he is relaxing inside. We couldn't get a good profile shot of his face because he had his arm covering his face! When I sleep (well, when I'm allowed to sleep on my back), I sleep with my right arm over my face! I also cross my ankles when I sleep on my back. What was our 'Lil Dude doing with his legs? He had his ankles crossed!!!!

We just need to wait until Friday to hear the results of the glucose test, and my fingers are crossed that my glucose number is below 141!!!

We didn't get really great pictures of our guy from this ultra sound, but, as Cameron pointed out, we would much rather hear that everything looks good than have a good profile shot of our baby!

All in all, this appointment was awesome :)

27 weeks 2 days

Here I am!!!
First week of the...Third Trimester!

Glucose test--coming up!

These days, every pregnant woman has to have a glucose test between weeks 24 and 28. The test will help determine if I have gestational diabetes (a fear I've had since the beginning, for some unknown reason!)

My glucose test will be this Wednesday, February 2nd.

I will have to get up at 7:30, drink a 10oz bottle of, well, sugar (it's called Glucose 50 because it has 50 grams of SUGAR!). We have an appointment at 8:30 for me to get blood drawn....the blood needs to be drawn exactly an hour after I finish the drink. Oh, and I have to drink the whole drink within 5 minutes, start to finish! That is a LOT of sugar all at once and SO concentrated! I've read that a lot of people just crash after the glucose test because the spike is so intense so the crash is even more intense than a normal sugar crash!

I have made sure I have nothing else planned for the majority of the day, just incase.

We DO, however, have another appointment at 9:30 for another ultra sound, just to see how the 'lil dude is doing. (We opted out of genetic testing, so the doctor wants to take another look at him just to see how his development is coming along---I'm very anxious for this appointment, so Wednesday morning can't come soon enough!)

Not so big...

Way back in September I took Ramsey to the vet for some routine work and a physical. When I left, I made an appointment for about 5 months later (which will be today). Back then I was worried about how I would get Ramsey to the vet because when it's just me and him, he sits on my lap while I drive. I thought that, at 6.5 months pregnant I'd be too big to fit him and myself into the driver's side of the car. It's so strange to think that I thought I would be that big...I'm not even close to being too big for this car ride with him!

I'm sure I'll look back at this post later and wish I was still as small as my 27 week self...so I'll try to enjoy my comfort while I can!

Working out

One of my biggest challenges during this pregnancy has been working out on a consistent basis. It's really hard to tell if I really wasn't up to it or if I was using the "I can't, I'm pregnant" excuse. I'd like to believe it's mostly the former, but I'm sure the latter snuck in as well!

With that said, I'm still trying to keep myself in shape and active. I don't expect that working out now will allow me to wear pre-pregnancy clothes out of the hospital (hahahahaha!), but I do hope that it will help me feel better and possibly have a more comfortable recovery (?).

Last week was a really good week for me though :) On Monday I did my prenatal yoga (LOVE it!), then on Thursday I went to the gym and did a little cardio and then a light weights class (way harder than it looks and sounds), I went for a walk on Friday and then on Saturday I went to the cardio circuit class at Linda's studio AND I stayed for kickboxing! I have not done kickboxing for MONTHS (since well before I was pregnant). I was tired later on on Saturday, but I felt great while I was doing it!

I have a plan to do yoga on Mondays, the gym class on Thursdays and Linda's studio on Saturdays....and I hope to have the weather continue to improve so I can add a walk in a couple of times a week as well.

The funny thing about my plan is that, as of TODAY, I'm in my 3rd trimester! From what I've heard and read, this is the part of pregnancy when I will feel the biggest, most tired and most uncomfortable....I'm hoping that will hold off for a few weeks at least so I can keep working out a bit :) I'll keep you posted!

Symptoms?

Here is a little list of symptoms I've expected to have at this point but have not yet experienced...

-vomiting along with my early nausea
-loss of balance (although that may still come as I get bigger)
-stretch marks (thank you Mommy and Mommom!)
-skin discoloration (although I heard there is more of that with darker skin than lighter skin)
-joint pain (again, this may increase as my belly size increases!)
-awful moodiness (sure, I've had a few moments, but I expected to be super emotional...so far, so good!)
-bleeding gums


I sure hope I'm not shooting myself in the foot by posting this...I'll let you know if I get any of these as the pregnancy progresses!

25 Weeks 1 Day

January 18, 2010

(Not my most model moment, but just focus on the belly!)

Nursery

After looking LONG and HARD, Cameron and I finally found our nursery furniture! (We found it a while ago...I've clearly been slacking on the posts!).

We found the crib and dresser set at a local store in Apex called Green Pea Baby (we went there over Thanksgiving 2009 when my parents, Ben, Amy and Jack were here). The set is an espresso color, which we think will look really nice in the room and work well for a boy (or a girl in the future). We chose a crib that will convert to a toddler bed and a full size bed later! We may not use the toddler bed but it's great that we can convert it if we want to!

We ALSO found an AMAZING glider from Green Pea Baby too. This chair is incredible! It's large enough to cuddle up in and, in the future, it will have enough space for a mommy or a daddy and a little kid. I can already imagine reading to our little boy in this chair when he's not a baby anymore. Another benefit of this chair is that it is comfortable and soft, but not so soft that you sink all the way into the chair and can never get up! We plan on/expect to spend a lot of time in this chair, so we are really looking forward to this chair.

Another piece of the puzzle that we were having trouble finding was bedding....but we found that too! We didn't want a theme at first, but then we realized that using a color and dots/circles as a theme would box us in too much. Once we thought about having a theme, Cameron remembered that Pottery Barn Kids had some great options. We chose Eli's Elephant....and we LOOOOOVE it!!! Now I see elephants all over and I love them! :)

We also had the nursery painted on Friday! We had a chair rail installed (using the same company who added the wainscoting and painting in other areas of our house). We chose a darker green for below the chair rail and a lighter green above. It looks very good....not TOO baby but it's still clearly a nursery/kid's room.

We will share pictures once we have more than just the paint and bedding in our house! All three pieces of furniture are going to be delivered together....hopefully in the next 3 weeks or less!!!

Funny Student Stories #3

I was asked yesterday, "So, 2 or 3 more days until your baby Mrs. Moccari?" (This is a very smart girl, so I told her it was actually 17 more weeks, so then we worked on calculting how many more months).

Name suggestions from yesterday:
-Steven/Stephen (they didn't spell it for me)
-A.J. (not short for anything, just A.J.)
-Pinny (who knows?!)

"Mrs. Moccari, you still look kind of the same as before." (Then I took off my jacket). "Oh, I guess not really."

Prenatal Yoga

My friend and coworker, Joanna, teaches a few yoga classes...including a prenatal yoga class! I took my very first class last night and (thanks in part to the great yoga mat I got for Christmas from Santa Flannery), it went pretty well. I have a long way to go to be able to say that I "do" yoga, but it's a start. My muscles are not used to be used in a yoga way...more of a strength training way, so I need to do some retraining. And even though I have hardly been working out these past 23 weeks, I still have muscles, which sometimes get in the way of some yoga poses! Who knew?!

My class is on Mondays from 5:30-6:30, so it's a nice way to start the week. There were only three other women in the class---one at 18 weeks, me at 23 weeks, one at 26 weeks and another at 32 weeks. Joanna said that she gets a wide range from pretty much 18-40 weeks. It's a drop-in class, so there may be more or less women there next week.

I like this yoga class because in addition to being some exercise (it's very gentle though, so it's not as if I'm burning 100s of calories!), it's helping to get my body ready for labor and delivery, which I think is pretty cool. Joanna has been through yoga training (of course) and child birth, so she knows and understands how what she is having us do will aid us later when it's time to have the baby!

My plan is to keep going as long as I have the energy...which I'm hoping will be up until the end (or close to it). So, I have 15 or 16 more Mondays.....(kinda weird...).

Happy New Year!!!

We have a very exciting year ahead of us! Happy New Year to everyone!

22 weeks, 2 days (12.29.10)

22 weeks 2 days (December 29, 2010)