32 weeks!

Baby and I are both growing! Here's a self-portrait at 31 weeks (excuse the messy room in the background-- it's still a work in progress):


Although I'll admit that my bump is getting larger, there is a huge difference in how big it looks depending on what I'm wearing and the angle of the photo. Huge in a maternity shirt & skirt:



Less huge in a tighter shirt a few minutes later:

(If anyone has ideas on how to get rid of the shadow, please let me know!)

I'm going to mix up the questions this week because they're getting boring.

**How Big is Baby? About 4lbs!

**Total weight gain/loss: Still up about 18.5lbs

**Discomforts: The baby must be pressing on my stomach because I'm full sooner and burping more. And I'm out of breath when I climb the stairs. But mostly I'm comfortable.

**Sleep: Still pretty good- The biggest challenge is dealing with the time change.

**Best moment this week: A fun Saturday afternoon with Jen, Brendan, Delaney, Veronica, Josh, & Katie watching Duke win. Well, mostly we were watching and playing with Delaney, who is ADORABLE. Our house is NOT toddler-proof. Good thing the baby won't be that tall, mobile, or inquisitive for a long time.

**Movement: The baby is super-active. On Monday, the baby either did not sleep at all (they are supposed have 20-30 minute sleep-wake cycles) or was moving in his or her sleep because the movement was almost nonstop. I hope putting that in writing in cyberspace won't make jinx me and make it stop because I love feeling the baby move. Sometimes the movements hurt, but that's a good sign of a strong baby.

**Food cravings: Turkey Reubens. Yummy!

**Health/Exercise: It rained a lot this week, so I didn't get to run much. But I went to the gym and did some videos and I felt good. Today Mueller and I had a pretty good run. My goal is to keep it up until 34 weeks-- only 2 more to go!

**What I am looking forward to: Spring! We've got planting flowers on Saturday's agenda.

**Quote of the Week: "Good news-- The World Cup is this summer so I can just watch the games live while I'm up with the baby"- Stephen.

**Milestones: First day of spring!

31 weeks!

31 weeks--that means that Baby L will be here in 6 to 9 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't help but freak out--it's so soon! While I'm excited to meet the baby, I feel like there is so much to do (particularly at work) before he or she get here.

**How Big is Baby?: Baby is about the size of a squash, weighs about 3.5 pounds and measures 16.5 inches from the head to heel.**Maternity clothes? Of course. The bump seems to have grown over the last couple of days. I'll post more pictures soon

**Total weight gain/loss: Up about 18.5lbs

**Stretch marks? Nope

**Sleep: Still pretty good- Sometimes I get really uncomfortable and don't sleep well, but I can usually make that sleep up the next night.

**Best moment this week: A wonderful 3rd 28th birthday with some pampering and then a great dinner with friends.

**Movement: The baby is very active. It's most pronounced after meals when I can feel and see the baby turn from side to side and kick around. I can feel the baby's bottom, but I'm still having time distinguishing feet and legs. My bump is often lopsided and the baby clearly prefers the right (hopefully not an indication of political leanings).

**Food cravings: Nothing new.

**Health/Exercise: Just when I think it's time to give up, I have a great run. I'm still waddling/jogging everyday for about 45 minutes (counting walk breaks). I have Braxton Hicks contractions when I walk, but ironically not when I run.

**Labor Signs: Nope. But my boobs have begun to demonstrate that they are ready for nursing. I did not expect this to happen so soon. That's all I'm going to say.

**Belly Button in or out? In. Stretched and shallow, but in.

**What I am looking forward to: Getting more stuff checked off the to-do list. Currently I'm adding more than I'm subtracting.

**Quote of the Week: "Don't stretch like that- you don't want the things to get loose and the baby to fall out"--My boss when I was doing side stretches. He's hoping the baby stays in as long as possible.

**Milestones: Saturday marked the end of my 20s...and Thursday it's 2 calendar months until the due date!

30 weeks: 75% done!

We're officially at 30 weeks! Today I had a Dr's appointment and ultrasound so I got to see Baby Lamont :-) and have all my questions answered. I've incorporated them into the weekly questions below.

**How Big is Baby?: Approximately 3lbs 3oz. Right on target. His/her head is 7.6cm in diameter (phew).
**Heartrate: 132. The Old Wives' Tale is that under 140 is a boy, and it's supposed to be more accurate later in the pregnancy. So maybe I was right after all!
**Position: Head down (and hopefully staying that way) and all curled up, with hands above his/her head.
**Movement: Lots- rolling and moving and kicking feet/legs. Sometimes I don't feel it unless I put my hand on my bump, and other times I can just look down and watch it.

The baby's cheeks were noticeably chubby and so adorable! He/she is getting so big that little more than the profile fits on the ultrasound screen at once. I can't believe how big our baby is getting.

And me:
**Sleep: Getting a little bit more uncomfortable- but I'm offseting these discomforts by going to sleep before 10pm. I'm not ashamed of enjoying sleep while I can. This may be the last time for years that I'm consistently able to get 8 hours a night.
**Best moment this week: Seeing Baby Lamont this afternoon!
**Health/Exercise: Everything looked great on the ultrasound, my blood pressure is good, no protein in my urine, and I passed my 1-hr glucose test so the doctor really didn't have much to tell me- Just keep doing what I'm doing. Still jogging some.
**Aches & Pains: My lower back hurts, especially after sitting at a desk all day. But (knock on wood) I haven't had heartburn, rib pain, or ankle swelling...Yet!
**What I am looking forward to: Saturday :-)
**Milestones: Baby is 30 weeks old and we've been married 10 months


Mueller gets to know the Bump






View from above (I am loving my cleavage these days!)

The Great Birth Debate

Saturday we attended an all day "Labor and Delivery" class at our hospital. It provided a basic overview of the three stages of labor, vaginal births, and C-sections. We watched two births on video and got a virtual tour of the maternity ward (H1N1 restrictions meant we couldn't have a real tour). The hospital delivers 300-350 babies a month, and has an average first time mother age of 39. It's an older facility where you're greeted by little old lady candy stripers and there are few, if any, emergencies (aside from rush deliveries). It's a very calm and serene place for having your baby and we are very pleased that Baby Lamont will be born there.

The most shocking thing on Saturday was not anything about the birthing process, but rather the look of shock on the instructor's AND the other couples' faces when I asked about a non-medicated birth. Everyone seemed to want to know when exactly they could get their epidural and how to make sure they didn't wait too long to get it. Except me...

The debate started a few months ago when Carrie told me that, because I'm athletic, a natural birth would be easy for me. It wasn't a challenge, but my competitive side immediately took it as an athletic challenge: Am I in good enough shape to handle a natural childbirth? Can this marathon runner handle the ultimate marathon: childbirth?

Needless to say, I started to consider natural childbirth much more of an option than I ever had before. I asked our doctor about it when we talked about birthing classes, but he recommended the general childbirth class first before we decided to take any additional classes. I'm trying to get as much information on both options, but am having trouble finding a book or literature that balances both.

I guess Stephen and I never really discussed it because he was pretty surprised that I asked the question in Saturday's class. To be fair, he would bear a significant amount of the brunt of an unmedicated birth, just by having to deal with me. So this started our dialogue: Why do an unmedicated birth?

There are a few upsides to a natural birth: You get more of the real experience, you (apparently) are more in touch with your child, you can move around more which speeds up the process. And, you get to say you've had an unmedicated birth, which is quite an accomplishment. Downside: SEVERE, GUT-WRENCHING, SHARK-TEARING OUT YOUR INSIDES PAIN

The upsides to getting an epidural: Far less pain, you're not super-tired from labor, you can enjoy the experience. Downsides: You're in pain when the medication wears off, you need to lie in bed after it's administered (because you can't feel your legs and you and the infant need to be monitored), and it can cause drops in blood pressure.

There is little to no literature to show any effects of epidurals on infant outcomes, aside from sparse research that suggests infants may have trouble latching on. The birthing class instructor mentioned some evidence of inflated birthweights (due to the IV line which provides saline solution, potentially bloating momma and baby) that drop off faster due to more pee and bowel movements. There is, however, evidence that pitocin, which is used to induce and speed up labor, is associated with a higher rate of C-sections. However, women sometimes get pitocin even if they have a natural childbirth.

Which way am I currently leaning?

As I have learned time and time again, doing something just to "prove to myself I can do it" is poor reasoning that I often come to regret about halfway through. And for an experience like childbirth, I would probably REALLY regret that reasoning. I really want to enjoy the birth experience and enjoy our new baby as much as possible. So....


It's going to be a game-time decision. I am keeping all of my options open. There is not much you can do to control labor so plans often change. My mom had all three of us very quickly, so my labor will hopefully go very quickly. But if it's too fast, my options might be limited. Then again, when I'm in the throws of labor and screaming in pain, pain management may not be a choice so much as a given...