Watch Out Kingsland- There's A New Massage Therapist In Town!

Well, actually I'm not new. I've been here for 13 months. But, I'm BACK! I'll be sneaking away from my newborn weekday evenings and the occasional weekend to return to my passion- massage therapy!

I just ordered a spiffy new massage table, which should be arriving between November 2nd and November 9th. My previous table is being used by the lovely woman who is subleasing my office space in Austin. It is still undecided if I will return to my Austin clinic come January, but in the mean time, I will be available for massage appointments in Kingsland, TX as soon as this table arrives!

Here's the sneak peek:
She's a pretty one! Pretty comfy! She comes equipped with 2 inches of high-density, luxury padding. Complete with adjustable face cradle, add-on arm extensions, and hanging arm rest. Oh, the accessories! There is even a cut out face rest in the table itself, which is a feature I have yet to fiddle with on other tables. I look forward to fiddling! And, she has a 500lb weight limit, so clients of every shape and size are welcome to board!

Now, to name her. . . Black Beauty seems too obvious. Maybe Odyssey after the black van commercial with the rock music, fire, and jaguar that flashes over the screen to make you think this van is somehow the coolest thing on the road. Hmmm. . . "the massage table beckons like never before."

Be one of the first Kingslandites to test out the Odyssey (I kinda like the sound of that!). Massages available Monday-Friday 6-8pm, Saturday-Sunday 10am-6pm. Call (757) 619-5291 or schedule online to reserve your appointment. I will only be taking a few appointments a week at first, so appointments are limited.

More information is available at my recently updated website www.KneadedAtWork.com.

The Birth Story! Part Three: Saturday

Saturday: October 2nd. Oh, I love you Nubain. I love you so much I may name my next kid Nubain. Okay, maybe not. Contractions continue to come every ten minutes after the Nubain was shot into my hip. There was always the possibility the Nubain would make the contractions stop or slow the progress of labor, but thankfully that did not happen. Some contractions I can sleep through, most I am aware of but can breathe through and remain relaxed, and every now and then I'd get a strong one and let out a "Whoooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaa" moan right into sleeping Jay's ear. Jay would have to wake up to help me to the bathroom. Every time I changed position I would have a contraction. A few times I was able to sneak to the bathroom by myself and let Jay sleep, but not many because he would hear the crinkle of the pads on the bed as I moved. On one of my solo trips to the bathroom I had a conversation with myself, like a crazy person. This was not going to go on for a third day. I had had enough of being scared of how much the post water breaking contractions were going to hurt. I wanted them to hurt. They have to hurt for the baby to come out. Once the baby is out, it will immediately stop hurting. These contractions are pissing me off. I will do whatever I can to make them stop. Another hour of rest and then I am going to own this pain.

It would have been so great to reach this point, I dunno, a day ago! But I was finally here. I was ready to get this baby out! It's 3:45AM and Roswitha comes in with her big plastic hook in it's sterile packaging. She gives me another internal and while she's in there my water breaks! I felt the pop and the gush, it did not feel like pee as I've heard it described before. Maybe it didn't feel like pee because I had a woman's hand wrist deep up my vagina and that is not a usual sensation that accompanies pee. I thought she would remove her hand quickly but she stayed in there and said she could feel the baby slipping down very quickly now. It's show time people! Let's do this! Get that tub warmed up!

As I squatted in the tub and waited for these monstrous contractions to hit me, I listened to Roswitha explain what would happen next. We have to dilate to 10cms before I am allowed to push. Pushing prematurely can cause the cervix to swell. She says to let her know if I feel pressure in my bottom. Okay, that's straight forward enough. Off she goes to update my chart when with the next contraction I feel like I am going to poop in this tub. I am in denial this is the pressure in my bottom she literally just mentioned a minute ago. I really think I have to poop. 3 minutes later, with the next contraction, I tell Jay to go get her I'm pushing without trying to. I'm 100% convinced my body is pushing prematurely and my cervix is going to swell and explode. She does an internal in the tub and I am fully dilated. I was 8 cms like 10 minutes ago. That's crazy! Our kid practically fell out once the water was broken. She hurried to alert her assistant to come in. Then Roswitha said something that really kicked me into overdrive. She said, "It's up to you how soon your baby is born."

I started pushing in a standing squat in the tub until she could feel his head an inch from the surface. She told me to push right there, focus all my energy right there. With that push he started to crown. Yea right. She told me to feel. Holy crap! She wasn't lying. He is right there! She had me switch to laying on my back in the tub for the last few pushes. The tub had these sets of hand rails that worked perfectly for you to put your feet up against. Someone put a lot of thought into that tub. The contractions were now the least of my worries. In fact, I had very little to worry about because I was no longer in control. My body pushed with every contraction, popping me out of the water like a demon possessed animal. Initially, I was an ineffective pusher because I was screaming "Ahhhhh" so loud our neighbors back in Kingsland probably heard me. Roswitha corrected me and told me to use that energy in pushing, hold my breath if I have to, but use the energy to push. Chin down, breath held, push with everything you got. Okay now STOP PUSHING!! STOP PUSHING!!! DONNA, STOP PUSHING!! Easier said than done at this point. I was about to tear. I had to focus on not pushing for a few seconds while Roswitha worked her magic down there. Okay, we're good to go. With the next few contractions she said his head was out. I reached down and felt his head and had 2 thoughts. 1) Wow, that's alot of hair! 2) Oh, that's a small head. Good! I got a small baby! Maybe he won't rip me apart in the next few pushes. (Forgot about molding, the tip of his head was small, the rest was not).

With his head sticking out, Roswitha said the next push to push as hard as I could and we would have our baby! Okay, where the hell did all of my contractions go? Come on, come on, come on, come on. Okay PUSH PUSH PUSH! And with me pushing and Roswitha guiding him out he sprung from the water arms and legs flailing. It took a moment to untangle the cord that was around his neck but then she flopped him down on my chest. He was so grey and big! OMG this was not the small baby I had just imagined. Where was all of this hiding? This was a huge baby. This was a huge, grey baby. Why is my baby grey? Monica, the midwife assistant, rubbed him with a towel and he pinked right up. I waited for the big dramatic cry, but he only softly cried at first, saving his first big cry for his Daddy. We all just stared at him for awhile while we waiting for the cord to stop pulsing. Then Jay cut the cord and they gave Corbin to him to hold. Jay said right away he reached out and grabbed his shirt. I picture this tiny, minutes old newborn, grabbing his Dad by the collar, pulling him towards his face to get a good look. Once the placenta was out, we got into bed to snuggle. No more pain! No more contractions! We counted fingers and toes and called the family to tell them the good news.

Corbin Jose was born at 5:09AM to 'Cold Shower Tuesdays' by Bowling for Soup on 10/2/10 (his original due date). 7 lbs 15 ozs 20 3/4 inches long.
Roswitha said I had a tiny tiny tear, that didn't need stitches as long as I promised to keep my legs together, meaning don't sit Indian style for a week or two. I was up walking around within two hours. We were discharged at 12:45pm later that same day and have had a smooth recovery. I can not thank our team of midwives enough for giving me the strength to keep the birth plan I wanted. I had an amazing coach in Jay and our son is more perfect than we ever could have imagined. And it is true what they say about the endorphins making your forget all the pain. In the moment, I told Jay I was going to comment on every serene natural birth youtube video I had watched with a big "F-U That's Not What It's Like!!!" comment, but now that it's over I have happy, fuzzy memories about the whole experience. I also was quoted as saying "I would rather get punched in the face over and over again than have these contractions. If I could give birth by getting punched in the face, I would definitely choose that."

It took awhile to remember all the details to fill these 3 posts. I'm glad Corbin let me work on the computer a few hours here and there before the experience faded too much. So there you have it! 44 hours from start to finish. My advice to my future self for next time: Eat, even if you're not hungry and sleep when you can in the early stages, and for God's sake if they want to break your water- do it! It probably would have saved us 7 hours of misery.

Thanks for reading!

The Birth Story! Part Two: Friday

Friday: October 1st. They want $10 a plate for the breakfast buffet??? We paid how much to sleep in their hotel for 6 hours and they want $10 a plate for their crappy buffet???? Eff that. We're going to McDonald's.

Jean, worried since she didn't hear from us all night, gave us a call in the morning. Although I was tired from not sleeping for more than 20 minutes here and there all night, I felt pretty good. Which I knew was not good. She asked us to come in for a check. I'm convinced nothing has changed because I'm still able to joke around and talk and have yet to hit that serious stage of labor, but I hold out hope that I am wrong. We find a McDonald's and all I can force myself to eat is a bite or two of a hash brown and some orange juice. I know that I need to eat but I'm just not hungry. As luck would have it there was a burglary/shooting on the road we needed to exit on to get to the birth center and they were looking for a suspect in the area and several blocks were shut down. Fantastic. We only know one way to get to the birth center and it's not an option. Eventually, we make it to the birth center where Jean checks us out again. At 9:30AM (after a full 24 hours of contractions) we were only 3cms dilated, but she noted that the baby had dropped 2 inches since midnight. I lost it. I cried and cried. How the hell was I going to do this? I'm only 3 cms? I can't sleep and I'm not hungry and I'm really only 3 cms??

Jean, another midwife, and Jay all talk in the hall while I went to the bathroom and had some of my mucous plug come out. They decide to offer me a muscle relaxant shot called Nubain. It would let me get some sleep so I could deal with the stronger contractions that were on their way. There was the possibility that the Nubain would slow or stall the contractions, but they felt it was worth the risk because I was already exhausted and hyper-emotional. They got us set up in the Austin Music Scene room (pictured below, click the picture for a virtual tour of all the birthing rooms at Austin Area Birthing Center South). At 10:00AM Midwife Vicki gave me a nice shot in the butt and I asked how long it would take to kick in. By the end of my question I was feeling better.
I slept goooooooooood! I still had contractions every 10 minutes, some of which I would wake up for and have to moan through, but some I just slept right through. I got a few hours of rest and was able to handle the contractions much more effectively. After I woke up and walked around, the contractions came right back to that steady 6 minute pace. Around 5:30PM I was checked again. 5cms dilated 100% effaced, bloody show, not going home without a baby!

Every hour or so they check your vitals and the baby's heartbeat. One of these checks happened to come moments after I had back to back super-duper contractions which led to a mini panic attack and my second freak out. When they checked my pulse it was almost 190 beats per minute. They prefer it to be under 100. Vicki told me we had an hour to get my pulse under control or she would have no choice but to take us to the hospital. My blood pressure was fine, I was feeling fine, but my pulse was ridiculously high. Unfortunately, that meant 2 of the worst possible things for me. 1) I may end up in the hospital with no health insurance and no mental preparation for that kind of birth. 2) I was to work this labor on land until my pulse was stable. No hot water for me. No calming bath. No soothing shower. Water was a big part of how I planned on handling this birth. This news was very upsetting. But what could you do?

So we continue to work through each contraction with that end in sight! Jay was an amazing coach. Whatever I needed, he was right there. We slow danced through many of them. I tried our new birth ball we brought for a few. I sat on the ball and Jay applied counter pressure on my low back. We put the ball on the bed and I leaned on that while Jay massaged my back. I had a real hard time sitting into the contractions. Seemingly every time, I would pop up and away from them, clenching my shoulders, and pretty much the opposite of what you're supposed to do. Every time Vicki came in to check on us I would ask if I could get in the tub yet. Pulse check, 120. No tub for Donna. My pulse stayed between 100 and 120 and with no other signs of distress to me or Corbin, we were able to avoid the hospital route for now. She eventually agreed to a very tepid bath and squatting in the tub was my new favorite position, even though it made my feet fall asleep.

Around 8:00PM it was time for a shift change and our new midwife Roswitha came to see how we were progressing. Internals suck by the way. As soon as I changed position to lay on the bed, I would get hit with a new contraction and once laying down all I could do was suffer through it. I did not like having contractions on the bed. Roswitha does the internal and wouldn't you know- 6cms?!?!? Really??? 3 hours of nothing but pain and only one stinking cm?? After all that?? I thought by the amount of pain I was in I was around the corner from transition at this point. Only 6cms??? Roswitha assures us 6 cms is great progress and we are doing great! Baby is doing great, Mommy is doing great. This is where I start the doubting. Mommy is not doing great. Mommy is now thinking this can go on for another day and a half.

Everything I learned about childbirth said to only focus on one contraction at a time. Think about each step and eventually you'll climb the whole mountain. If you look at the whole mountain you'll freak yourself out. Well, guess what I did. I took a big old mental picture of this whole freaking mountain of the labor we had left. Terrible idea. Very, very bad. If you're pregnant and reading this- don't do that! Or at least if you are going to freak yourself out, have the decency to let everyone around you know what you are doing so they can correct you. I, on the other hand, kept this all to myself and allowed it to build over the next few hours.

And so it went, contraction, rest, contraction, rest, for hour after hour. Early on I had asked Jay to play my ipod. We listened to a John Legend album, then Norah Jones, then the same Jason Mraz playlist for 5 hours. When I finally asked him to put it on shuffle, the second song that played was a Jason Mraz song. Enough with the Jason Mraz already! After the birth we laughed about how much crap we brought with us that we didn't use. I asked Jay to bring his laptop so we could watch dvds, we brought several seasons of the Office, puzzle books, and a journal to keep track of the milestones. We touched none of it. I didn't want to do anything but breathe and rock in a circle.

As my pulse steadied itself around 100 I was allowed to start using warmer and warmer water. Which was fantastic news! Fantastic until they have to pull you out to do an internal and you can't regulate your body temperature and you are shaking so uncontrollably you look like you're having a seizure. But, in my mind I had no choice. I could not cope with the pain on the bed. I did not like Jay seeing me sit on a toilet. I wanted that tub.

As the memories fade, I can't be sure of the time but sometime late in the night Roswitha did another internal at said I was still 6-7cms, but that my water bag was bulging and if we wanted she could break it and that would surely speed things up. She was very confident the water bag was keeping the baby from descending. Well, what has two thumbs, is exhausted again, and has been quietly staring at a mental labor mountain for the last 4 hours? That would be me. You want me to agree to make these worse?? I am barely dealing with them as they are now. I'm stuck at 6-7cms?? I can't do this. I'm done. Call the hospital. It's just going to get worse when my water breaks. I want an epidural. I don't care if I'm in labor for another week as long as I don't feel another ****ing contraction. And for the third time in this labor, I lost it. I lost it bigger and louder than the 2 freak outs before. I knew all about transition and the self-doubt phase, but this was serious. I didn't think I could not do this- I knew I could not do this. Not with what I was working with at the moment.

This is about Jay's breaking point, too. He is just as exhausted as I am, maybe more so having worked all day Thursday and he didn't get any Nubain to help him sleep. Jay and Roswitha talk. She listens to me freak out, takes it all in, and makes one small suggestion. How about that Nubain? "We give you another little shot of Nubain, pop the water, and it will take the edge off of the contractions enough to get you through." Jay asks if I can get the Nubain, try and take a nap, and then pop the water when I wake up. Maybe the rest will give me enough strength to deal with the stronger contractions on my own. She says that's perfectly fine. And if we give the Nubain a chance and it doesn't help, we can always go to the hospital then. I was really trying to avoid the hospital setting so I said okay. It would have been one thing if my water had popped on it's own. I think I would have faced the contractions that followed just as well as the ones before. But knowing that if I had Roswitha pop it with a hook prematurely, that I was the one responsible for however bad the following contractions were, that was too much pressure. I'll take the Nubain induced nap please.

The Birth Story! Part One: Thursday

Well here we are! I am finally writing my own birth story! 44 hours start to finish is going to make for a long story, so I've decided to post it in a 3 part blog, one post for each glorious day of the event.

So let me first start with some of the details that happened before last Thursday that I'm sure I will want to recall later. At my 36 week appointment, midwife Roswitha swabbed for the Group B Strep test and while she was in there she did my first internal exam. I was 0 cm dilated and 80% effaced. Having read a bookshelf full of pregnancy books, hundreds of birth stories online, and having paid close attention in our 8-week Bradley Method childbirth classes I knew that these numbers meant absolutely nothing. I could be pregnant for another day or another 6 weeks. That being said, when I got home I prepared as if I was going into labor tomorrow. And everyday after that I waited for that first contraction. I had a few random pains in the weeks that followed. I would feel something, make a face, then look up to find Jay watching me very closely. He would look at my growing belly and say "No! Not yet! Stay in there!". He really wanted to have a finished house to bring a newborn home to.

And so it went for 4 more weeks. Jay would work on the house after work and I would bounce on my birth ball and keep him company. I loved that birth ball. It was the best piece of advice we picked up from the Bradley classes (well it was all great advice, but that birth ball idea is hard to beat). And after countless hours bouncing on a rubber ball in a construction area, over screws, and rocks, and the occasional jagged piece of plaster, it finally sprung a leak. RIP yellow birth ball.

Tuesday: September 28th. I have another prenatal appointment. They are weekly at this point. Midwife Vicki offers to do another internal if I would like to see if there has been progress. I had been so hung up on the numbers from 3 weeks earlier I questioned whether or not it was a good idea to know the status of my cervix. But my curiosity got the best of me and I did want to know. So after 3 weeks of bouncing on my birth ball, going for walks, visualizations, and half-hearted attempts at progressing dilation naturally I was a whopping 0 cm dilated and 80% effaced. Fantastic. I was going to be pregnant forever. I stopped at the farmer's market on the way home and bought some primrose oil pills and red raspberry leaf tea to try and get the party started. When I told Jay there had been no change in 3 weeks he couldn't have been happier. "Keep that baby in! I need another week!". I could care less what living arrangement we brought our son home to at this point. The uncertainty of when labor would start was starting to bother me.

Wednesday: September 29th. I take the 3 doses of primrose oil throughout the day, but I skip the red raspberry leaf tea because the instructions say to "steep" something and rather than google what that meant, I just decided to wait. I don't know why I bought that stuff anyway. Since when do I drink tea? This kid isn't going to come a second before he wants to and I have officially given up on trying to "make" or "help" him come any sooner than that.

Thursday: September 30th. I wake up around 9:00AM with my first contraction (hindsight). It's the same feeling I have had an random intervals over the past few weeks. I don't get my hopes up. Rather than stay in bed and watch tv, which had become my routine, I decide I want to go to Wal-Mart this very instant to go buy a new birth ball and a wristwatch with a second hand to time contractions if and when they ever show up. I note more of these sensations as I'm getting ready, but I don't bother to time them because they don't hurt enough and I'm not going to get my hopes up until I'm in pain. I text Jay and let him know to check his phone often today because it could be the start of something, but I'm pretty sure it's false labor. Off to Wal-Mart I go.

The Wal-Mart is in the town over. It's about a half hour drive. The drive there was a breeze and I casually, half-heartedly time these sensations using the radio in the car. Was that 10 minutes or 8? What time did the last one start? Ugh! Forget it! I'll just wait till I get home and use the bump contraction timer online. Once I get to Wal-Mart I remember that I hate this Wal-Mart. They are re-organizing the entire store for no purpose and it takes forever to find the 2 things you came for. Luckily, I find the birth ball fairly quickly. I spend the next hour or so looking at all of the watches scattered in 4 different sections of the store. UGH!! Why are the women's watches so small? I like this watch face, but I just know that strap is going to pull out all the hair on my wrist. I really don't want to waste more than $5 on a stupid crappy wal-mart watch I will only use to time contractions. This is stupid. Why have I spent an hour on this already? I am really uncomfortable. Ugh! So at this point I am irritable. It's not even 11:00AM yet. I buy my birth ball and hit the road. I stop at Wendy's and get lunch, but from the time I order it to the time it's in my car I'm no longer as hungry. (That should have tipped me off right there). The ride home was miserable. I should not have been behind the wheel of a car. These sensations are no longer dull, or mild, or easy to ignore, and I'm pretty sure I'm timing them at 6 minutes apart on my radio.

I get home and get on the bump (message board for pregnant women/moms) and try and get myself good and distracted. I'm completely convinced this is still false labor, if for no other reason than I hadn't progressed at all at my last prenatal appointment, 2 days ago. Again, that goes against all logic seeing as how the numbers mean nothing, but that was my illogical thought process. And besides, these don't hurt. They are uncomfortable, but I should be in some serious pain before it's showtime. I pull up the bump contraction timer and start clicking away. Start. Stop. Lasted 45 seconds. Start. Stop. 6 minutes apart. Start. Stop. I do this for an hour or more waiting to see a pattern form. Jay comes home early to work on the house and sees the screen. "Uh oh.", he says. I tell him I'm not worried about it and I really think it's false labor. He asks what the midwives said. I tell him I haven't called them yet. He reminds me we are supposed to call at 8 minutes apart because we live so far away. Ugh! I don't want to call, they might make me come in (hour drive each way) to get checked out and then get sent home when they agree that it is false. I just put it together that I do not like being in the car right now. Nope, no sir. Not going anywhere until I know it's the real deal. To make him feel better I call the birth center to tell them that I was in false labor.

After a little bit of phone tag, Jean, the owner of the birth center, gives me a call back. We talk for awhile and I describe what I'm feeling. They are like low menstrual cramps that start above my pubic bone and radiate out to my sides. She hears me have a few contractions over the phone and announces I am in fact in early labor! She asks me to take a shower and see if they slow down or subside in intensity. If we lived closer she would invite us to come get checked out for progress, it was up to us if we wanted to make the drive. Other than that, give them a call if something changes (contractions get stronger/quicker together, bloody show, mucous plug comes out, water breaks, etc).

Jay is staining our floors when I go out and tell him what Jean said. We are both pretty shocked that this might actually be the start of the big day. I stop timing to go and take a shower, which does nothing to change the contractions. So these are contractions. I was waiting for something much more painful. I spend the next few hours waiting for something to change. But like clockwork, every 6 minutes- cramp/contraction would roll in and hang out for 45-60 seconds. The minutes in between contractions were so normal I would almost forget what the previous contraction felt like.

Jay and I discussed the possibility of going into the city and getting a hotel to be closer in case labor really kicks in in the middle of the night. We call Jean back and let her know that's what we're going to do and she offers for us to stop by and get checked whenever we want. So with our plans made we just hang out. Our hospital bag has been packed for weeks. Jay inflated my new birth ball when he got home. There was nothing to do but wait for something to change. We watch the Thursday NBC line up and by 10:00PM decide it's time to drive into Austin and find a hotel. Better to labor in the car now than in the morning when they could be much stronger and closer together.

It's not until we are sitting in the hotel parking lot that we decide to call the birth center and see if we can get checked. I mean, I had been having contractions for 13 hours. They weren't as strong as I thought they should be to do something to my cervix, but maybe we had progressed enough to be admitted to the birth center and save some money on an unnecessary hotel stay. We find out there is a women in labor at the birth center and a midwife is available to check us out whenever we want. Once we get there Jean helps me out of the car and ushers us back to an exam room. 1cm dilated, 95% effaced. Jean encouraged that to about 1.5cm dilated. Still early in the game, folks. Go get that hotel room and come back for a check in the morning. It was 12 to midnight, looks like we won't be having a September baby.

As we pull into a nearby hotel parking lot I am having a contraction that is hard to talk through but manage to get out "first floor!" to Jay. I don't want to waste time dilly-dallying with ancient hotel elevators when it becomes go-time. Well, he couldn't get first floor, but he got a room with a tub and that's really all I cared about. In the hotel room I lay out my puppy house breaking pads on the bed and the floor for when my water breaks and sends us shooting into active labor. As I wait for that to happen, I take comfort in a nice warm bath. Ah, that felt good. Now time for bed. The contractions keep me from sleeping for more than 10 minutes in the bed. Okay, maybe another bath will help. This time I bring my crossword puzzle book. When the water turned cold, I added more warm water. In the tub my contractions were 10 minutes apart but super easy to deal with. As soon as I dried off and got into bed the next contraction would be a gut buster that I'd have to focus on and breathe through it. Not cool. So I eventually took my pillow into the bathtub, folded it in half over the edge and slept sitting up in the tub for as long as I could. I lost all sense of time. Apparently it was morning because it was bright outside and Jay was talking about the hotel breakfast buffet.

39 Weeks 5 days

How far along? 39 Weeks 5 days

Countdown? 2 days until the infamous Due Date. They'll give him 2 more weeks on the other side of that to make his appearance.

Stretch Marks: Whoa mama! I hope that stretch mark cream I see commercials for on tv works. Otherwise I'm going to start spray tanning. It's a good thing I can't see most of them. My inner and outer thighs have those lovely deep dark purple stripes. Under my belly, I've been told, is quite the disaster area. And of course, the tatas grew at an alarming rate so they were not spared either. Oy vey.

Sleep: Ha! I pee every other hour. In an attempt to make my path to the commode easier, Jay has started pulling Mugsy onto his side of the bed, which puts him in the middle of the bed, so I end up tripping over his feet instead of the dog. If we haven't worked this out by now, I doubt we ever will. A comedy of errors. Jay and I have also been getting our share of strange dreams about the baby. I continue to dream that he will come out a toddler. Jay has been reassured in his sleep that our son is indeed all male.

Best Moment of the Week: We (or rather Jay) mudded, primed, painted, and re-painted the entire downstairs of our soon to be house! We pulled up the plastic that was protecting the concrete floors, and Jay mopped and scrubbed in some muriatic acid wash to prep for the concrete stain! Hopefully, we will stain tonight and we (again, meaning Jay) can install the shower this weekend! Then, all we need is trim, doors, outlets and switches, a toilet, a vanity, and some furniture and we are ready to move in!!! Still a race to the finish and we may have to spend a week or two with the newborn in the airstream, but man oh man I'm I impressed with my guy! He really busted his butt to get it to this point.

Worst Moment of the Week: I must have rolled over a screw or a rock in the house while I was keeping Jay company this week. My birth ball has a hole in it. :( It's a sad little deflated ball now. Probably make a trip to walmart today to buy a new one.

Movement: I hardly notice his jabs and kicks anymore. When I'm eating he likes to stretch out and I can always tell which end is his feet because when I push back slightly he moves away. I'm not so much worried about his movement anymore. Sensations coming from my stomach are 10% him, 90% braxton hicks contractions. And they are getting intense! I always wanted rock hard abs, but good Lord.

Food Craving: ice cream and chocolate.

Food Aversions: I'm up for anything.

Gender: Boy

Belly Button: Pretty sure it will stay the lop-sided skin volcano. Not popping out all the way.

What I miss: being the slightest bit comfortable. Bending forward.

What I look forward to: Sweet, glorious relief.

Paper Mache Mobile!

Corbin's name has been finished for awhile. I had a lot of fun working with the paper mache to create it. It got me thinking. What else can I make with paper mache for the nursery?

How about a mobile for above the crib or above the changing area?!

Typical mobiles are 4 or 5 stuffed characters on a motorized hanger that spins and plays music. I wanted something a bit more artsy.

The inspiration:
The blog I found this baby on (click image for link) detailed how to recreate the look with various sized, wooden sewing circles, fishing line, and a few small weights.

Well, I want to do this project for as little moolah as possible. So I decided I would paper mache the pieces instead!

The letter in the center was made the same as the letters in Corbin's Name and the rings were created using a compass and cardboard.

So here's the progress so far:
Next comes paint and finishing touches. I'll add a finished picture when it is indeed finished. :)

37 Weeks

How far along? 37 Weeks 1 day

Countdown: 20 days to go!!

Exercise: Yea right. It takes me 4 tries to get out of bed.

Stretch marks: Inner thighs have gotten it the worst, followed by boobs, and the belly undercarriage.

Sleep: I sleep like a rock in between bathroom breaks. Averaging 5 pee breaks and the occasional heartburn coming out of my nose/choking on vomit trip a night.

Best Moment of the Week: Our prenatal appointment was at the new South Location! It is a half hour closer to us. We were very nervous it would not be completed in time and the drive into the birth center on delivery day would be excruciating. Half hour less excruciating sounds good to me! Also decided to have an internal exam at that appointment and I'm 0 cm dilated but 80% effaced!! Progress!!

Worst Moment of the Week: Spotted a scorpion in the living room of our house to be and decided I don't want to move out of the airstream. The airstream is up 2 feet off of the ground. Nothing slithers or crawls it's way into my living room up here. Jay says he will treat around the house and it shouldn't be an issue once we have doors and such. I have my reservations.

Movement: I keep hoping he'll flip from right to left and assume the position for birth. His head is waaaay down in the pelvis already so we know he's not going to flip breech, thank God! I thought he finally made it over to the left yesterday because I was feeling consistent pressure under my left ribs (which would indicate his butt sticking out) and short jabs on the right side (indicating feet). As I jostle by belly today, I can't be sure. He seems to be right in the middle, kicking my laptop straight up.

Food Craving: When hurricane Hermine hit, all I could think about was a bean burrito from Taco Bell and a brownie earthquake from Dairy Queen. This is not an easy combination to go about here in Kingsland. Taco Bell is in Marble Falls a half hour away from our Kingsland Dairy Queen. Well it rained and rained all day. Jay wouldn't let me drive. The next day it had stopped raining and I was still craving. Jay wouldn't let me drive. We had seen reports of how bad the flooding was so I was forced to wait a third day. By now, Jay was sure my craving had passed but it had only gotten stronger. I finally got my Taco Bell. I had built it up in my head so much that it was a severe let down. I didn't even want the Dairy Queen afterward. So disappointing.

Food Aversions: Nothing. If it's not moving, I'll eat it.

Gender: Oh who knows. We are 75% sure it's a boy, but surprises are always a possibility. We have names picked out for either.

Belly Button: It's not a full outie, but it has worked it's way into protruding the outside edges. It looks like a tiny, flesh colored volcano.

What I miss: the ignorant bliss of never knowing heartburn.

What I'm looking forward to: meeting our little guy!! Won't be long now!

Becoming a Lactation Consultant

There are several ways to go about becoming a Lactation Consultant. To sit for the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners you have 3 pathway options. The first option is to use on-the-job experience working with breastfeeding moms and providing lactation support. The second option is to pay for a human lactation and breastfeeding training course. And the third option is to work directly with a certified lactation consultant to acquire clinical experience.

WIC has breastfeeding counselors and from what I could tell, the only prerequisite was successfully breastfeeding a baby. So I inquired about becoming a breastfeeding counselor with WIC to rack up some clinical experience and get me closer to taking that exam. Apparently WIC's breastfeeding counselors are peer counselors and you must have been on WIC in order to work for WIC.

Strike one.

It was then recommended to me to shoot for pathway 3 and work directly for a certified lactation consultant close to home. The only problem is the closest LC to Kingsland is in Austin. Hour and a half drive each way to work for free until I rack up 500-1000 clinical hours, sounds like a great option. In that case, it may be cheaper to pay $800 for the online training and take pathway 2!

Strike two.

The up side of that revelation being, once I become an LC, I will have zero competition in Marble Falls, Kingsland, Granite Shoals, Horseshoe Bay, Llano, Burnet, and Fredericksburg. Another up side of the current situation is I subleased my clinic and started my "Maternity Leave" waaaay too early. I have plenty of time to do some self-study of Human Lactation text books and exam reviews. Many of these books I've found online, for free. And a third upside is I may qualify for federal grants or at least financial aid for the course work should I decide to go pathway 2.

In any event, I still have a lot of research to do. Less blogging more reading.

35/35 Milestone!!

This is seemingly our last big milestone before the BIGGEST of milestones. 35 weeks pregnant - 35 days left!

I'm feeling a bit off today, so I will be celebrating in bed, working on Corbin's t-shirt rug. Jay's dad and step mom are throwing a shin dig tonight. Hopefully I will be feeling more social by then.

33/34 Week Appointment

At my last appointment there was protein in my urine, which is an indicator of preeclampsia. The midwife, Michelle, wasn't alarmed. She suspected I cross contaminated the test. So this week I was careful to only get pee on the stick and sure enough only trace amounts of protein now!

Another indicator of pre-e is high blood pressure. I thought for sure I would have high blood pressure today. I was 20 minutes late to my appointment. There was an accident on Mopac 1 and everyone and their mom had to stop and stare, which made the usual 70 mph highway a parking lot. I was so stressed about losing my appointment and having to reschedule after already investing an hour and a half into the drive only to turn around. I called the birth center and the angel, Erin, who answered the phone told me to come on in and they would still see me today! Whew! (Note to self: make Erin cupcakes). But Roswitha took my blood pressure and it was only 112/64!

We gained a pound since last time, up to 168 pounds of fun. Corbin's heart rate is measuring 140 bpm! He's still head down, Roswitha said his head is nice and settled already! According to the October 8th due date, I'm 33 weeks 5 days. According to my guess of October 2nd, I'm 34 weeks 4 days. According to my fundal height, I'm 36 weeks!

I've been told by the midwives if I go into labor in 2 weeks they will not stop it and we can meet our baby! But he's still got some time to cook. Could be two weeks, could be four weeks, probably be six or eight weeks just to spite me.

I got my hospital bag checklist this week and will now go home and start packing "just in case". The hangar is coming along nicely. We have insulation in about half of the downstairs living portion. It will be a race to see if we move into the hangar before Corbin moves to the outside!

DIY Paper Mache Letters

Putting your baby's name in the nursery is a popular trend these days. Most parents buy pre-decorated wooden letters that are hung with pretty bows. I wanted to do something a little different. A little more homemade.

The idea came from an OhdeeOh article. It cost exactly $0.00. I used the cardboard from 2 discarded frozen pizza boxes, a free newspaper I found outside of Subway, and the paste was made from flour, salt, and water.

First, you print a template of what you want to make from your home computer. I selected the size and font I liked, and I made the C much bigger than the rest of the letters. Then you cut out your image and trace it onto the cardboard. Then you use the same image, flipped horizontally, to trace the reverse of the image. Do this for every letter and then cut out your pieces.

Then, you must decide how thick you would like your letters. Cut out even strips of cardboard to become the sides of the letters. Next, you tape your letters together. The forward facing image is the top, the reverse facing image is the bottom, and the even strips around the sides. Trim any excess and be sure the cardboard side is facing out, not the laminated side of the pizza box.

Once you've assembled all your letters, you can begin applying the newspaper. Rip the paper into even strips, dunk them in the flour/salt/water mixture, and wrap them around your cardboard letters. Leave to dry overnight.

The next morning, you can start sanding the rough spots down and begin painting your design! I chose baby blue and then went in with a sharpie to add the plane and loop tracks.

It was alot of fun to make! Super easy- and FREE! Now on to the next project!

Baby Shower!

On Sunday, August 8th, 2010 my best friend in the entire world hosted Corbin's first baby shower!

She had all kinds of goodies but the mashed potato bar (complete with martini glasses) was the best part!

It was so great to see friends I had not seen in a very long time and to celebrate with them. Janice was an amazing host. We played some games and she had everyone in tears from laughing so hard during the "Guess the Poop" game! I wish I would have taken more pictures to remember the party. It was an absolute blast!

I can't wait for Janice to get knocked up so we can throw her an amazing baby shower!!

34 Weeks

How far along? 34 weeks!

Countdown: 42 days to go! I made a countdown calendar out of post-it notes and put it on our bedroom wall. Pretty sure I freaked Jay out with the visual representation of how little time we have left.

Exercise: I bounce on my birth ball in what will be our living room while Jay works on the house. I sweat buckets and eventually waddle back to the AC. Still teaching Couples Massage Workshops so I stay active in this final part of the pregnancy.

Stretch Marks: The silvery ones on my ta ta's disappeared! I haven't noticed any anywhere else *knock on wood*.

Sleep: Sleep is great. Jay has had to wake up at 6:30am everyday this week to work early before it hits 100 outside. I sleep right through his alarm. I sleep right through my first two or three alarms. The only bad night I had was the night I brought that stray dog home and slept on the couch so she wouldn't cry all night. 8.5 month pregnant girl curled up on half a couch was a bad idea, but I have since fully recovered.

Best Moment of the Week: The stray pup I took to the Christ Yoder Animal Shelter on Tuesday was reportedly reunited with his family on Friday!

Worst Moment of the Week: I mistakenly called mg "megagrams" instead of "milligrams" and I'm pretty sure I will never hear the end of it.

Movement: Corbin is getting really good at jostling the laptop when I rest it on my belly. He can also knock over empty water bottles and move the remote. He likes to stop moving as soon as Jay goes to feel.

Food Craving: Yes. All of it. I would like all of it. I would totally drive an hour out of the way for some Arby's right now. Also, milk.

Food Aversions: pears surprisingly enough. Our green thumb neighbor grew some and gave us a bag of my favorite fruit and I haven't had a single one yet.

Gender: We've put our money on blue.

Belly Button: Jay has been trying to pop it like a pimple to pop out. I will tape it down if he succeeds.

What I miss: Being helpful. I really wish I could help Jay with the insullation and the dry wall tonight. Instead I'm inside in the AC blogging.

What I'm looking forward to: Meeting this little guy. We've been dreaming about what he looks like and I'm really curious how much he will resemble his Dad.

31 Weeks

How far along: 31 weeks 1 day (although there still is some confusion about that)

Countdown: 62 days (yikes! 2 months? Really?!)

Exercise: played in the garden for 15 minutes yesterday. It's too damn hot to be messing with dead plants and dirt.

Stretch marks: turning from silver to purplish color. We won't have any problems as long as they don't turn red on me.

Sleep: I was excited to have the bed to myself this weekend, when Jay went out of town. Mugsy had plans to seize the opportunity as well. She knows I don't wake up when she climbs up and I won't notice as she slowly takes over 3/4 of the bed. I woke up with such bad back pain from being contorted around this dog. It'll be nice to have Jay back tonight.

Best Moment of the Week: Took Mugsy swimming in the lake.

Worst Moment of the Week: Everywhere Mugsy clawed me to get out of the water, I had a bruise under each scratch. Turns out I'm anemic and get to take this gross iron supplement called Floradix for the remainder of the pregnancy. It's not cheap either. I got it from the farmers market for $24 for 250mL (each dose is 10mL and I take 3 day. . . so that's $3 a day for this stuff)

Movement: Corbin has found this spot above my hip bone and it tickles so much when he kicks it or jabs at it with his hands.

Food Craving: I drove a half hour to Marble Falls to get some curly fries and a chocolate milk shake. I couldn't think about anything else until I had it.

Food Adversions: peaches. Everyone loves peaches in Texas. There are numerous road side stands along the highways that sell nothing but Fredricksburg peaches. Neighbors leave peaches in bags on our doorstep. I don't like peaches.

Gender: Still a boy from what we can tell

Belly Button: I can feel the back of the knot just slightly higher than my belly. :(

What I miss: my old clothes. I just stored another trash bag full of clothes I don't fit in. I tried to get away with not buttoning the jeans, but even my long shirts aren't long enough to cover the open zipper and no one needs to see that.

What I'm looking forward to: Flying home to VB this Wednesday! Taking my former landlord to court this Thursday! Date with my BFF (shark week) this Friday! Catch a little derby practice on Saturday! Baby shower on Sunday!! Shadow Janice and check out a real college class on Monday! Fly back to TX on Tuesday! And try and see about 100 friends and family in between. Maybe a little karaoke action in there somewhere too.

About the baby: Stretching around 16 inches long, weighing in at a hefty 3.3 lbs, Corbin is now able to turn his head side to side and he continues to wiggle his chubby little arms and legs, although he is beginning to get pretty cramped in there. We're working on developing his brain and other organs, so per the request of Jay and the approval of my MWs I'm now taking Fish Oil pills everyday. (Prenatal vitamins, fish oil pills, and flordix supplements- lucky me)

30 Weeks

How far along: 30 Weeks

Countdown: 70 days!

Exercise: We went on a 2 mile nature walk outside of Albequerque last week with Jay's mother and sister. And today we're going swimming in the lake. Maybe get Mugsy to swim too!

Stretch marks: Yup, still not disclosing where they are though.

Sleep: Is the best thing in the world. We are enjoying every minute we can.

Best Moment of the Week: Landed my first location to start teaching Group Massage Workshops AND I found a massage therapist to take over my clinic's lease while I'm on maternity leave!!

Worst Moment of the Week: Leaving New Mexico. I know Jay didn't have enough time to see everyone he wanted to see, but I was glad to meet as much of his family as I did.

Movement: Corbin knows Riverdance apparently. Lots of spasms and they are starting to become predictable, like after I eat or when I lay down.

Food Craving: Pizza and salt

Food Aversions: Healthy food. I'm eating it, but it's work.

Gender: All Male

Belly Button: Is not an "innie" or an "outie" it is just flush with the rest of the belly. :(

What I miss: being able to stand up on my own from squatting or sitting on the floor.

What I'm looking forward too: Going to the lake today! I've been in my bathing suit, greased up with suntan lotion for an hour now in anticipation.

About the baby: Baby is the size of a head of cabbage. Roughly 15.7 inches long and almost 3 pounds. He is surrounded by only a pint and a half of amniotic fluid and that amount will decrease as he grows and takes up more room. So much for my water breaking in a dramatic Hollywood inspired flood. He's working on developing his eyesight and growing his brain mass this week. It's likely that he can detect changes in light outside the womb and may even start responding to different environments.

Jay and I are getting anxious/excited to meet this little person and see who he looks more like (the competitve nature of our relationship never ends :) ). He is working away on our hangar, installing the cam light fixtures and running the electrical loops for the downstairs today. I'm so proud of how hard he is working to get the space liveable for us and our new son. But I hope he can find a break point soon so we can dip in the water! :) All work and no play makes Jay a dull boy.

28 Weeks

How far along? 28 Weeks 4 days

Countdown: 80 days to go!

Exercise: Bradley class exercises: squats, tailor sitting, pelvic thrusts, and keegals- oh my!

Stretch marks: Yes, but not where you would think.

Sleep: Sleeping more than usual. Sleeping through alarms infact. Jay and I both are trying to enjoy everyday we get to sleep in seeing as how we won't get to sleep in again for 18 years.

Best Moment of The Week: My best friend offered to host a baby shower when I visit home next month! I'm super excited to play all the dorky games and see my friends and family all in one place!

Worst Moment of The Week: Organizing my bills. I really don't like bills.

Movement: Oh yea, tons of it. He's a little jumping bean. Our midwife Patty was able to track his position in our appointment today. She said he's already head down and will probably stay that way, only moving side to side from here on out.

Food Craving: BBQ & frozen ice pops

Food Aversion: Veggies that are not green.

Gender: Still a boy

Belly Button: I am determined to make it stay an innie.

What I miss: fitting into those last pair of pre-pregnancy pants. Dresses & elastic bands until October- sarcastic "yay"

What I'm looking forward to: Meeting Jay's family in New Mexico this weekend.

About the baby: Weighing in at 2.25 lbs, stretching out to about 14.8 inches long. Baby is growing! He can blink his new eyelashes and begin to detect light outside of the womb. This week we're working on developing the brain and packing on the pounds to prepare him for the outside world.

At my 28 week appointment today, the midwife said I was measuring 32 weeks! Good gravy almighty- 4 weeks ahead now?? We're unclear about the date of my missed period so our due date has been a guess this whole time, but come on already. She said she wouldn't be surprised if I'm more pregnant than we think in which case we would be going into labor much sooner than expected. Uh oh. So much for "plenty of time". Time is definitely running out to get ready for this little guy's arrival, including the much needed time I need to convince myself I can infact go natural.

Also learned that I have gained an impressive 33.25 lbs in four months. I hope he plans on taking most of that with him when he leaves. Oh how I long to get back into derby. I'd be pretty effective with take outs at this size!

Back to the Drawing Board

Jay and I are 90% sure we will name this little guy Corbin. Corbin what is the question. It went from Corbin Levi to Corbin Bennett and now we are looking at the names all over again. Well, more accurately I am looking at names all over again. Jay is having a good old time listening to me rattle off my lists.

So here are the new options we are considering.

Corbin Otto
Corbin Rocco
Corbin Elliot
Corbin Bennett
Corbin Henry
Corbin Oliver
Corbin Syrus
Corbin Wesley
Corbin Balthazar
Corbin Barnaby
Corbin Ezra
Corbin Van
Corbin Levi

Plenty of time to decide. And no one ever died from not having a middle name so blank is always an option. Heh Heh Corbin Blank Stokes .... maybe.

I got a big belly.

I used to have a cute bump. Now I have a big belly. Soon I will be scaring small children down at the lake when they see my giant uterus coming at them. With my limited knowledge of physics and gravity, I do not see how I will be able to remain upright for 12 more weeks. The skin on my sides is stretched taut even when I'm not having those Braxton Hicks contractions. I am lathering up with lotion everyday to try and prevent the inevitable. But if this belly is on the path I think it is, it's going to be mind blowingly huge.

At my last appointment I was around 24 weeks pregnant, fundal height measuring 27. Your fundal height is the measurement from your pubic bone to the top of your uterus (aka your fundus). It is measured in centimeters and by some weird quirk of nature it should match your week of gestation. I measure big. I measure 3 weeks big at last count. My midwives are confident that it doesn't mean I am doomed to have a ten pound baby, I just have a large uterus. Lucky me.

Actually, lucky baby. Enjoy your giant home while you can Corbin, because once you're evicted I'm doing some serious renovating and getting my pre-pregnant belly back!

Bradley Class Numero Uno

Last night, Jay and I attended our first Bradley childbirth class. The instructor, Chan McDermott, came highly recommended to us not only from the midwives at the Austin Area Birthing Center, but from several patients who overheard the initial recommendation and had to add their testimonials as well.

Classes are held at a Gymboree in Austin. I had never been inside a Gymboree before. It is a padded, colorful wonderland for tots. There are slides, and tunnels, and monkey bars, things to climb on, things to jump off of, and padded foam mats as far as the eye can see. They offer art classes, skill building at all levels (2 months-5 years old), and it makes for easy play dates for the youngin's to interact with kids their own age. Here at the airport there is one kid under 5, two teenagers, and that's it. And I doubt there will be any new additions in the near future. So if we want our baby to even see another baby we may have to consider something like Gymboree in the future.

We found that of the 10 other couples enrolled in our class, more than half came from the Austin Area Birth Center. Our instructor was apparently AABC's very first water birth 15+ years ago. I believe every couple in the room was expecting their first child, and everyone was only having one child (no twins). So we had alot in common with these people right off the bat.

We learned about the history of the Bradley method and its variations from other childbirth classes, the importance of posture, squats, and Keegals, and the role the men are playing in all of this. Jay did very well spotting me during our practice exercises and he wouldn't let me cheat on the pelvic rocks- which are hard to do with a baby in the way. I think he'll prove to be a solid coach down the road. He didn't even squirm during the birth videos!

27 Weeks

How far along? 27 weeks today! (3rd Trimester!)

Countdown? 91 days to go!

Exercise: I thought about it. I've been working 3 days in a row, climbing up flights of stairs, waddling around clients, and all the lunging- I feel like I've worked out for hours by the time I get home. If my 4th of July stays open I'll go swimming in the lake.

Stretch marks: I thought I spotted some on my top half yesterday, but it may have been from my clothes. I'm afraid to look again.

Sleep: Had the worst dream last night. Our baby was born 13 weeks too early and his head was the shape of a toilet paper tube. But when I woke up after that dream I couldn't get back to be so I got a head start on today's activities.

Best Moment of the Week: I had a couple come in for a Couples Massage Workshop they pre-paid for in February! They were hilarious and picked up the art of massage very quickly. I love teaching people how to enhance their wellbeing and create a stronger connection using Massage Therapy. Every workshop I teach reaffirms the fact that I got into the perfect field. When I started massage therapy training a week after high school graduation, there were some doubts as to whether or not it was the right fit for me. 5 years later- I couldn't imagine doing anything else!

Worst Moment of the Week: Mugsy got her skin infection back, luckily we still have the topical sprays from the last time she had a flare up, but we did have to shave her again. She was just getting her coat back :(

Movement: Jay felt his first outside kick this week. Jay's dad also got to feel one. I can start to pick up on fetal hiccups which feel like kick but they are more frequent and rhythmic.

Food Craving: Waffles and ice cream

Food Aversions: None this week

Gender: Still a boy

Belly Button: A shallow innie

What I miss: normal dreams

What I'm looking forward to: A trip to New Mexico in a few weeks and a trip to Virginia Beach in August!

About the baby: Looks like almost 2 pounds of my weight gain can be credited to the baby at this point. He should be stretching out about 14 1/2 inches long. He is sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and possibly sucking on his thumb (or foot if the ultrasound was correct).

13 more weeks to bake!

26 Weeks

How far along: 26 weeks 2 days

Countdown: 96 days to go!

Exercise: Was a slacker this week. Probably go swimming in the river today or tomorrow.

Stretch Marks: Nada yet!

Sleep: We visited friends in Dallas this weekend. Jay's friend was nice enough to let us crash at his place on Friday night ... with his California King sized mattress .... with a TempurPedic top on it. ::cue chorus of angels singing:: It was the closest I've been to sleeping on my stomach in months! I could have slept in that bed all day. If it weren't for the promise of food I would still be there right now.

Best Moment of the Week: Birthday party for one of Jay's friends; i.e. swimming in their inground pool, more food than a pregnant girl could ever wish for, and the opportunity to hang out with a great group of people. (Another Best Moment of the Week: Jay started calling the baby by name! It's not "the nursery" it's "Corbin's room". It's not "when the baby's here" it's "when Corbin's here". Hearing him say Corbin's name over and over made it so real. I just wanted to cry.)

Worst Moment of the Week: First and second experiences with my toes swelling. First was after wadding in the swimming pool for a few hours. Second, and much worse, was after driving home from Dallas. Being stuck in a car for 4 hours with no place to put your feet up- that sucks. I know it's only going to get worse from here.

Movement: Corbin's learning his way around the 'ol uterus, stretching side to side, top and bottom. The weirdest feeling so far would be what I can only imagine is him stretching his arms and legs in opposite directions across my body.

Food Cravings: New favorite combo: left over grilled hot dogs and chocolate cake ... a bite of each at a time.

Food Aversions: tomatoes and olives

Gender: Still a boy

Belly Button: In, but more and more shallow.

What I miss: bending forward

What I am looking forward to: planning a trip back home to VA.

About the Baby: Baby's network of nerves in the ears are more developed and sensitive allowing him the opportunity to hear Mommy and Daddy chat on the otherside. He continues to develop his lungs by swallowing amniotic fluid and practicing the art of breathing. If he is on track with the BabyCenter guide he should weigh about a pound and 2/3, measuring about 14 inches in length.

Grow Corbin Grow!

Aviation Nursery Theme Items

Oh who was I kidding thinking that I could pull together a nursery from mix matched pieces strewn across the interwebs. I finally found an affordable all-aviation bedding set! Most baby boy bedding sets with planes also include trucks and ships and the occasional train. So here it is! CoCo & Company's 4 piece crib set- Zoom Along! The set includes the quilt, bumper, fitted sheet, and dust ruffle for under $100!







I like to think I'm crafty, but I know I can't sew/applique/screen print anything near as cute as this. I'm in a rare mood where I will actually tolerate the matchiness of a bedding set.








It's just dumb luck that I stumbled upon this bedding set today. I've been toying with a Babies R Us registry for awhile, using it to keep a mental picture of how much stuff our Tater Tot is going to need. Well, they have been having alot of inventory issues and it seems everytime I log in half of my items are unavailable. So I clicked over to check out Target's baby registry and low and behold they have the items I'm eyeing in stock! I start working my way through their baby store and there I find the cutest baby boy bedding set ever!





It won't be long now! A few more months of hard work and planning and our house will be ready to move into! I just hope the rest of our house will look as good as this nursery!

100 Days Left

Holy Crap. Here are some numbers for ya.

100 days until our estimated due date of October 2nd

65 days until the 35/35 milestone

16 days until we start 3rd trimester

12 days until we start Bradley Childbirth Classes

1 day until we hit double digits in our countdown


Shout out to my facebook/blogger friend Tiffany who just delivered a beautiful baby boy! I figured as long as she was pregnant I wouldn't have to worry, I'd have plenty of time. Where did June go exactly??

First Day of Summer

It's officially Summer here in Texas. It's 97 degrees outside. But that's not stopping Jay from hammering away at the rest of the plywood ceiling for our hangar/house. I tried to keep him company since I can't really help at all. I think I lasted an hour before I went inside because it was too dang hot. He's a trooper. I know he's gotta be dying up there. I was dying sitting in a rocking chair infront of a fan and an ice box.

So if he can make it through a few more sheets of plywood before suffering from heat stroke, we will have ourselves a finished ceiling! Then comes electric and plumbing, AC ventilation, dry wall, tape and bed, texture, kitchen and bathroom fixtures, and we're ready to move in! And then we can worry about the upstairs.

We've got a little over a hundred days before Corbin makes his arrival! We're racing to make sure he has a home to come home to. Well, Jay is racing. I'm slowly fetching ice water and handing him tools. Good news is: Corbin should be very used to the sound of power tools once he's on the outside. Probably more soothing than Mozart by now.

Well I think I'll go make myself useful and offer another round of water.

25 Weeks

How Far Along: 25 Weeks today

Countdown: 105 days

Exercise: Took Mugsy on a "walk" this morning. She's so terrible on leash. It's more of a moving tug-of-war around the airport. It was too hot for her so she acted up until I let her go back inside. I'll probably go for a bike ride down to the boat ramp this evening.

Stretch marks: not that I can see, although I will admit it's getting harder to see my belly's undercarriage.

Sleep: There was nothing but murder mystery shows on last night. One of which was a family who was murdered in their beach house, the wife was pregnant with a boy. So needless to say I did not fall asleep easily. But once asleep I slept like a rock until I woke up with a stuffed up nose and a full bladder. Then back to rock-like slumber. Then awake again. Asleep again. And so on and so forth.

Best Moment of the Week: Made a stencil for the back window of my car advertising my Couples Workshops. Came out pretty good I think. Also, died Mugsy green with food coloring again.

Worst Moment of the Week: When Jay made me wash the food coloring off of Mugsy because he didn't find it as hilarious as I did.

Movement: Stronger flutters everyday and more of them!

Food Cravings: Pizza, pizza, and more pizza.

Food Adversions: any milk other than Borden's.

Gender: Still planning on him being a boy.

Belly Button In or Out: In!

What I Miss: fitting into my favorite clothes.

What I am Looking Forward To: Going to Dallas next weekend for Jay's friend's birthday party.

About the Baby This Week: Head to heels he should be measuring around 13.5 inches, weighing about a pound and a half, roughly the size of a rutabaga. He's starting to gain fat and grow hair which will make him look more like a newborn rather than the alien look he's been working for the past 5 months. If we could see him now, we'd be able to know his hair color and texture. But looking at mom and dad, I'm guessing he'll be a dark haired boy (although Jay swears he had blonde hair at birth).

24 Weeks

How far along: 24 Weeks (4 days, but who's counting)

Countdown: 108 days

Exercise: Think I'll either go for a long walk or a bike ride today.

Stretch marks: Not yet (knock on wood)

Sleep: Weird dreams, wake up 3 or 4 times to pee, trouble getting back to sleep leads to watching tv or reading in bed which no doubt is effecting Jay's sleep.

Best Moment of the Week: Getting back to teaching Couples Massage Workshops!

Worst Moment of the Week: The appearance of the dreaded linea negra. And it's crooked. Also first few episodes of moderate back pain.

Movement: Picking up more flutters here and there.

Food Cravings: Pickles are still a staple of my diet. Also, ice cream sandwiches.

Food Adversions: Tomatoes, which is a shame because our neighbor grew some really good looking tomatoes last week. Jay grilled them with mozzerella cheese and all I ate was the cheese.

Gender: He's all boy. Chinese Gender Calendar was right.

Belly Button in or out: Innie, larger than normal, but still concave.

What I Miss: Sleeping on my stomach.

What am I Looking Forward To: Prenatal massage later today!

About the Baby This Week: If growing according to BabyCenter.com standards, he's gained about 4 ounces since last week making him weigh a little over a pound! Stretching about a foot long he is the size of an ear of corn. In developmental news, the brain, the taste buds, and the lungs are this week's overachievers. His skin is still translucent, but that will change soon!

Nursery Inspiration Board (WIP) Cont.

Wall decals from Babies R Us. I don't mind the vintage planes so much in this border, mainly because they are primary colors.

The cloud set comes with 20 clouds in various shapes and sizes. I think it will go well with the vintage plane & cloud wall border below.

Now I just need to find a few vintage cessna prints to frame and bring it all together.

I'm getting a pretty good mental picture of how the nursery will look. It won't be long before the house will be done and we can start decorating for real!

Eek!

I Want a Swimming Pool So Bad I'm Growing One

Well, we had another prenatal check-up appointment today. This time with midwife Joan. Sweet lady. Everyone that works at the Austin Area Birth Center is awesome.

It was a confusing day for numbers. I went to my appointment thinking I was 23 weeks 3 days pregnant. During the abdominal palpation I was told I was measuring 27 weeks (Yowza!). Joan explained that it's not as accurate as the ultrasound I had a few weeks ago and asked if the ultrasound tech mentioned anything about the baby measuring big. She hadn't.

Okay so apparently I want a swimming pool so bad my body is growing one for my inner child, literally. But then there was some confusion when I went to schedule my glucose test next month. You have to be 28 weeks along to do the test and rescheduling in 4 weeks I would have been 27 weeks, or so I thought.

Receptionist: Okay so how far along are you?
Me: I'm 23 weeks 3 days today.
Receptionist: Okay, well that would make you only 27 weeks in 4 weeks. You sure she wanted you to come in in 4 weeks?
Me: Yup.
Receptionist: Hmmm.. Your birthday is [insert correct birthdate]?
Me: Yup, that's me.
Receptionist: Oh Okay.
Other Staff Member: Yea she's 24 weeks 2 days today.

That would make me 28 weeks at my next appointment and able to take the glucose test. Also brought our due date 6 days closer! So it looks like we are due October 2nd instead of the 8th. It's all estimated anyways. Weird day.

But sadly, we missed our Viability Day which would have been 2 days ago. So we're celebrating it today instead. Corbin got a swimming pool and I get to watch Last Comic Standing. Party on!

23 Week Bump Comparisons

There are a few things to note when comparing the picture on the left, which is approximately 20 weeks, and the picture on the right, 23 weeks.

First of all, in the left picture I am wearing wedge heels. These have now been retired, as have the worn out jeans featured in the same picture.

Now, in the right picture I sport a confused expression. This is because I am pondering where exactly my feet have gone. You'll also notice the different hand placement. Despite carrying Corbin so high, I can no longer button my pants. And the zippers have gone on strike as well.

Would like to point out I still have ankles at this point. Pretty excited about that fact.

23 Weeks Down, 119 Days to Go!

Circumcision is Plastic Surgery

To snip or not to snip ... that is the question. We didn't have to think about this issue at all the first half of our pregnancy because we thought he was a she. Now that we know what equipment we're dealing with we are faced with the decision every couple who has a boy is faced with- whether on not to have our son circumcised.

For some it's a no-brainer. Of course you have your son circumcised. It's automatic. Push 'em out and slice it off. But when you ask "Why did you do it?" you get superficial answers like, "well his father is circumcised" and "it looks better" which should be the definition of plastic surgery. Some seemingly legit reasons pop up from time to time. For example some say it's more hygenic to remove the foreskin, easier to keep clean, easier to teach your son how to clean, or that it reduces their chance of getting an STD. All this time I thought condoms were responsible for reducing a guys chances of catching an STD - silly me.

But for others, it's an issue worth investigating. I mean he's born with it. It can't be that harmful to our species or evolution would have eliminated it with the tail. And have you seen a circumcision video online or in person for that matter? It's horrifying! We don't do this to baby girls. It would be considered genital mutilation for female newborns. So why is it different for boys?

Non-religious neonatal circumcision exploded in popularity for us Westerners around the 1900's. The general public was becoming more and more germ-phobic and the penis became the scapegoat for the many new diseases running around. I can imagine the WANTED signs of male genitalia. Subtitled "Off with his head!"

Other non-sense reasons included the thought that removing an infant's foreskin would make him less likely to constantly masterbate when he's older and even later in life would reduce the chance of infidelity. Good thing no one told them their sex drive is in their head, not their foreskin, or the decapitation rates would have sky rocketed!

But seriously, are there hygiene and medical benefits to this procedure? The American Academy of Pediatrics released a statement in 1999 that said "Circumcision has been suggested as an effective method of maintaining penile hygiene since the time of the Egyptian dynasties, but there is little evidence to affirm the association between circumcision status and optimal penile hygiene." Contrary to popular opinion, circumcision does not prevent UTI's, penile cancer, or STDs. Infact, having a circumcision can have complications including infection. It is minor surgery after all.

Well, I didn't chop my dog's tail off for esthetics (or to fit her breed) and I won't chop off normal, healthy, functioning tissue from my son for appearance sake ... unless you can guarantee it will make him masterbate less when he's a teenager.

The Dorky Stuff On My Registry I Can't Wait To Buy

Just to recap, that's a tuxedo bib, pee-pee blocking tee-pee, and rattles that go on their feet!

Four more months and little man is going to be styling!

Nursery Idea Board (WIP)

I'll edit this post as I change my mind about things. Just going to use this to keep track of vendors we like so it's a bit cluttered but I think it will work out in the end.

Wholesale Applique

Since aviation print fabric is generally only available in realistic WWII fighter pilot scenes, we're going to have to improvise and use iron on appliques for the crib skirt, bumpers, and room decor.

The general theme is small personal aircraft similar to what Jay flies, a Cessna 170 , but airing on the cartoonish side. But we'll throw in some other single prop planes for diversity. All the while attempting to keep the color theme soft yellow, baby blue, and white.

Etsy: Define Your Space Vinyl for wall decals this set comes with 6 planes and 6 dotted loop lines not sure on what color to get.

Other wall decals I'm considering include the phrases "Come fly with me" and "Up, up, and away"

I have sewn a felt mobile for above the crib. It consists of 2 planes and 2 clouds that dance around each other. I'll upload a picture when the neck is finished (after we get a crib in place)

Other wall art will be a large print (slightly cartoonized version) of Jay's plane and Corbin's name above the crib. I'm considering adding a door sign on the outside of the nursery that says "Pilot's Lounge"

More to come as I thrift for some more ideas

Huggies Jean Diapers

I'll admit, when I first saw pictures of the Jean Diapers I thought it was ridiculous. I still think it's ridiculous, but this commercial is too funny.

I wasn't a fan of Huggies. Pampers suckered me in with the Gifts To Grow program where you earn points by entering codes found on pampers products or freebie codes found online. I have accumulated 250 points in 10 point increments and haven't spent $1 yet. I like free things. Once you hit 1,000 points or so the rewards are pretty cool- free toys, magazine subscriptions, etc.

But now I'm in the cloth diaper camp so it doesn't matter either way. I'm sure you've seen the commercial already, but here it is to enjoy over and over again.

Background Story: It's A Boy!

May 25th, 2010

He's a boy and he's perfect! I'm glad we found out. It would have been a bit of a shock in the delivery room if I went 20 more weeks thinking it was a girl. But sure enough- she has a penis!

Jay and I agree on the name Corbin Bennett. We can't wait to meet you little man. Your Dad even sprung for a video of the ultrasound so we can watch you move around and try and stick your foot in your mouth anytime we want.

Here are some stills from the video:

Background Story: Third Appointment

We had our third appointment on May 17th. Although I was only 19 weeks the midwife said I was measuring 22. I hope that doesn't mean we are instore for a big baby. Jay got his blood drawn to see if I need a shot in my butt at the next appointment. Short and sweet.

I picked up a bumper sticker that says "Keeping Birth Normal". It's a pun on the "Keeping Austin Weird" phrase. I enjoy a good pun.

Ultrasound is next week. We decided to find out the gender because we have all girl hand me down stuff and if it's a boy he will have nothing to wear for a few months.

More to come.

Background Story: It's Gotta Be A Girl

Repost from Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 the bump blog:

From the beginning Jay said our tater tot was female. I was quick to disagree with him and said it was definitely a boy. I'm a pretty competitive person. Last night, Jay and I had a staring contest. We randomly locked eyes and with a raise of his eyebrow he had challenged me. Once challenged, I simply cannot back down. We stared at each other across the table for what felt like hours. Eyelids twitching, eyeballs drying out I was the first to resort to mind games, opening my eyes wider as if saying "I could do this allll day". But then a speck of dus took me out of the game. I lost fair and square. No hard feelings.

Then I realized something. I hadn't placed my bet on blue because I actually thought it was a boy. I didn't have any gut instinct pulling me that direction. I mean we picked a boy name first, but come on, boys names are way easier than girls names!

Nope, I just said it was a boy so that I had a 50% chance of being right. And if I'm right, then he's wrong! Na-na na-na na na! If I said I thought it was a girl too we would be in the 100% boat. 100% right or 100% wrong. What fun is that?

We picked the girls name this week. Daphne Marie. So now that we have a name I would like to officially join Jay on the we-think-it's-a-girl-but-have-no-proof team.

More to come.

Background Story: Name Woes

Repost from Saturday, May 1st, 2010 the bump blog:

So I have gone from LOVING the names we chose to hating everything about them. We had settled, and I do mean settled, on Corbin Levi for a boy and Amelia Leigh for a girl. We liked Corbin for awhile it just kind of clicked with both of us. Amelia was the front runner of the Amelia, Emily, Lucy race we had for a girl. Since Jay gets to give them their last name, I called dibbs on the middle name and chose Levi and Leigh as variations on my middle name Lee.

Now the whole naming process has put a bad taste in my mouth and I don't know left from right, up from down, good names from tacky names. Jay knew this day would come and was very glad that it happene now and not at the delivery. He just grinned and shook his head when I asked him last night "So... do you still like the name Tallulah?" ... He does.

So the search for the perfect baby name continues. Back to the drawing board. More to come.

Background Story: Anniversary Present

Repost from Friday, April 30, 2010 the bump blog:

Monday is Jay and I's one year anniversary. Being on a budget, I knew we wouldn't do much in the way of gifts, but I couldn't help myself. I was at Wal-mart today and I saw a cheap fetal heart beat monitor and decided it was the perfect gift for "us"- even thought I will use it way more.

Jay was out picking up the lumber we need to finish framing the downstairs of our new house when I got home. I decided I should go ahead and open the box, read the manual, and test this sucker out! I mean, I have to make sure it works before I give it to him right?

Well it doesn't. Atleast not yet. It's a sound amplifier not a doppler. I'm too early in my pregnancy for it to pick up the heart beat. Well isn't that fantastic. Happy Anniversary Honey. Sorry I spent money on something we can't use for 10 weeks.

One cool function is you can hook it up to your computer and record the sounds. I think I'll record my heartbeat and play it when our tater tot is trying to fall asleep.

More to come.