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: