First Childbirth Class

Last week we attended our first childbirth class: Medical Options. The class was taught at the hospital where we will give birth, Chesapeake General Hospital. Very awesome RN, Jessica taught the class. The material is very biased, toward the use of an epidural. With that being said, it did calm my nerves a bit about the epidural.

One thing that I have been worried about was becoming paralyzed. Apparently, these stories have remained since the beginning of the use of epidural. When the product was first developed, it contained preservatives that were making the women paralyzed. It was not in fact the procedure itself. These preservatives have been removed and no one has been paralyzed since. I thought it was very interesting.

There was one annoying couple. The male had comments to say about pretty much everything, usually nothing positive. The female was VERY affectionate with her partner, which at times was very creepy. We hope they will not be in any more of the classes we have signed up for.

This coming Monday we have our first Parenting class. I hope it's informative, especially about the care of the newborn when we come home, like how do we care for his umbilical cord stub and care for his circumcision. Look for an update next week about Parenting class Part 1.

Grocery shopping=FAIL

I used to be so good at grocery shopping: going through all the circulars, clipping coupons, buying only sale items, and shopping in bulk.

I am not quite sure what happened. It does not happen that way anymore. I will use coupons if I have one for the item that we are purchasing, but is no longer the process that it used to be. Let me just say it needs to be!

Today's grocery bill: $177.80!!!! FOR TWO PEOPLE! What on earth is going on? I bought one meat item, turkey meatballs. I did purchase a lot of frozen meals that were on sale because I figure they will be easy to have on the nights that we have childbirth classes.

Honestly though, that is ridiculous. With baby on the way and my part-time hours being cut to part-time of that, changes need to be made. An amendment to my "get organized" resolution for the year, needs to include the return to SMART shopping techniques. For a woman, who loves to 'brag' about her good deals, this is certainly not a post I am proud of.

What are some techniques you use when shopping? Anyone have any good suggestions for online coupons?

Third Trimester!

Can you even believe it!?! I am now in the third trimester. Today marks the start of Week 28. It is amazing how quick the time has gone by and from what I am told, the last trimester will go by the quickest!

We are on target for the most part with our things to do before Maddox arrives, except for finding a pediatrician. I really need to take some time and focus on it. Perhaps next week...

What did people do when they chose their pediatrician? Did you perform interviews, take referrals, or just open the yellow pages and point?

So what causes my elevated heart rate?

Now keep in mind, this is not a medical diagnosis, but stress definitely is a contributing factor. Hubby is currently protecting me from certain family drama that causes my heart to race! But the shortness of breath surely is connected to physical activity, like my walk from the car to the mail box yesterday. Then the shortness of breath causes your heart rate to rise, so again, I am not a doctor, so this clearly is not a diagnosis blog entry.

At any rate, I have an appointment in about 2 weeks with the specialist...apparently that's a "rushed" appointment. I have calmed down a lot since initially having the EKG done, but I am still overcome with worry at times. All the What If's...

What If is no way to live your life.

Putting together the baby's room

Who knew how tiring, yet exciting this would be!

Last weekend, Hubs painted the nursery! No pictures until we have it all done. I took random progession pictures, but we prefer to do a "big" reveal.

I am currently trying to figure out the most effective way to organize the changing table...any thoughts, suggestions are appreciated.

Graco recall

I was shocked to read about the latest recall. A large volume of Graco stroller models have been recalled due to the risk of amputation of a child's finger. This is an instance where it is so important for parents to fill out the registrations cards that come with virtually all baby products.

For more information regarding the recall, please read this: http://tinyurl.com/yev3s7a

Everything that Hubs opens for Maddox, I hound him for the registration card until I have it in hand. It has pretty much become a joke for us now. The best thing to do though is fill it out right away, then stick it in the mail. NO STAMP REQUIRED!! I especially love the ones that come preprinted with model information.

Clearance!!!

Ok, let me tell you! Last week our local Target had a MAJOR clearance markdown session in their baby department. I assume they must be making room for new items. We purchased the Baby Bjorn, regular price $99.00 for....$24.00!!!!!! I could not even believe it! We momentarily lost our minds when we put a second one in the cart...why on earth would we need two...there will only be one baby!!

Some other fab purchases that day, Avent bottle sterilizer, various breast feeding needed items, and some onesies (not that we needed them). I even got a bottle of baby lotion for about .50 after I used a coupon on it too! I love getting good buys and envision that this blog will inform people of my good buys even more once Maddox is born. Since I will not be back to work my usual amount of hours, money will definitely be tighter.

Mumsy in turn hit up their local Target, but things were pretty well picked over by that time, as is our's now.

Last 4 week checkup!!

Hard to believe that I will now be going to the doctor every two weeks! Then ultimately every week. This past Wednesday I had my last 4 week visit. Little Maddox is doing great, thank goodness. Strong heartbeat! I just love hearing his little heart beating.

I've gained 15 pounds now, which is right on target for where I should be. The weight gain since last month is probably because morning sickness has finally left me, going on about two weeks now.

Unfortunately, I am exhibiting some symptoms on the not so great side. Dr H, being the fabulous doctor that he is, picked up on a breathing issue. Once he and I discussed my breathing patterns, he listened to my lungs and determined they were fine, but wanted to do an EKG to be on the safe side, especially since I have recently started to have numbness in my left arm. The EKG revealed that I currently have a rapid heartbeat, in a resting position. I now need to go see a cardiologist.

It could be nothing. Perhaps elevated from stress or the fact that I am dehydrated. He also spoke to me about that (story of my life...I seem to always be dehydrated) and advised I need to be much more diligent about pushing water. I was worried he was going to tell me I had to go for an IV of fluids, but I guess I will have the chance to rectify the situation myself.

I have had my first limitation, other than lifting anything over 20 lbs, put on me since the pregnancy. He wanted to know about my typical day...work, home, etc. He is fine with my day-to-day life at this point, but advised that at this point, event day work seemed a bit much for me to handle. Thankfully, we only have two more events before Maddox's arrival. I was able to find someone to fill in for me this weekend for setup of a Bat Mitzvah.

So at any rate, I will be seeing a cardiologist in the coming week and then of course two weeks for my next prenatal appointment. Glucose screening again at that appointment.

My Baby Shower

On January 10th, our moms hosted a beautiful baby shower for me. We traveled back to Massachusetts for the weekend. COLD weather, but thankfully no snow! The location was the same place that we were married at, The Spencer Country Inn.

We are so lucky to have so many wonderful people in our lives. Our friends and family showered little Maddox with so much love! It was an amazing time and I was so thankful to be able to share a moment like that with so many lovely ladies! Being that we have moved far away, I was certain I would probably not have a baby shower. I was so happy to be able to share this moment in our lives with everyone!

Here are a few pictures that my fab friend Jenny Boom Boom took! (She was the "assigned" photographer for the day...sorry Jen!)

The shower was an wonderful day that I will never forget. We are so thankful for all that we have in our lives, and most importantly our family and friends.

Special delivery

I met a beautiful baby boy a couple weeks ago. Such a blessing.

Getting things ready

We have been having fun lately getting Maddox's things put together. It still amazes us that we are finally at this point! I mean, we are in the third trimester!!! For a while, I doubted our ability to ever get pregnant. That magnificent Hubs of mine never wavered his belief though. He is my rock... "You complete me".


Hubs is really enjoying putting the stuff together. I think I will enjoy more the organization process, which will begin once the room is painted. The weekend after Christmas, Hubs put together the crib. Our first son was very helpful, plopping himself down in the middle of all the action!

So this weekend begins the painting project. Hubs will be taking that one on. Ocean theme...pictures to be posted once complete! Sooooo excited!!!

Moving Maddox

Can I just tell you how much I LOVE feeling Maddox move. On January 9th, Hubs was able to feel him for the first time too, which was so exciting! Now tonight, we were laying down feeling him move and you could see my stomach jumping!! It was crazy, fascinating, and nearly moved me to tears.

I've been missed...

I know! It has been quite a while. Things were just so busy with the holidays, fashion show at work, and heading back to MA for a shower.

I have lots to blog about people, so stay tuned. My shower, the journey of putting together Maddox's stuff, the start of Braxton Hicks contractions, birthing classes...just to a name a few.

This weekend is the fashion show for a local bridal show. We have been hard at work to ensure a successful event! So excited to see it all come together! Laying easy today, until the 4:00PM rehearsal, then tomorrow I will be there all day. Look to hear back from this week. I have another event for work next weekend, which I think will be it for us until little Maddox arrives.

Have a great weekend everyone!