October Update No. 1

I had a doctor's appointment on October 10th with yet another new doctor. This appointment was very short like the others. Lab work was good and blood pressure was the same as always. Isaac's heart rate was fine but they did point out that I hadn't gained any weight since my last appointment two weeks ago. The doctor asked if I had been eating well, but I don't have a good answer as to why this might be. Really from looking at my scale at home, I haven't really gained any weight for about a month. I hadn't stressed about it because I had gained more than the recommended amount before my third trimester (oops!). But my belly measured on schedule at about 34-35 centimeters so hopefully he's growing well. I will go back to the doctor on Monday October 24th and at this appointment they will begin doing a more thorough examination and I will begin going to the doctor for weekly appointments.

He's been moving very well, but I definitely can tell times when he moves a lot and times when he doesn't move very much at all. I'm really hoping he's moving down too. I've been feeling a lot more movement in my lower abdomen but I also feel it high as well. I've occasionally been having some lower back pain as well but nothing too bad. I'm definitely feeling less and less comfortable each day though.

I forgot to mention in my last post that since we got our new insurance cards we also signed up for a pediatrician. We had a prenatal appointment in the beginning of September and are all set to go come baby day! We had our second prepared childbirth class on October 1st. This time we got down on the mats and practiced our breathing and relaxation exercises in addition to a few more power point presentations and videos. We also got to tour the hospital which was very interesting. We saw the labor and delivery rooms and all the equipment in them and the overflow well baby rooms. We also went to the well baby floor and saw the well baby nursery. We saw tiny newborn babies in the baby nursery! We saw the OR where C-sections will take place and we went down to see the NICU. Noah and I also went back up to labor and delivery after class and preregistered for the hospital. We are now all set to go come baby day! On October 8th and 9th we went to the Madison Wellness Center for two five hour parenting classes. These classes were very similar to the childbirth classes. We watched all sorts of different power point presentations on different topics. We also practiced changing diapers and swaddling on baby dolls. We also got an infant CPR kit and were highly encouraged to get certified through the hospital. My last class will be on October 24th for breastfeeding.

Over fall break, Noah and I went to Buy Buy Baby in Birmingham to look for mattress protectors. We hadn't really found what we needed at Target and Wal-Mart and it's been frustrating because the Babies R Us in Huntsville is closed and I couldn't figure out what exactly I needed online. We bought a mattress protector for both the bassinet and the crib and we bought some pads to put down on top of the bassinet and crib and some other pads that go on top of the changing pad cover. I'm still convinced that there is a changing pad cover that goes underneath the pretty cover but I haven't yet found that. We also worked really hard on a wreath that we are making for Isaac. We plan to take the wreath with us to the hospital to put on our hospital door and then hang on his nursery door after that. A few weeks ago, we also got our travel system stroller and baby carrier/carseat in the mail from Megan and Nathan. Our last harp gig is October 13th and after that we will take the car to get professionally cleaned and then we will set up our appointment at the hospital to have our carseat professionally installed.

We got some cleaning done over fall break, but there is still of course more to do. I will keep working on the house. This week will be our busiest week yet. There is a lot of school work due this week and we will be going to Sewanee twice this week. Hopefully things will slow down after this week and we will be able to catch up on housework and such.