Welcome to the World, S!

Well indeed I *was* going through early labour at the time of my last post, as less than 24 hours later we welcomed our beautiful new daughter into our lives!

We are proud and overjoyed to introduce our precious little "S" - born on November 24th, 2010 at 8:19 AM, weighing 8 lbs 8 oz and measuring 20 1/2 inches long. She arrived naturally after less than 5 hours of active labour.























 It's been an exciting but challenging first week for S, Chris and me, learning the ropes as a family of three, however we're starting to get the hang of things and S is doing very well!

I'll be posting some more updates over the next few days about the labour & delivery, S's first week and other topics, time and energy permitting! :)

Early labour beginning???

I'm now 9 days overdue (or 12 if we go by the estimate during my first ultrasound) and still no bebe. BUT:

• I've been having mad Braxton Hicks over the last 2-3 days in particular
• Had a stretch & sweep at the hospital yesterday (which wasn't as bad as anticipated) and Dr. Schnarr said my cervix has thinned further and is very "ripe"
• Following the S&S, started having some substantial cramping which came in waves along with my BHs. I thought I might go into full labour last night, but then managed to get basically a full night's sleep and woke up feeling like things were no longer happening. But then when I started moving about, the periodic cramping / BHs started up again. I'm now experiencing them every 10-20 minutes.

Not sure if this is early labour or what! Some people on FB are suggesting it is, but the "cramps" are very manageable (and I wouldn't even call them painful) and others have told me that I'll definitely know it when I'm in labour. So hard to say for sure! But it does seem pretty clear that shit's going down soon - almost certainly before I'll need to be induced on Thursday. Yay!!! :)

Bought more cloth diapers today

I couldn't resist. :)

A couple weeks back I found myself researching cheaper options for one-size pocket diapers as I currently have only two of these (my AMP one size duos) and would like some more for convenience, variation and Daddy (and other caretaker) friendliness. However, I've found it hard to rationalize spending $20+ per diaper which is what the popular, mainstream brands cost (BumGenius, FuzziBunz, etc.) Several hours of Googling around reading reviews, forum discussion topics, etc. led me to a brand that is both extremely economical AND highly esteemed - Kawaii Diapers. They are manufactured in China but under strict specifications, and are sold by a Canadian distributor at http://theluvyourbaby.com as well as on eBay. The prices on her website are quite reasonable already ($7 to $10.50 per pocket diaper, depending on the specific type), but the bulk deals on eBay are even better. This was all very exciting, but I decided not to pull the trigger at the time and instead wait until Little One was here in order to gain some early experience with CDing and determine the best way to extend our "stash".

Well that was then and this is now. :)

I found myself back on eBay tonight and couldn't resist putting in a min bid of $69 US for a package deal of 13 "Snazzy Minky" one size pocket diapers. Look how cute they are!







And they also score well in the areas of softness, leak-resistancy and durability, according to numerous user reviews. Finally at this bulk price, they're just $5.30 a pop compared to $8.95 from her website. My min bid held up and I'll be receiving these awesome new diapers within a few weeks!!!

The only concern I have with buying one type in bulk like this pre-baby is that there's some chance they won't fit her particular size and shape ideally. That said, if this does happen I can probably sell them on Kijiji or Diaper Swappers at little to no loss (or possibly even make a small profit)! I could look at selling all of them or keep several back to try when she gets a little bigger and/or with future babies :) So really there's little to no risk here the way I see it.

In other news, tomorrow I'll be 3 days overdue. We have an OB appointment in the morning during which there'll inevitably be another offer for the illustrious stretch & sweep. At the time of my last post, we thought we'd go for it during this week's appointment in the interest of avoiding chemical induction, however we've done some more reading and thinking since then and have changed our minds. What it comes down to is that I feel pretty good physically, and in the interest of following the most natural, gentle path toward labour and birth, we're content to let baby arrive when she darn well feels like it, assuming there are no SOLID contraindications to doing this. And in most cases when a pregnancy advances post-date to 42 weeks or so, there aren't any. So tomorrow I'll be turning down the S&S offer once more and reviewing our desires with my doctor. She's been quite understanding and flexible so far so hopefully we don't run up against undue resistance on this one...

She's still happy in there!

We're right in the middle of my set of projected due dates (which ranged from Nov 11th to Nov 14th) and little one is still nestled in there. During yesterday's appointment, Dr. Schnarr checked me and said I'm about 3 cm, my cervix is nice and thin and baby has dropped even lower. She said she was happy with my progress but she did offer the stretch & sweep again which I turned down. Chris and I decided that if we go one more week, we'll take her up on the offer as we'll be significantly overdue by then and would prefer to start things this way (if possible) rather than via chemical induction. In the meantime, we'll see if the "natural prostaglandin" approach bears fruit. :)

I hear a lot of women say that time grinds to a halt during the last few weeks of pregnancy, however the days have passed super-quickly for us. Chris has been busy at work training our newest Knowledge Base Analyst, and I've been running (well OK - waddling) around doing errands, enjoying some final pre-baby lunches and dinners out, etc. Now that I'm about to pop, I find the questions and comments from strangers have escalated. Most continue to be standard fare ("When are you due?", "Do you know what you're having?", etc.) but a few recently have been interesting/amusing. For example:

• An older gentleman held the door open for me at Tim Horton's quipping that I was in "enough trouble already".
• An Aboriginal man at Service Canada told me that I'm having a boy. When I told him it's a girl, he repeated himself and said that "Indians know". Despite the alleged viewing of labia during my latest ultrasound, this still had me vaguelly concerned about all the pink clothes. :)

In related news, Tj (one of the gals we attended pre-birth classes with who had the same due date as me) had her beautiful little girl early yesterday morning. Her final pre-baby FB update mentioned she was making cookies, so I thought I might have similar results if I busied myself in the kitchen with some Croatian cabbage rolls. No such luck, though dinner was delicious and we've added to the assortment of frozen home-made dinners in our deep freeze! :)

The great date debate

Ange and I got together on Wednesday for a lovely "date night" consisting of pedicures and dinner at Springrolls in Conestoga Mall. She's due two weeks after me, however she's been having all kinds of Braxton Hicks as well as actual, painful contractions, plus it's her second pregnancy so we agreed it's somewhat likely she will be the first of us to pop. :) On this note, we made tentative plans for a Christmas shopping trip on Monday, November 15th (in the event I'm overdue, heh). We kinda felt like celebrities all night as well, as people kept telling us how adorable we were. Which I have to agree with, if I do say so myself!



















Yesterday I had my latest appointment with Dr. Schnarr. She checked me and proclaimed that I'm 2-3 cms dilated! Wow - wouldn't have suspected that. Very few Braxton Hicks and although I do feel that baby has moved lower, I wouldn't say I have the sensation that I'm going to sit on her head or that she's going to drop out any moment or anything like that. The doctor offered to perform a stretch and sweep to move things along even more quickly, but I declined as a) it appears things are moving along nicely on their own and b) I've heard they can feel quite invasive and painful. If I haven't progressed further by next week's appointment (2 days before due date) I may take her up on this as I *really* don't want to be chemically induced, however I now suspect this will be unlikely and I'll go into labour by or before my due date (so much for the Christmas shopping day!)

In other news, baby's first bed is now all set! Chris and I bought a Jolly Jumper moses basket stand (in cherry) from the Baby Depot. He assembled it right away and put it together with the UPPABaby bassinet. It looks great! Perfect for baby's first month or two, right beside our bed. :)

Today should be fun! Chris' family is coming over for a nursery decoration craft day! He found this idea which looks super-easy to do (something that his 2 1/2 and 5 year old nieces can help with) and results in some great looking, personalized art! Results & pics to come...

Back to Triage...

We found ourselves back in Grand River Triage on Tuesday night as I'd been having some signs and symptoms somewhat suggestive of gestational hypertension which Telehealth advised me to get checked out:

• Blood pressure rising steadily for 3-4 weeks now (from a nice, low 90/58ish a month back to an average of 135/86 on Tuesday night when I tested 3x using a home device)
• Swelling fingers - had to use olive oil to wrench off my wedding band over the weekend!
• A weird, brief but fairly intense "headrush" feeling the other day when I was simply sitting at the table using my laptop

Thankfully, the triage visit ended up being relatively short (less than 2 hours) and they sent us home after a few quick tests. My blood pressure tested lower than it did on the home test (126/84), and my urine had just trace amounts of protein, so no real concern here either. Baby's heart beat was nice and steady, usually at about 150-160 bpm. Finally, when the doctor read the monitoring strip, she asked me if I'd been feeling the contractions. What contractions? Apparently I'd had a good 6-7+ braxton hicks while lying there and didn't even realize it! Here's hoping this means the Real Deal will be entirely manageable as well. :)

In other news, the nursery is essentially all set. Bassinet is ready to go (except for the stand which we still need to purchase), cloth diapers and remaining clothing have been laundered and organized, toys have been cleaned and stored and I've found a kitchen cupboard for baby's meal-related accessories. Due to the progress, I rewarded myself with an ENTIRE day of slack yesterday, filled primarily with video game-age and TV. It was quite enjoyable, though today I feel the need to get back on the horse as there are still quite a few errands and tasks to tick off ideally before baby arrives (though at just under 39 weeks, that could happen any day now!!)

Miscellany

• It's my birthday! Turned "dirty poo" today - how appropriate! :) On a related note, looks like I'm probably not going to be sharing my birthday with our little one. I'm getting a "divisible by 5" vibe around the date - perhaps Nov 5, 10 or 15?
  
• Group B strep results - negatory!
• Blood pressure up to 118 / 80. Nothing to be concerned with yet but something to monitor. In the meantime, going to try cutting down on sodium. No more TV dinners!!!
  
• Awesome "alien foot" action earlier today, but then when I grabbed my camera to make a video she got all coy.
• Getting super-big and just about ready to pop - up almost 30 pounds now.
• Also getting quite tired. It's becoming increasing difficult to work a full 8-hour day. Taking 1 vacation day per week recently has definitely been the way to go!! Can't believe I have a mere 3 days of work left - last couple months have whizzed by!
  

Milestone & Exercise

By all estimates, I have reached full term (37+ weeks) today! I am mostly elated but also a wee bit daunted by this fact. On the one hand, a month and a half ago I felt it might be challenging to make it to 34 weeks, let alone full term. On the other, despite the fact that we WERE granted this time, it still feels like there are remaining baby items to buy/prep, more books to read and labour preparation exercises to go through! Guess one never feels 100% prepared - but I'd like to get to about 99.3% *nods*.

In terms of labour prep, one of the challenges is that I wasn't really able to exercise for a good 3-4+ weeks back when preterm labour was a real possibility. Once I got to about the 35 week mark, however, my OB had become quite optimistic and reassuring and I decided that the benefits of getting back into exercise outweighed any remaining risks at that point. On that note, Chris and I bought a "birth ball" and I've started doing some strengthening exercises on it. There are lots of good youtube vids demonstrating the different techniques, so I've been following some of these. I'm also working my way through Active Birth and it's terrific - very practical information on which exercises & positions are beneficial during pregnancy and each stage of labour, and why. The more I read, the further I'm convinced that a) (assuming we reach our goal of an unmedicated birth) I'm not about to be strapped down on my back to deliver our child and b) (related to the previous point) I would very much wish to forego the standard pitocin drip administered to help deliver the placenta. A quote from AB on the latter point:

"Administering pitocin to induce contractions of the uterus is rarely necessary if the mother has given birth in an upright position and her baby has not been separated from her. Pitocin may be needed to reduce the risk of postpartum hemorrhage when the morther has been lying down during labor, when she has had an anesthetic or other drug that reduces the ability of the uerus to contract spontaneously, or when she and the baby are separated at birth and the normal hormonal secretion is thus disturbed. When postpartum hemorrhage occurs, Pitocin is very useful in stopping it, but giving birth actively diminishes the chance of such an occurrence." ¹

When I brought up this item on my birth plan several weeks back, my OB was quite adament about adhering to this particular standard (due to the risk of postpartum hemorhage), so I'm going to revisit it with her next week in conjunction with the above information to see if she's willing to reconsider.

1. Balaskas, Janet. Active Birth: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally. Boston: Harvard Common Press, 1992.

New haircut and updated belly pic!

Just over 36 weeks - taken the other day:

Hospital tour & goodies!!!

Yesterday we had our tour of the birthing wing at Grand River Hospital along with about 6 other couples. It was a relatively uneventful evening - heard a couple babies crying but no mamas screaming their way through active labour (fine by me - we had our fill of that several weeks back during our Triage visit.) The birthing rooms aren't bad, but I'm definitely not a fan of the position they generally require women to deliver in. Seriously, who came up with the idea of laying a woman on her back with her feet raised UP in stirrups for the delivery? The last time I checked, gravity causes things to fall downward, not parallel to the earth. I'm in the middle of Active Birth right now, and it's really convincing me that there are much better birthing positions. I just hope the medical staff are receptive to some of these alternatives, as I believe this choice should be made by the labouring woman and her birth partner(s) based on what is working best for her (as long as it isn't dangerous and doesn't prevent access to receive the baby) as opposed to what is the most convenient for the staff. But I digress.

Here are a few things we learned during the tour:
- Every birthing room is equipped with a shower and a nice, deep bath tub. Cool!
- Yes, you can wear your own clothes during labour & delivery though gowns are available if desired. (Not sure who would prefer a gown, but anyway.)
- Bringing other stuff to help with labour such as your own birthing ball, extra pillows, etc. is supported and encouraged.
- Grand River's Caesarean rate is 25%. Yikes. Apparently that's up from 16% several years back since more and more women are choosing to schedule c-sections now. (Apparently they will support VBACs, but it's not the standard or the preferred approach.)
- The labouring woman is only allowed to have clear fluids. Eff that. Chris is gonna sneak me in some tasty stuff ;) (shhhhhh)
- On a related note, that's NOT an ice *cream* machine in the kitchenette. Dammit.

All in all, we're feeling pretty good about having our little one at Grand River. Generally speaking, the staff are super nice, our experiences have been positive there so far and it seems we won't have trouble with the vast majority of items on our birth plan. Just a couple sticklers left to work through. :)

In other news, two packages were waiting for us when we got back home last night! First of all, our Bummis cloth diapering kit! Yay! Check out all the goodies and look how cute the covers are!


















(Note - the diapers on the left are the AMP duo pockets I bought previously, but everything else here came in the kit!)

Also received our NoseFrida! Found this sucker (pun very much intended) a few weeks back when I was looking for a good aspirator to add to our registry. Evidently so many people have issues with the bulb aspirators either not working or being uncomfortable for their babies that I looked for an alternative. This thing has rave reviews (despite its grossness) and appears to work like a charm, so I thought we'd give it a whirl! Is it wrong to say I'm looking forward to our little one getting a bit snotty so we can try it out? :)