Update

We had a prenatal appointment last Thursday. I only gained about four pounds in the last month, which was good. My weight gain has slowed a bit. I would say that I've probably gained about 40 pounds so far, which isn't too bad. Joe and both thought that the baby was already head down because of the movements we were feeling, and after the nurse midwife checked me out, she confirmed that the baby is head down. She has been moving around a lot and I don't feel so many kicks as much as I do just movements now that she's a little more cramped for space. When she's moving around, you can feel what we think is her butt sticking out towards the top of my belly. It's pretty trippy. The other night when I went to lay down I felt something sticking me in the side, which I'm pretty sure was her elbow. Based on pictures of what the baby should look like at this stage, we are trying to figure out what body parts we might be feeling.

At each visit, the nurse midwife measures my belly just to make sure the baby is developing. She measures from the pubic line to the top of the uterus and the distance in centimeters should correspond to the number of weeks in the pregnancy. So at 32 weeks, I should measure 32 centimeters. I measured about 33 centimeters, but she didn't seem to be concerned about that and didn't really have anything to say about it, so either the baby is a little bigger or maybe I just have a little extra fat around my belly.

At this centering group we talked about the stages of labor and when to call and go to the hospital. We talked a little about breathing techniques and what some of the options are for medication if people want it.

Up until now, we have had appointments every month and starting in July, we'll have appointments every two weeks as we approach the due date. We're only 6 weeks away! Our next appointment is July 2nd.

Baby Shower - SF

We had a baby shower here in SF on the 2oth which was fun. We had it at our house with friends. We held it on a Saturday afternoon, and had a lunch of catered deli. We got some more good presents and some new cute clothes for the baby. She isn't even here yet and has quite a wardrobe.

I have been so busy with school, so it was nice to see friends who we haven't had a chance to see for a while. We also got back in touch with our friend Ben who we worked with at Cacheon (the company where we met) and he drove up from Santa Cruz, which was great. It was a really nice afternoon. I put the pictures online, so you can view them here.

The furniture came a few days before the shower, so I was able to get all of her clothes organized and put away. The delivery people set up the crib and the changing table/dresser came in one piece. Her room is coming together and I think we have pretty much everything we need. The only thing left is the stroller, which I will get in the next week or so. I also still have to get some of the crib decorations, like the bumper and the bed skirt - nothing critical, but we want her room to look cute. :-)

Baby Shower - LA

I flew down to LA last weekend for the baby shower that was thrown by Elana, Aunt Ellen, and Aunt Susan. We had a really great time. It was at Susan's house, which was really nice and comfortable. Elana planned a few activities, which started with everyone having a chance to decorate a onesie. Then we did a "guess my girth" where everyone chose a length of string and whoever got closest to going around my waist won. The winner was Riley, Justin and Stephanie's 4 year old daughter. The other activity was a word search of all baby related words, which Karen, Jonathan Ephraim's wife won.

We had lunch of chinese chicken salad that Susan made which was great and then (my favorite) noodle kugel. We got a bunch of great presents and lots of clothes to add to the baby's large wardrobe. Then to top it all off, we had cake. It was a great afternoon and we all had a good time. I have the pictiures uploaded to a web album. Click here.

We have the SF shower this weekend, so I'll be sure to post those pictures as well.

Update

I haven't posted for a while because I was really busy finishing my dissertation. I finished it and gave it to my committee.

Look how big I'm getting. This week is the first week of month 8. Just 2 more months to go.

Everything has been going well with the pregnancy. We had out 2nd birthing class last Thursday. We went over breathing techniques, positions during labor, and massage to help with pain management. We practiced breathing techniques for the various stages of labor and talked more about how things would progress. Then we did some massage techniques focusing on the lower back. We also watched a film of women giving birth, which was pretty amazing. It definitely makes us excited for when our baby is born. We're enjoying the birthing class - it's a good group of people and we like the woman who teaches it. She is the same person who taught the parenting class we took.

The baby furniture came yesterday and it looks really good. We got the crib and dresser/changing table. I am going to get the mattress tomorrow, so after that, I'll take pictures and post those. The baby already has so many clothes, so I organized all of them and now they are waiting in the dresser for her.

I feel her moving most of the day everyday now. She has her cycles and is active during the mornings and then mellows out during most of the afternoon and then is active again in the evening. She hasn't woken me up during the night moving around at all, which is good since its getting hard enough to sleep as it is. Feeling her move around is really cool, and Joe is amazed by how strong her movements are.

Tomorrow is my next prenatal appointment and our third birthing class.

Birthing Class

We had our first birthing class last night. It is a series of four classes that will run every Thursday through the month of June. We can't believe we are already at this stage. The baby is due 2 months from Monday, which will be here before we know it.

There were about 8 couples in the class including us. To each class, we are supposed to bring two pillows and some snacks since the class goes from 6:30-9pm. For the first class, we talked about physiology and what physically happens with the mother and baby during labor. We talked about the stages of labor, how long it lasts on average, what to expect, when to call the doctor, and when to go to the hospital. We are lucky that we are just a 5 minute drive to the hospital, so we will likely be able to spend a good amount of time at home before we need to go to the hospital. This class focuses on natural childbirth. They had two classes and while they cover the same basics, this one emphasizes natural childbirth and incorporates relaxation techniques and a little meditation which will help with pain management.

For the last 40 minutes or so we watched a video of a woman in labor and delivering her baby. Joe and I are definitely getting more excited as the days go by. It's hard to believe that in a couple of months we are going to have our baby.

The baby is getting bigger and now weighs somewhere between 3 and 3 1/2 lbs. I feel her moving very regularly and where I used to feel kicks here and there, now I feel her moving around and changing positions. Sometimes a part of my belly will bulge and we're not sure if its a foot, a knee, and elbow, or maybe even her head. We can even watch my belly and see her moving. It's really trippy! Joe can feel her moving more often now, which is great. We will sometimes push back on my belly if she is moving around and she'll sometimes respond, which is really cool.

We got a crib and changing table/dresser last weekend, which will come in a few weeks. I am looking forward to finally being done with school so I can devote time to getting her room ready.