Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease

If you whine, things will happen... My water broke at 1:26am this morning. I then had contractions every 4 minutes for about 45 minutes. Then they got really intense but slowed to be 20 minutes apart for a few hours. I did manage to sleep from about 4-8am, on and off between contractions. Now, the contractions are sporadic in time and intensity. I did go for a walk, but it is now too warm outside to be comfortable. My next trick is to do laps around my house to hopefully get things moving along. Please pray that things go smoothly and that this baby arrives safe and sound. I'll try to update when I return from the hospital. If nothing else, I'll have a real life friend post a comment to this entry.

Thanks in advance for the prayers!

Mural Decisions

I know it's been a while since I discussed the baby's room mural. After I posted the poll with 3 options my mom heard back about the original idea of the mural I had as a kid. So, we were waiting to see if anything came of that. Apparently, the mural company contacted the artist (Stewart Moskowitz) to see if he would be interested in signing a new contract to allow his picture to be used in a mural again. I guess he agreed, but they are still (as of July 2nd) waiting for him to sign the contract. I looked at the picture on Moskowitz's website and I do like it. The colors are more vibrant than they appeared on the 25 year-old box cut out picture... However, at this point hubby and I are getting anxious about having enough time left to get the room together...

The other part of the story is that I didn't fully love any of the 3 options that I posted for the poll. I loved everything about "Noah's Ark" except the eyes on the animals, which just make them look crazed. I don't really want my baby to dream about crazed animals... I like "Noah and the Rainbow" except for the pink sky and the pastel colors in the rainbow. I wish the sky were more blue and the rainbow was made with more primary colors. I've decided that I don't really like "Two by Two" any more, although I DO like the concept of having the fish and animals visible. Hubby was never fully 100% happy with any of those 3 options either, so we went back to the drawing board (so-to-speak).

Stewart Moskowitz has some other great images (I really liked his Noah Submarine), but he doesn't offer murals through his site and I don't even know if he is actually going to sign a contract for the 1st image, let alone other images. However, I think we found another option that we both like. It doesn't show land animals, but the ocean looks really cool (like you could just dive into the picture and swim with the sea creatures) and it includes the boat, rainbow and dove parts of the Noah story so it would be good for story telling. Here is the link and picture:

Ocean Noah

What do you think? Do you like it?

The Bus.iness of Being Bo.rn

Has anyone seen this movie ("The Bus.iness of Being Bo.rn")? We watched it tonight. I have been thinking about how we will approach the birth of this little one for a while now. I was already leaning toward trying to go all natural and even considering using a doula. Now, hubby and I have decided that we will for sure try to hire a doula. I think the part of the movie that stayed with me the most is how one intervention (e.g. giving an epidural) can have a snowball effect that requires more interventions (e.g. pitocin) and possibily lead to a higher c-section rate. The movie spent a lot of time on covering home births. I'm not really convinced that I want to give birth at home... I do like my doc (although, I am not guaranteed that he will be the one on call when I deliver) and I feel comfortable with the hospital I am supposed to use. However, I definitely see the benefits of having a professional labor assistant who can stay with me during my whole labor. I feel like I will have a better shot at having no or little intervention if I have soemone there who can help me understand what is happening and what options I have for dealing with it.

Anyway, I would recommend watching the movie if you are pg if, for no other reason, to get another view of how labor can happen.

The Promised Update

**This post is all about Baby. Feel free to skip if you need to.

Three posts in one day! I'm on a role... I guess my quiet phase is over...

Last weekend we got a new printer/scanner/fax all-in-one so I thought I would take advantage of the new equipment. Here is a picture of our 19 week u/s. The baby wasn't in a good position for a profile shot, but here is an "above" shot of my little skeleton baby. Cute, huh!?!

I went to the doc on Tuesday. Last weekend I had some cramping that got progressively worse, including a cramping/stretching in my cervix area. I wasn't bleeding so I figured I would sleep it off. Monday morning it was improved, but got worse throughout the day. So, Monday afternoon I talked to one of the nurses at my doc's office and she said she thought it was probably normal pregnancy pains, but that I should come in just to check me out.

The good news is that my BP was back down (100/68)! It was such a big change that the nurse actually did a double take when she went to write it in my chart... However, my doc didn't seem phased. I guess the retreat really did help me relax. =) I hadn't gained any weight, which was good. They also did another very quick u/s to check my cervix. Everything checked out ok. My cervix measured 3.65, so that was good. While the u/s was in there (yes, I was reaquainted with the dil.do cam) we found the culprit... 2 little feet kept kicking my cervix! The baby was breech. He must have been completely streched out because I had been feeling movement very low (obviously) and just above my belly button (the top of my uterus) for a couple weeks. I guess he decided that he wanted to stretch out while there was still some room. Little stinker. Thankfully, I think he has rotated some. The other day I felt some little feet off to the side. I was actually glad about that. I don't really want a little foot to kick through my mucus plug. I know that probably doesn't happen, but my imagination can come up with all kinds of crazy things!

I had the day off today (YAY!!!!) so we decided to go to BRU and register. It was kind of a weird experience because we were both just wandering around looking at everything and saying, "I have NO idea what we need!" In the end we decided on some safety stuff (e.g. outlet covers), a stroller and carseat, a co-sleeper, some bath supplies, a glider chair and ottoman, some pacifiers, and a swing/bounce seat. For big stuff we still need a pack 'n play, a dresser, and possibly a crib (we haven't decided if we want a crib or if we will just use the pack 'n play). I think I need to go back with a friend who is an experienced mom so she can help me figure out what I will really need. I also decided, after a lot of research and agonizing, what kind of baby carrier I want to use. I think it will be a good combo of sling and more structured carrier. I'm hoping that it will be a good match/fit for me. I don't want to be one of those people who orders 5 different kinds of carriers before finding the right one (I have a friend who did this).

I also got one of those pg lady back support girdle things. I think it will be good for days I have to stand for long periods of time. I tried wearing it for a couple hours tonight and I could definitely feel the back support. However, I don't think I will wear it all day (at least for now) because I usually end up sitting much of the day. The back support part is kind of itchy and pokes slightly in a couple places when I'm sitting. However, I think it was a good purchase. Now, I just need to find a bra that will work for me. I have already outgrown all of the bras I currently own and I'm only 22 weeks... I think I'm a size F right now, but I keep growing. I'm scared what will happen when my milk comes in! I'm also not sure what to do about my bra problem. I don't want to buy too many bras now that I will only wear for a couple months... especially since most of the bras that will fit me need to be special ordered and are expensive! I found a couple online ordering sites, so I will look more closely at them. However, if you know of any good large lady nursing bra sites you can pass on, I would gladly take suggestions.

OK, that's enough rambling for now.

Child's Room Wall Mural

Well, we are trying to narrow down the options for the baby's room decoration. We definitely want to do a wall mural. It doesn't look like the mural I had as a kid can be located so we are looking at other options. We need the mural to be gender neutral so we can re-use the space for (hopefully) more children in the future... (This is an example of the positive thinking I am trying to adopt.) Hubby and I both like the idea of animals and of fish in the ocean. We also like Noah's Ark. We were trying to combine them somehow and found a few murals that seemed to do that. I am including 3 options below. You can click on the title to see a better picture. Please give me some feedback. Do you like them? Do you have a favorite? Or, do you think we should keep looking? I'll post a poll to the side too, but comments will be very helpful. Thanks for your input!

Two by Two:






Noah's Ark:

Noah and the Rainbow: