Family Baby Shower

The day after Chef's birthday we had our first baby shower. This was the first shower I had ever gone to in general so I didn't know what to expect. My sister was the hostess and it was at my parents' house. Chef's family drove a really long way to get there and I was so glad they came to support him. The games weren't cheesy and I didn't have to wear a sash or bows on my head. I am eternally grateful. My sister did make buttons that said, "Dad", "Yaya" (for my mom who swears she is too cool to be called grandma or granny), "Grandpops", and "Grandma" (for Chef's mom) to wear so people would know who they were to the baby. My sister even had a button for herself that said "Auntie".  There were also all different sized onsies that everyone decorated for the baby so now when she's chillin' out at home she has some interesting onsies decorated by her family.

Chef was off his rocker that afternoon. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but he was way more excited than I was, so that was hilarious. When it came time to open gifts he couldn't contain himself. I'll dedicate another post to highlight what we got from the baby shower (baby shower haul) but here are the hilarious highlights from what went on at my parents' house.

He didn't know what to do with himself.

Chef got really excited over tiny clothes.

It's a mini bathing suit!

Cutting the baby cake together

Prenatal Visit #7 - 30 weeks

Chef came with me to this visit. He was tired though and fell asleep through one of the breastfeeding videos. I didn't really care. He doesn't have breasts. At this visit I was told that my glucose level came back perfect at 109 for the gestational diabetes testing BUT my iron levels were a staggering 10.6. That's considered low/ borderline anemic. I'm not in any real danger but my midwife reminded me that I can't deliver at the birth center with iron levels lower than 10 so I needed to start a supplement that would take care of that problem.  I immediately told her that the reason why I stopped taking vitamins with iron in them was because they  made me sick. She gave me a sample of an all natural liquid iron supplement that shouldn't upset my stomach or make me constipated. It's called Floradix Iron + Herbs.

This particular formulation of iron has the highest absorption rate of any others out there. I have to take 10mL (about 2 tablespoons) twice a day 30 min before meals. You can't take an iron supplement with dairy because the calcium would bind up all the iron and there would be none left for you to absorb. Iron is best taken with citrus to aid in absorption. I've been taking it faithfully for a good while now, usually once before dinner and once before bedtime snack and I haven't noticed any adverse effects from it. I think it's delicious. It is made up of mostly fruit juices so it tastes like a fruit juice concentrate. The only downside is that it's pretty pricy.  I got it from our local health food store, Earth Fare. They are usually more reasonably priced than Whole Foods. For the 8.5oz bottle shown in the picture I paid $26.99. That bottle is only going to last me 17.5 days. They do carry the larger 17oz bottle for $47.99 but the sticker shock told me to try and see if I can find it cheaper on the interwebs. This iron supplement also comes in a vegan formula that doesn't contain gluten.

Enough about my blood issues, let's talk about the baby part of the visit. My midwife asked what birthing class Chef and I were taking, what pediatrician we decided to go with and if we've started my birth plan. We have started birthing classes, I have a consult scheduled with a pediatrician and making the birth plan is on my to do list. We're right on track with what we need to be thinking about for how far along we are in this thing.  Then it was time to find baby and listen to her heartbeat. She found the heartbeat immediately and said, I guess you have a pretty active baby. I replied with, "I'm surprised she's not moving around right now." Her heartbeat was the loudest and strongest it had ever been. Then she started moving around like normal. It cracked the midwife up.  I asked the midwife with my stomach protruding from some areas from time to time, how could I tell what body part was what. She put a firm hand on my abdomen and began to feel around. She asked where I normally feel the most movement, which at this time is at the top right side of my abdomen. She told me that at the very top is the baby's butt. Her head is down and her legs are off to the right side. Now when she flips, I know what position she is in. My midwife also gave me props... She said, "Good job on not gaining a million pounds. People think you're eating for two when really it's more like one and a lima bean."  At 30 weeks in, I'm up 18 pounds. I guess that's good, I really wouldn't know. My mom scared me to death when she told me she gained 70 pounds when she was pregnant with me so.. in my head, I'm a WINNER.

Prenatal VIsit #6 Glucose Tolerance Testing- 29 weeks

Sorry this post is longer than usual... a lot went on at this visit.

I was supposed to have this visit at 28 weeks but we've been a week off since my anatomy scan at 21 weeks. At this appointment I was scheduled to have my gestational diabetes screening or the glucose tolerance test. I had to drink 50 grams of glucose, wait an hour and then have my blood drawn.  The glucola drink tasted like the syrup they make orange Fanta from. Really, really sweet and flat.  It actually made me a little light headed. Luckily I had to watch some videos so I got to put my feet up and let the spinning room stop on its own. At the birth center, if I were to have gestational diabetes I would still be able to deliver there, they would have to just take special care of me during labor. One hour after drinking the sweetest drink on earth they would like for your blood sugar to be less than 135.  If it was higher than that it doesn't necessarily mean you have gestational diabetes. You would have to come back for a longer 3 hour test where they would give you 100 grams of glucose and test your blood four times in that  period of time. Then if 2 of your results come back abnormal, you officially have gestational diabetes. The birth center has a "no news is good news" policy so when I hadn't heard from them in a couple of days I assumed everything was fine. I found out at my next appointment that my blood glucose level came back at 109. BOOM!

Chef wasn't with me at this visit because I had to wait an hour and I scheduled it while he was at work. I noticed a change in the theme of the videos I had been watching. This set of videos focused on the baby's care during the first six weeks of life. That means I'm nearing the end y'all. I really appreciate watching these videos because the focus is to clue you in on the differences between breast fed and formula fed baby poop and things like that, so you don't think anything is wrong with your baby for no reason. In one of the videos they did say that if you are "darker complected" your baby may come out lighter than you and your partner but, "The baby will get more pigment over time." Hilarious. There was a segment on care of a newly circumcised penis, which thankfully I don't have to worry about this time around. There was a good portion of one of the videos devoted to how draining caring for a newborn would be and that if you get really frustrated with the crying baby to put it in it's crib and walk away. You hear about so many bad things happening to babies at the hands of their parents who aren't emotionally capable of dealing with such a dramatic life change.  I think it's always good to let parents-to-be know that it will be stressful, you will get frustrated, and it's okay and normal.

Kick Counts - I was also instructed to start charting fetal movement at this appointment. I have a little chart to track how long it takes the baby to move (kick, twist, or turn) 10 times. I'm not doing it. Why? Because, she kicks 10 times in like 15 seconds. They say if I don't feel her move 10 times in an hour to drink juice and lie down and she should start to move. If not, there is cause for concern. If her movement decreases I will start to keep track but right now it's not necessary. I had a student midwife for this visit and as she searched for baby's heartbeat she got kicked 3 times and said, "You shouldn't have a problem with that fetal movement chart." Baby's heartbeat came back a strong 140 beats per minute.

The receptionist realized that I was a week off with all my appointments so she decided we needed to get back on track. My  next appointment would be at 30 weeks, as in the following week, and now instead of going to see my midwives every month I will get to see them every two weeks until I'm 36 weeks. From then on it will be every week. 

Welcome to the Third Trimester

This is Chef and me at my parents' house getting some relaxation in on his final weekend off from work.  My parents live an hour and a half away from us so when Chef gets home on Friday afternoons, it's no big deal for us to take a quick ride up the road with the dogs to stay until Sunday. I still teach Zumba on Sunday afternoons so I have to be back by then. Chef calls my parents' house his "summer home". He sits in the recliner and watches the big screen in the living room all weekend long. We truly get to relax there and have my parents take care of us.

 On this particular trip we treated my parents and my sister to dinner because they always go above and beyond making sure we're comfortable. We wanted to do something nice for them for a change. My mom and I also did some menu planning for the baby shower at her house which is a few short weeks away.  Oh, let's talk about what's on the menu. I'm so excited!

I am a few days shy of 28 weeks here.

• Mini sandwiches
• Salad
• Deviled eggs
• Meatballs
• Buffalo wings (bbq, hot, regular)
• Assorted fruit and dip
• Assorted veggies and dip
• Sweet tea (southern style)
• 7up punch
• Pie
• Cake for the baby 

She's expecting quite a few people so she wanted to have a lot of options.

Baby Buys!!!!

Yet another baby buy post where I didn't buy anything I post about. So, I still teach Zumba and my Zumba ladies love me and this baby apparently. I have two students that are best friends. They are older and one only lives here from January to April, for the rest of the year she's in Maine. They are spicy, mouthy and hilarious. Last Sunday they bought me a bag of stuff. I don't expect anything from anyone...ever but this just warmed my heart. There were two complete outfits and a little onsie in it. You guys know how I'm against the stereotypical pink girl clothes so this gift came with a warning. One of the ladies said, "We know how you feel, peach looks really good on YOU but that color is so last season. Hot pink is in this season." It's good to know that at their age, they like to be on the cutting edge of fashion. So here is my baby girl's hot pink outfit. To be completely honest...I LOVE it.

The dress is also a onesie. LOVES IT!

The design on the ruffle dress is all hot pink butterflies. And who can say 'no' to a hot pink baby cardigan. The size is 6 months which I greatly appreciate because I'm told babies grow so fast. I'll make sure she gets to wear this. I really do love it.

They also bought her this little onesie. Chef really likes this one of course.

Kick the Remote

Now that the baby is getting bigger and her kicks are a lot stronger, I like to play games with her. I like to call this one, "Kick the Remote Off of Mommy's Belly". It happened on accident one day. I was lying down being lazy and watching TiVo and rested the remote on my belly. I guess she didn't like that to much because it started moving like crazy. So far, I'm winning because she hasn't kicked it off yet, but she sure tries. In this video, she refused to kick the remote but you can see my belly begin to morph around the 20sec mark.

Update: This video was taken at the beginning of my 6th month.