5 things everyone should know about pregnancy

As many of you know, Kat and I have been going to a lot of baby classes. We've learned so much recently that it's not even funny. Here are 5 important tips that I've learned between birthing classes with a Doula, and breast feeding and neonatal classes with a NICU nurse.

5) The best way to swaddle a baby is with the dudu wrap
4) If you're not pooping, you're not pushing hard enough
3) Amniotic fluid is actually baby pee
2) The placenta is chock full of goodness and should be eaten. Pan fried is best, but it can also be put into capsule form for convenience on the go
1) Breast milk is magical and can be used to resolve almost any baby illness

These things were initially shocking to me too.

I'll be using breast milk for everything from now on. Stuffy nose...breast milk. Diaper rash...breast milk. Pink eye...breast milk.

If you have any secrets, please add them to the blog.

Galen

Thank you Matt and Brooke!

After reading our week 18 post and Galen's comment about raising a ninja, Matt found this image on the net and cleaned it up for us. Brooke thought that this could be our little one's logo. We are going to frame it for the nursery and probably make a t-shirt for her too.

Baby Girl!!!!

We found out last week that Galen and I will be welcoming a little girl to our family in February. Check out the pictures. Kristin wanted to know if she has the Chin or Walsh nose. I'm thinking she's going to get it from Galen's side. The second picture shows a really nice profile shot with her legs pulled up to her chest. According to my sources, she's 10 inches long from head to heel and 10 ounces.
The first is a closeup of her little face. She was being quite stubborn during the ultrasound. She kept turning away so we couldn't get a shot of her face. She must be shy and take after her mother.

Momma Drama

Before you read this story, just know that everything is fine now. I'm fine; the baby's fine.
We had a little excitement last weekend. During tutoring on Thursday after school I felt a some pressure in my belly, but I didn't think anything of it; just growing pains. I decided not to take a walk with Galen when I got home because my stomach hurt, but again, I didn't think it was anything to worry about. I had trouble falling asleep, but I finally did around midnight. At 3:00 I woke up because of a pretty good belly cramp. I tossed and turned for a half hour before I decided to call my doctor's answering service. The doctor on call told me if I was that uncomfortable, to go to the ER. So, I woke up Galen and told him that I spoke to a doctor and she said we needed to go to the ER. In his sleepy haze, first he said he would make an appointment with one of his suppliers (from work). Then he said, yeah, we should probably see a doctor tomorrow. I think my reply was something like, "Wake up. Get your butt out of bed," except nicer, of course.
The cramps continued on the way to the hospital. ER sent me right up to Labor and Delivery. They hooked me up to a monitor that measures belly tightening, and another to listen to the baby's heartbeat. I wasn't really worried until the nurse started calling my cramps, "contractions." I was reassured, though, when they heard the baby's heartbeat (still don't know if it's a boy or girl), and it sounded great; still 150 beats per minute. After an hour or so they brought in the big ultrasound machine and spent the next 30 minutes checking the baby out. Galen was able to watch the screen where he was sitting and said that the baby's hands were up by her ears. The nurse said that some babies don't like the sound waves and she may indeed be covering her ears. The baby was also quite shy. She was face down almost the whole time and any time the nurse tried to get a look at her face she would turn away. She finally got some good shots of her face and coaxed her legs to check out what sex she is. We asked the nurse not to tell us yet because we're going in for our real ultrasound tomorrow (Wednesday Sept. 17).
They also checked me for a urinary tract infection - none, and no fever. I wasn't dialating and the baby was fine. I was just having these contractions once or twice every ten minutes.
Around 6:30a.m. they released me and told me to make an appointment with my regular Ob/Gyn that day (Friday). Well, when I called later that morning, the nurse told me that Dr. Elledge wasn't seeing patients that day, so she gave me an appointment for Monday. If the contractions continued, I should go back to the ER. They continued all day; I tracked them at three minutes apart. So I went back to the ER Friday evening.
This time, Dr. Elledge ordered another urinary tract infection test - it wasn't a pee in a cup kind, I'll just leave it at that. The baby's heartbeat was still great. After another two or three hours they released me again. No one could tell me why I was having these contractions. I was told that I had to be on bed rest all weekend until my appointment on Monday with Elledge
So, I missed our friends' Anh and Allison's wedding on Saturday. Galen said it was awesome. Other than that, I laid around, watched TV and drank (juice and water). The contractions did seem to get better as the weekend progressed - less frequent and less pressure. By Monday morning, I could drive myself to see Elledge. Her best guess is that I had an irritated uterus (I thought that was pretty funny). It was either caused by my fibroid or too much exercise the week before. Again, she listened to the baby's heartbeat. It hasn't changed. Apparently, the baby was unaffected by this whole ordeal. She's just having lots of fun swimming around in there.
So, I took today off (Tuesday) to rest for one more day. The cramps are now just a little twinge every once in awhile. When I go back to teaching tomorrow, Elledge told me to stay off my feet as much as possible (that should be interesting with a bunch of 8 and 9 year olds). If these contractions continue, Dr. Elledge suggested maybe going back and teaching half-days. That probably won't work too well, so I think I'm going to stay off my feet as much as possible.
The good news is, little whoozie in my belly is really strong and unaffected by all his momma's drama. I'll keep you all posted after our ultrasound tomorrow. Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?

18 weeks!

I can't believe I'm almost halfway there. It's been a busy few weeks. Galen and I moved in to our new two bedroom two bath apartment. And I mean new! It was just remodeled before we moved in which is great, but my asthma has been bothering me. Apparently new carpet can do that to you. I'm using my inhaler almost every day, but the doctor assures me that this is absolutely safe for the baby.
According to the emails I receive, at 18 weeks the baby is the size of a bell pepper and about 7.5 ounces. She's growing so much!
The doctor today asked me if I've felt our little bundle of joy kick yet, but I'm not sure. I've read that it will feel like butterfly wings or popcorn popping. A few nights ago I was laying on the couch and I thought I felt a little flutter, but I could be mistaken, it may have been gas. Some times I find myself giving my belly a gentle poke to see if I can get the baby to poke back. No luck yet...I think.
The doctor also said that my sequential screening test came back with great numbers. The sequential screening combines two blood tests and an ultrasound to give you the probability of your baby being born with certain health issues. Dr. Elledge said all my numbers were excellent, that the probability for one issue was 1 in 10,000 for example.
I did have a little scare, however. Dr. Elledge had me lay down to check the baby's heartbeat. It took her a good 30 seconds to find it. I'm freaking out a bit because last time she found it immediately. Once she did get a reading, she said the heartbeat was 150 which is great. I felt like crying when I finally heard it (there's a little microphone that amplifies the sound). When I asked her why it took so long, she told me that she couldn't catch him. "Didn't you hear all those swooshing sounds?" she asked. "That's the baby doing flips in there." Apparently, we have quite the little acrobat. I guess there's still quite a bit of room in my uterus, so she was swimming some laps. When she's finally born, I'm going to put Galen in charge of keeping the baby constantly occupied. They can tire each other out!
September 17th is our next ultrasound. That'll be just over 19 weeks. We should be able to find out if it's a boy or a girl! Start placing your bets. I promise pictures from this ultrasound.

Demand for information

After Patrick's wedding last weekend (welcome to the family, Jolene!), I figured I'd give this blog another shot. Lots of family and friends that I haven't seen in a while are asking for pregnancy updates. The weekly updates I receive from various websites tell me that at 15 weeks our little bundle of joy is about 4 inches long (or as large as an apple), and weighs about 4.5 ounces.
The technician at our last ultrasound (at 13 weeks) said that everything looked great. The baby was right on track for length, had two arms, two legs, and a skull with a brain inside. So we're real happy about that!
The next ultrasound is scheduled for the middle of September. We're hoping to find out the sex of the baby then. I still think it will be a girl; Galen still claims he's undecided.
We're moving apartments this Saturday - from our tiny one bedroom with a view to a two bed two bath with no view, but at least the baby will have a place to sleep!
Once I get my scanner hooked up at school, I'll post our nine week and thirteen week sonograms.

The Family Knows - 10 Weeks

After our first ultrasound, seeing the baby's heart beat and its little arms and legs, I feel relieved. Our tiny bundle of joy measured in at 2.78 centimeters - just over an inch long- which was right on track for nine weeks, four days. Boy was she moving during the ultrasound! Legs and arms all over the place. Galen swears she was break dancing. (We don't know if it's a boy or girl yet, but I'm convinced it is a girl.)
We've told the family members (at least the Walsh side and Galen's parents) that we're expecting. Everyone is excited for us. My dad kept telling Galen, "Good job!"
While Galen slaves away at work all day, I fill my days with walking along the beach, taking naps and occasionally some school stuff. I'm trying to take it easy for another week or so because I still have to move in to my new classroom at school and pack up and move apartments in August.