26 Weeks Pregnant

I don’t even know where to start with this one! I guess I’ll just jump right in…

Did you notice my new short hair? I had gotten it cut a few weeks ago when Travis did, but I decided I wanted more layers, so Travis and I made a team effort of it:

Before:

During:

After:

I think we did a pretty good job!

What’s new with Norah:

· Her eyes are fully formed! Next week she may be able to open them.

· Her lungs are still forming, but she would probably be able to breathe if she were to be born at this point.

· Brain waves for the auditory and visual systems are detectable. Last night Travis made up a bedtime story for her, complete with guitar sound effects. Too cute!

· She is probably around 13.5 inches long, and 1 ½ to 1 ¾ pounds.

What’s new with me:

· I’m experiencing occasional Braxton-Hicks contractions.

· I’m so tired! By 9:45 last night I decided I couldn’t stay up any longer. It’s not like I got up super early, either!

· I’ve started getting leg cramps sometimes in the morning. I’ve heard some pregnant women get them really bad…so far they’re not terrible. I guess it’s caused by some sort of deficiency? Maybe I need more bananas…

My mom came over last week and helped me rearrange and clean the kitchen. I love it!! We even made room for the baby stuff! Travis and I did even more after she left, and I LOVE knowing what we have and where to find it.

Before:

After:

Some of the stuff we got rid of:

Oh, and here’s a story with a happy ending: When Travis and I came home from our honeymoon a year and a half ago, we went to use some of our gift cards and realized that we couldn’t find them. We knew exactly what box they were in (a little green satin gift card box), and we looked everywhere we could think of. Finally we gave up. Over $400 worth of gift cards wasted. Well, guess what turned up when we cleaned out the cupboard above the refrigerator??!! The little green box was sitting pretty much all by itself in a plastic basket, with a few pieces of old mail. All the cards were there, and none of them expire! It was a huge relief to find them, and it couldn’t have been better timing. We’ve been making a list of things we need that we can now buy with gift cards! Woohoo!

I can’t wait to get to the rest of the house, but unfortunately the kitchen is the only room we’ve been able to complete so far. I’ve been picking at other areas, but haven’t made any serious progress. I guess one room a day wasn’t quite realistic! But I’m sure that was one of the hardest rooms to go through. The other tough one will be the art/computer room. I’m going to take before and after pictures of everything.

And now I get to tell you all about our Bradley class! Yesterday was our first class. We were sort of afraid there might be some weirdos in the mix, but everyone seems ok so far. :-P There were I think five other couples. We really liked the couple we sat next to, and we got to talk to a few other people during a group ice-breaker activity. We really liked the instructor, too.

She gave us an interesting history on childbirth and how the Bradley Method came to be, along with some statistics, such as maternal and neonatal death rates in America as compared to other countries. I would have been surprised if I hadn’t seen them before: 44 other countries are doing better than we are. South Carolina doesn’t fare well either – I think we are something like 34^th in the nation. There is also a direct correlation between the rate of c-sections and the rate of maternal deaths. (I don’t mean to be morbid. I should point out that the rate of maternal deaths in the US is still only 12 in 100,000, according to our instructor. The problem is that most of these are preventable.)

On to more upbeat topics… We did an activity where the wives checked off ways they have dealt with pain (physical or emotional), and then the husbands circled the ones that they could help with. I thought that was a very helpful exercise. Here’s ours:

Then we did some physical exercises: tailor sitting, squats, pelvic rocks, etc., and we all got back rubs from the hubbies. J I think Travis was the most willing and supportive and involved guy there, and I hope he knows how much I appreciate that.

Every day, I’m supposed to do:

· 5 minutes of walking (seems too easy…)

· As many squats as I can (some fast, some extended)

· Tailor sitting (like a meditation pose on the floor, or on an exercise ball) as much as possible

· 3 butterflies (Travis has to provide resistance)

· 60 pelvic rocks

· 50 kegels

Each week I have to work up to more and more of each exercise. The squatting is funny: neither Travis nor I can do a squat the right way (with knees staying behind or over toes) without falling over backwards, so we have to hold on to each other’s forearms and do it together. J

We also talked about nutrition. The instructor said to try to get 70-90 grams of protein per day. I have to keep track of everything I eat this week. So far I think I’m doing fine! It’s 4:00 and I’m up to 61 grams. I’m a big milk drinker, though…if it wasn’t for that, I’d only be at 27! I hope that’s ok…

Oh, also, we recalculated our due dates. The average first time mother is pregnant for 41 weeks and 1 day, rather than 40 weeks. She advised all of us to plan for that to avoid disappointment if we have to wait longer than we originally thought. My adjusted due date is May 23^rd.

That’s about it for the Bradley class this week…I’ll keep updating you on it!

Travis just informed me that he’s on the short list (along with only two other teachers) for teacher of the year! J Wish him luck!

See you next week!