Only 7 weeks till the due date! My belly is growing SO fast, so I guess Norah is too. The measurement now is 38 ¾ inches! I’m still feeling good in general, and I’m finally going to the chiropractor tomorrow. I can’t wait! I’ve heard great things about him, so I hope he can fix me!! I’m having Braxton-Hicks contractions all the time. Sometimes they come in clusters – today I had three in a span of 10 minutes or so. I think they’re getting stronger too. They don’t hurt, but they are not comfortable.
This week at our Bradley class we talked about breastfeeding. We had been assigned to read a book on the subject (any book – I read Ina May’s Guide to Breastfeeding) and to complete a page in our workbook. In class, we went over the questions. Travis and I seemed to be the most prepared couple in the class (not to brag…). J I will just list a few interesting tidbits here, because I don’t want anyone to feel that I am being judgmental of those who choose to use formula. However, I can’t resist sharing a few pieces of information that I found to be extremely compelling.
· Breastfed babies have MUCH lower incidences of ear infection, colic, digestive problems, and other illnesses.
· They don’t sleep as deeply for as long as formula fed babies (because of faster digestion), which makes for more nighttime feedings, but also drastically decreases the risk for SIDS.
· The mother’s body uses the baby’s saliva to determine what the baby needs in its milk. Isn’t that amazing?!
· For those who feed formula: Studies have shown that breastfed babies have slightly higher IQ’s. However, this is probably at least partially due to the one-on-one attention and skin-to-skin contact they receive on a regular basis. So, formula fed babies given the same type of attention will likely do just as well!
We left class early because I wasn’t feeling well – I was STARVING and nauseated at the same time. When we told the instructor why we were leaving, she said, “That’s a hormonal shift!” I don’t know exactly what that means, but she said it like it was a good thing. I guess it’s just a sign that I’m getting ready to have a baby. So yay! J
The second half of class was going to be about writing a birth plan, but even the instructor said that there isn’t much point in writing one if you are not planning to give birth at the hospital. Every single couple in our class is planning an out of hospital birth, so she probably let everyone leave earlier than usual anyway. She said next week we would discuss writing a short birth plan just in case we have to transfer to the hospital for some reason.
Getting Ready For Norah
This week we’re on Spring Break! I LOVE having Travis home and having minimal obligations. The only thing I really have to do is practice violin for a wedding I’m doing on Saturday. Other than that, getting ready for Norah is all we’re doing this week!
We bought a crib mattress through Craigslist for $20, and it’s really nice. It’s a Simmons, and it looks almost new except for a section the lady’s son doodled on with pen. :-P She also said it was barely used, except that her daughter “may have jumped on it once or twice.” It’s also vinyl covered, so there isn’t really a possibility of any gross stuff hanging out inside of it. Travis and I each tried it out on the floor, and it was pretty comfortable! Travis even said, “This is nicer than OUR mattress!”
We’ve almost fully cleared out the art/computer room, which is to be the art/computer/piano room. The next step is to reorganize it and put the piano and other music stuff in it. We’ll do that tomorrow, as well as tidying up Norah’s room enough that we can paint it on Thursday.
Today we bought paint for the walls and the furniture. We bought the low VOC (which Travis says stands for “Vapors Of Concern” :-P) stuff since we had gift cards (otherwise we might not have spent the extra money). That way I can at least be around while Travis is painting. I also hate to be left out of the painting process. I like doing it, and Travis doesn’t (he likes painting pictures, not solid colors). When we got home, I painted the changing table outside while Travis mowed the lawn. I am so excited to have that project (almost) done!! We just have a little bit of touch-up work left to do. It didn’t take as long as I thought it would, and it looks really cute! But I’m not showing pictures yet – it’s a surprise! I can’t wait to finally get to put stuff inside of it. I’m sick of having everything strewn all over the place.
I think that’s about it for today! See you next week, and maybe I’ll show you some of what we accomplished this week!
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