Feeling Large

I feel large, like LARGE LINDA large. Like every day I wake up bigger and bigger. Today at work, I literally felt my center of gravity had changed. The other day, someone ran into my belly! I wasn't even that close to him! 

Small things are a struggle. Getting out of bed, rolling from one side to the other, getting off the couch. Getting up in my truck is getting to be hard. Do you think I could pull the steering wheel OFF the car? Cause that's sometimes how it feels when I am lumbering in there.
 
And the worst of it? I've got another 9 weeks! Can't she just get heavier internally and my belly not have to get bigger? Remember the post where I said that I was LOVING people telling me how small my baby bump was? 

Ha. Ha. Ha.  Oh how short lived that was. 

I have to rethink my closet soon. I went shopping at the Topanga Westfield Mall this weekend and  went to Motherhood Maternity. They have a ton of cute clothes, but I am so ambivalent about buying clothes for a "temporary" time in my life. Especially with only 9 weeks to go. Before you can say "you will still wear them after the baby is born for awhile" my response is YES YES I KNOW. I still don't want to spend my money on something that I foresee not wearing by the end of the year. I can't justify it. I may not be skinny minny on a regular pre-baby day, but I am certainly not going to be hanging onto this weight. I'm sorry but I just won't accept that. 

I'm hoping that breastfeeding and eating a modified Atkins diet POST baby will help drop it. I certainly have plans to at least get out of the house for a walk at least 4x a week. (Notice how I don't say everyday? I'm not setting myself for failure here) I've heard from the rumor mill that some of you people have volunteered to come help, baby sit, stay with us....I'm going to be setting up a schedule here. No joke. When one person leaves the compound, I will bring in another! This mom-to-be is not afraid to say I am going to need help. With your help, maybe I can work on myself a bit. By feeling good about ourselves, we show our children and those around us how to feel good about themselves. 

I don't want to bring my daughter into the world to a mom who has body issues. Most of us have some issues or another, we probably always will. But for the most part we are happy with the person standing in front of us in the mirror. That equals a happy person, a happy mom. So if a 30 min walk with my iPod alone will help me get there, I'm not going to feel guilty for taking it. And I thank all of you ahead of time for allowing me to have that. 

Another note, I'm starting to feel REALLY unprepared for labor/post labor. Like panic attack-my-bag-still-isn't-packed-should-it-be-freaked out! (But seriously, is it bad that at 31 weeks my bag isn't packed yet?) 

I've got the first of my baby showers next weekend. I'm figuring out disability and how that works. I still do not have my nursery together. We haven't taken our childbirth class yet (June 28th) so I sometimes have fits of panic thinking about the physical aspect of HAVING said baby. Then there is the post-partum recovery...which if you have read any subjects on Thebump.com, there is PLENTY to be scared of. Apparently you need gadgets and gizmos aplenty just to go to the bathroom for weeks after the birth. Sounds lovely....

So yeah, I should probably waddle around for some exercise now. Waddle being the preemptive word. Word of the day: waddle. 

Go forth and waddle my friends,

Amy

Have you smiled and laughed today?

Nothing in depth or thought provoking today, just a little something to make you laugh.

This is how I feel when I think about my Labor and Delivery of baby Savannah in approximately 10 weeks

At my parents last weekend: 

Me: I'm going to have a slice of apple pie

Mom: That's a lot of sugar at 9:30pm at night. Why not have fruit?

Me (below) 

Me at night laying down:

I feel like my pregnancy should be an indicator about how my baby is going to be. (EASY) However, the internet seems to feel like this:

 

And lastly, some mornings you just feel like this Boston terrier on a Roomba.

Hope this gave you a little giggle today! 

XOXO,

Amy

Hospital Tour ?!

Hello!

A month or two ago I registered Joel and myself for a Maternity Hospital tour at our hospital. Seeing as we are first time parents, not sure what to expect, I figured it wouldn't hurt for us to know what to do when the labor starts, where to go, who to ask for, etc.

All hospital tours at our hospital of choice, Providence Holy Cross Mission Hills, are on Tuesday nights at 7pm. I knew that by scheduling this, my husband may or may not be able to make it due to the differing schedules of each TV/Movie set he works on. Sometimes he's off after 6 hours, sometimes 8 hours, sometimes not until 12 hours. I knew I could have to go alone, but I hoped I wouldn't have to.

I was SO lucky. Joel got off work at the same time I did, allowing us plenty of time to meet at home and head to the hospital together.

A little bit about our hospital....it's the shit. I'm not gonna lie, we are lucky that we have the opportunity to be near such an amazing hospital, particularity for labor and delivery unit. 

According to all the stuff our presenter told us, our hospital of choice is pretty legit! Check this out: 

"Our Women’s Pavilion, which opened in summer 2011, offers patients new state-of-the-art labor and delivery suites along with two dedicated Cesarean Operating Rooms. The Women’s Pavilion also includes a 12-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for premature and high-risk babies. Our CCS Designated Community Levell II NICU provides family centered care for your newborn allowing privacy for precious family bonding. And for high-risk moms who must be hospitalized well before delivering, Providence Holy Cross has developed an antepartum care program to meet their special needs.

Providence Holy Cross maternity care in the San Fernando Valley is recognized as being in the top five percent nationally by national health care ratings organization, HealthGrades, and has been reported as providing the best maternity services by the Daily News. In 2007, Providence Holy Cross was one of only 59 hospitals nationally to receive a "Baby-Friendly" Hospital Designation by Baby-Friendly USA, under a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund to promote breast-feeding. Our medical staff is dedicated to helping you along your journey of motherhood, providing a healthy start for your baby, and supporting your family."

HA HA however they have 11 out of 25 post partum rooms actually remodeled...so I told Joel that I WANT A NEW ROOM DAMMIT! If I have to push a bowling ball out of my lady parts, then I want the BEST ROOM POSSIBLE for my recovery. So I'm crossing my fingers all the other pregnant moms don't go into labor at the same time as me. Cause those room are SO nice! Like, don't mind if I bring my comforters and pillows cause I WILL make myself comfortable. Heck...I don't know when I will get that much help with the baby again, I'm going to take advantage of it! 

What I really like about the hospital is it has some of the same core values that are important to me during the whole birthing process. Some of the key things I really liked was  

1.) Minimal separation of mother and baby

2.) Rooming in for mothers and infants 24 hours a day

3.) Skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth

4.) Staff trained in breastfeeding support

5.) Education of families on bonding with baby

As sarcastic and laid back as I seem, I really do have some things I'd like to see happen with my whole birthing process. I don't want to call it a "plan" cause we all know what happens when we try to make plans....God Laughs at them! 

Here are a few things I'd like to hopefully see happen when labor starts:

1.) Get to hospital and not be turned away 

2.) Get a sweet ass newly remodeled room

3.) Bring ipod player to set up a good playlist 

4.) Remember to bring comforters and pillows cause the furniture there is old and used by many new parents 

5.) Push Baby out in record time (that's more of a wish than a plan)

6.) Get a SWEET ASS newly remodeled post partum room and not one of the 14 old janky ones. (NOTE TO HUSBAND....MAKE THIS HAPPEN)

6.) Have skin to skin contact immediately after baby is born

7.) No one takes my photo until I make myself presentable...but feel free to take pictures of the new baby! 

8.) Utilize the nurses and lactation consultants and master that breastfeeding thing!

9.) Go home with minimal tearing 

10.) Utilize anyone and everyone who offers to help. I'm so serious...let's build this village. 

 Until then, I'm just plugging away on the daily grind. I went to visit some horse friends yesterday and got told how small my bump is for being so far along. And that made my day! Seriously..thank you!

How about you? Did your "birth plan" go exactly as planned?