curve ball #4

This pregnancy has been full of curve balls. Unlike any other pregnancy we've had, we've known trial, we've known waiting, we've known uncertainty, we've known fear. Girlfriend wants us on our toes, apparently :)

Recently we experienced our forth curve ball.

first, a re cap, if you're lost :)

Curve ball #1: Not getting pregnancy easily. All of our pregnancies until now happened the first month we tried. This pregnancy took 6 months. Not forever, but it felt like it and we learned a lot in the waiting.

Curve ball #2: They couldn't find the heart beat at my first visit. Some others said this was normal and that it happened to them and they didn't worry at all - awesome. We did. My doctor did too, since my other two babies had super strong heartbeats as early as 10 weeks. Thankfully an internal ultrasound confirmed her beating heart and ours started beating again, too.

Curve ball #3: A mere week after the heartbeat fiasco, I had cramping in my lower abdomen so terrible I couldn't walk. Brad was in the States for an MDiv course and I was with the kids alone. I was in so much pain I was lying on the floor unable to get up. Friends took me to the hospital and I was sure I was miscarrying. I wasn't, and the pain never returned. Strange and terrifying.

Now we're up to date! I'm full term (prego stats will end now that we're so close to the end, if you were wondering!), and in the last couple of weeks, another curve ball.

Curve ball #4: Baby is transverse (horizontal in my womb) and then breech (head up in my womb) past 35 weeks. It's said that after 35 weeks, the baby should be in the head down position, because she runs out of room to move much after that. The vast majority of babies are head down by 35 weeks, and even more by 37 weeks. Generally by 37 weeks (today) if a baby isn't head down, she won't go head down. Doctors can attempt to manipulate the uterus and turn her, deliver the baby breech (which can have complications), or suggest a C-Section (which is also riskier than a vaginal birth and something I was hoping not to have for my final birth).

Little Sister was flopping between full-on breech and transverse constantly over the last two weeks. I could see every kick (in my side) and it was clear by looking at my stomach where she was. That's what happens when the baby is big enough and has not much room - her kicks and rolls become very entertaining and clear.

I had asked several friends to pray Thursday morning at 10:30am for my appointment, where we'd see for sure and then talk about my options. As of Wednesday night she was definitely breech still. I could feel and see that. And by 11:30am, she was head down, in perfect position for vaginal birth.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Boom.

God answers prayer, sometimes so clearly it makes my eyes water.

This pregnancy has made us rely on Him constantly and I'm thankful for that. Now I can look ahead to a somewhat familiar experience (child birth) in the coming couple weeks and not have to worry about an all-new surgery with a long recovery (remember, I have no local family and two toddlers!).

Thank you Thank you Thank you, Jesus.

prego stats - week 33-34

Not bad having to only combine two weeks in one post after my recent 4 week catch up! But things are only getting busier so the week-by-week updates are getting more impossible. I just love having this as a a resource for when I'm looking back months and years from now. I loved having the info for Lily and Oli's pregnancies to compare with this time around, so I need to keep writing! Even if it's tiring right now and I'm lacking drive to say the least.

How far along: 33 weeks and 34 weeks.

Total weight gain: around 20lbs but I don't know for sure. I have an appointment where they'll weigh me in a week or so, and we don't care to own a scale here.

How big is baby: Durian Fruit (?) and Butternut Squash

Maternity Clothes: almost exclusively. 

Sleep: I'm finding it almost impossible to go to bed before midnight these days, but the kids occupy themselves together in the mornings fairly well, so I can usually sleep in until 7:30am or even 8:30am sometimes, which makes up for it. And naps, of course!

Best moment this week: my sister was in town to love on us and that was wonderful.

Movement: so much movement, and painfully so, because Baby girl; hasn't turned head down yet. Something I'm worried about 50% of the time. She's horizontal though, so it's not like she's completely upside down which bodes better for her getting into the head down position before birth, but it's less comfortable now because she is tall and her long body doesn't have room to be hanging out in my belly sideways. When she kicks which is often, it's really painful in my side.

Food cravings: everything!

Food aversions: nothing!

Gender: you know :)

Labor signs: Braxton Hicks still, but not too often.

Belly button in or out: out.

What I miss: Being able to bend over! I can't even pick up things off the floor anymore!

What I'm not loving: baby not being head down :(

What I’m looking forward to: meeting her and my 37 week appointment when I'll know more about her positioning and my options. So praying I don't have to have a c-section.

What I'm loving: time with Oli being my baby. I'm soaking it up!

Milestone(s): none I can think of!

prego stats - week 18

otherwise known as the Pregnancy Sweet Spot (more on that coming).

How far along: 18 weeks

Total weight gain: 7lbs

How big is baby: size of a sweet potato

Maternity Clothes: yes, and I'm gradually gaining more thanks to friend's hand-me-downs! Not to mention a huge collection of nursing tanks and bras, so I'll be prepared :)

Sleep: sleep is good, I'm needing it a bit less and don't nap every day now. I wake almost every morning with leg or foot cramps though. Oh I forgot about that annoying symptom. I used to just get it at the tail end of my third trimester, but I guess the third time around it'll be for 20 weeks. sweet.

Best moment this week: hearing baby3's heartbeat on Thursday at an appointment and being reassured by my OBGYN that though the epidural didn't work last time, that's no indication that it won't work this coming time. It still may not, but it's just bad luck and fast labour when it doesn't - so she suggested I get it sooner this time instead of waiting out the pain for fear of getting it TOO SOON like last time. That was ironic! Oli was born minutes after getting the failed epidural, so it certainly wasn't too soon! This time around, I'm getting it ASAP.

 

Movement: YES! definitely, and it's noticeable by more than just me! I especially feel baby3 when I'm laying on my back or trying to rest (go figure), and he/she feels decidedly low for 18 weeks, but again, third baby... different ballgame. I love the gentle movements - they're not painful or annoying yet so I'm enjoying every minute!

Food cravings: It hadn't occurred to me that it was a "craving" but I have eaten a truck load of beets lately... wonder if that's pregnancy related?

Food aversions: Some meats still. I'm always more vegetarian when I'm pregnant.

Gender:we find out ON TUESDAY. I'm dying. And hoping for a girl, but just eager to KNOW.

Labor signs: n/a

Belly button in or out: out.

What I miss: energy for sure, but not much else right now :)

What I'm not loving: The foot and leg cramps. They hurt so badly and are a terrible way to wake for the day! But thankfully the constipation is almost gone and the heart burn isn't as bad anymore either... Wonder of they were a 1st trimester thing?

What I’m looking forward to: TUESDAY.

What I'm loving: everything. I'm in a great place. Not sick or huge or in pain. No real back pain yet (that left me almost bed ridden in my third trimester last time), and no symptoms I can't get through. It's starting to hit me for real: our THIRD baby is coming. We are so blessed. Thank you father.

Milestone(s): nothing I can think of this week, but next week I'll definitely have something to write home about!

some 'splainin to do...

So the word is out! I am PREGO. yes yes yes, thank you Lord!!! Now, to explain myself, because I know I kind of led y'all astray just a little bit. But I never lied, I promise :)

When I wrote this, saying, "I AM NOT PREGNANT", I didn't yet know I was. I took the test the next day and found out I was, though ;)

When I wrote this, saying "I'm not afraid to try again with the ovulation predictor kit", I was pregnant. And I led you to believe I wasn't, because I led you to believe we were trying for yet another month with this new awesome method. I chose my words carefully. If ever we try for a forth baby (doubt we will, but hey, who knows) the fear of "trying" and not conceiving wouldn't exist because the ovulation predictor pee sticks are that awesome. They seriously took all the stress and worry out of trying, and after using them to pin point ovulation, we both said "wow, that was great! if we're not prego, next month will be SO MUCH BETTER than months past!" Thankfully, though, we were :)

When I wrote this, saying "IF I WERE PREGNANT RIGHT NOW", I wasn't lying either, just maybe causing some doubt or leaving it obscure. I was pregnant right then, and am so thankful that my kids will be as close in age as they will be.

So there you have it! I tried to keep it under wraps for as long as I could, but then my extreme nausea began (just like the other pregnancies, right at 6 weeks) and my baby bump came out of nowhere, so people left and right were guessing or asking if I was pregnant. So the news came out early. Now you all know! Which is more fun anyway, because I can begin to write about the pregnancy and have more support as I journey through these next very hard weeks.

Some things I'll be writing about soon:

• Reasons why we announced our pregnancy so early (there are other reasons besides the bump and obvious sickness)
• Travel plans with baby #3 in utero (baby will be taking two trips before he/she is born!)
• Picking a name for baby #3
• Telling Lily (Oli is clueless, as she was at his age when he was born)
• The lack of excitement from the general public when it's your third pregnancy (the 1st is such big news but we've noticed a steady decline in public response as we've had more)
• Fabulous maternity clothes I'm drooling over (I got rid of all mine since we thought we were done so it's time to do some shopping!)
• Where will baby sleep?
• Will I attempt breastfeeding after two horrible experiences?
• Will I get an epidural after experiencing one birth with and one without?
• etc, etc, etc

Stay tuned! 

Oli's Birth Story {part 4}

While Brad fumbled to contact our planned babysitter, I was starting to get excited. I knew I was going to meet my boy today, but had no idea what to expect. I'd heard with Lily that first babies are always on time or late, and that first babies generally take well over 12 hours to deliver. Lily was 8 days early, and born in 7 hours. So what did this mean for baby number two?

Erika was at a conference with no cell phone reception and after several calls and texts, we realized we needed to contact a back up ASAP. Thankfully another dear friend, Lindsay, was free and eager to help. She was at our house within 20 minutes, just in time for Erika to text me and say "I'm sorry! Do you need me to come over!?" haha. Lindsay held down the fort instead, so she was able to tell our friends who were also at the conference the exciting news and pray for us.

After giving a few instructions and tips to Lindsay, Brad raced to St. Marys just in time for them to break my water. Yes, my water had broken the night before, but not fully. Which explains the lack of contractions or additional fluid. After a huge GOOSH and tons more water I was in active labour within minutes. This was around 4pm and we were joking that Oli should hurry up so we could catch the 7pm Habs game. Little did we know, he was listening :)

I knew after enduring many hours of excruciating contractions with Lily that I wanted an epidural EARLY this time around. I didn't have the guilt or worry like I did last time, I was on a mission. Every nurse that came in I was like "don't forget the epidural!" even though my contractions were still tolerable. So when the doctor came in to give me the epidural we thought it was smooth sailing from here on out. By 6:30pm the contractions were getting very painful (but not as bad as I knew they get!) and my epidural was yet to set in. He said wait another ten minutes, but in the meantime the contractions were intolerably painful and I had dilated to 10cm. WHAT!? Yep. Second babies come fast. And epidurals don't always work.

I was panicking a great deal because I'd not mentally prepared to deliver Oli without pain relief. I've heard of friends who opt to go au natural, but they are also mentally preparing (especially with Hypobirthing) for weeks and even months before. I just kept crying out to Brad "why isn't it working?!" but of course I was too far gone for them to try a second time. This was very scarring to me and made the birth experience difficult. If the epidural worked, that would be been great. If I didn't get one, and experienced the pain, but planned for it, that would have been better than this. But not knowing you're going to experience such awful pain and then getting a big ol' SURPRISE at your most vulnerable was bad bad bad times.

Thankfully my OB was on call that night and she was wonderful. Same with my labour nurse who birthed 4 daughters in 5 years. She was such a friend to me during that time. She grieved with me that I was feeling unexpected pain, she voiced my emotions when I couldn't (think "I know this isn't fair Emily, but you are doing amazing!"), and cheered me on as I was pushing my heart out.  Highly encouraging people were all around me, which made the unplanned element less awful, but I'd still never go that route again.

Let me just say, birth is a gory affair. It's not pretty, even though it's beautiful. Having experienced child birth with the epidural and without, I'd go epidural, hands down, for our next baby. I can't even imagine choosing that pain! Yes, I survived, but gollllllllllllllly it hurt. And it didn't need to. Can you tell I'm still a little bruised by the whole thing? A little.

My OB was great at telling when I should push and when I should just let my body naturally move him out. It was like ten minutes of the most painful game of red light green light, but it helped me deliver Oli with no tearing which was great. And after ten minutes, there he was. My boy. She slid him right onto my chest and there he stayed for almost an hour. I stayed in the delivery room for near two hours, just cuddling, breastfeeding, bonding. In the end, of course, it was worth it and amazing.

Oli's Birth Story {part 3}

Since it was a Saturday, there seemed no reason not to head to the hospital - Brad was able to watch Lily and I knew my OB was working. Win-win. I was excited to leave the house alone too, so I got dressed up (you know life is in a tough stage when you get excited to go to the hospital because it means you can wear "real people" clothes and get fresh air!) and hopped on the bus.

Yes, I took the bus to the hospital to deliver my son. This makes people laugh a lot but I assure you, I was not in active labour and didn't think I would be birthing my son that day so I was thankful for the scenic, direct bus ride from our closest intersection to the hospital. It was late October after all (read: most beautiful time in Montreal), and I'd been bed-ridden for the three weeks prior.

When I got to the hospital I told the attendings that I was a patient of Dr. Hall and tons of people kept saying "oh she's working today! lucky you!" which I agreed :) However the same amount of health care professionals kept saying I probably wasn't in labour since I was completely fine, feeling nothing, and the more I recounted the 3am tale, the more it sounded like I wet the bed. Humiliating.

When I saw my doctor (about 30 minutes after I arrived) she was happy to see me and cute as ever. I love that woman! And visibly pregnant with her twins! For those moms out there, you know how you feel a bond between yourself and other pregos when you're pregnant? Totally happening! She, along with some adorable McGill med students, did an exam and tested the scant fluid to see if it was run-of-the-mill fluid or my "waters" (as if my water did break at 3am it wasn't fully so there would still be some to measure).

Dr. Hall came back excitedly just 15 minutes later with the test results. "Emily, amazing news! You are having this baby today! Your water did break!" I don't care how unprofessional it may sound that she seemed giddy - I loved it and her! "Oh good! I didn't wet the bed!" I blurted out and laughter ensured in the pregnancy ward triage. I was surrounded by amazing people and I was about to have my son!

They quickly ushered me into the delivery room and broke my water immediately - what was left of it. Because part of it had broken over 15 hours ago, there wasn't time to waste. I called Brad and told him to get Erika over stat as I was changing into my gown. He rushed around doing last minute things for Lily and trying to get a hold of our on-call babysitter, but she was no where to be found. After leaving a few texts and answering machine messages we began to get nervous. And I was starting to feel slight (this time, real!) contractions.

So there I was. Definitely in labour (yes!), with no childcare for my daughter and no husband by my side (gulp)...

Oli's Birth Story {part 2}

The false alarm trip to the hospital was so disheartening. On the elevator ride home a doctor saw us and pleasantly asked "heading home?" and I bitterly confirmed that we were. "You'll be back soon enough" he said kindly, though it felt like an eternity before we were.

Over a full week later, there were occasional contractions but nothing like the 12 hours of by-the-book contractions that sent me to the hospital earlier. I began to consider that Oli may come on time or late - something I'd never entertained before. That would not be cool. To even stand I felt enormous pressure in baby's neighbourhood and with every step shooting pain came from my lower back to the rest of my torso. My body was so weakened by these back to back pregnancies and I was so useless in the final weeks. I couldn't lift Lily or do much of anything without causing pain - unfortunate for me because I was looking to bring on labour!

I woke up at 3am on a Saturday morning feeling wet. Not drenched, but wet. I wasn't continuously dripping fluid nor did I have contractions - two things that follow your water breaking, 99% of the time. Physically I was such a wreck that it wasn't a stretch to think that I'd peed the bed, though obviously embarrassing! I woke up Brad, told him I *thought* I'd wet the bed (and apologized haha!), but also added that my water could have broken. He shot out of bed at the second notion, not the first. We googled it from my ipod and sure enough we read that unless I had continual liquid or contractions, it was unlikely that my water had broken. Back to bed I went, after grabbing a towel to cover the "pee". Sidenote: I know this whole story is ultra glamourous, try not to envy me or my husband ;)

The next morning we woke up to zero signs of labour, so it was business as usual. I was feeling great, but couldn't shake the night before. I washed our sheets and examined them real good. The wet stain spot was a decent size. Not yellow. Not smelling of urine. But very wet. Hmmmm.

Then I remembered my dear friend Jess who said when her water broke nothing happened and she had to be induced after 12 hours because of the dangers of a baby being inside of you with no water. I did the math. If my water broke, it was 13 hours ago. I better text her and get some details. Sure enough, she gave me the confidence I needed to head to the hospital to get checked out. But the real motivation was that my doctor whom I adore was working that day. Lily wasn't delivered by the OBGYN who had followed me through my pregnancy with her and I would love if Oli were.

So there I was - not feeling in labour at all. No real signs aside from a mysterious 3am wake up call. But knowing my husband was off that day and home with our daughter, and that my doctor would be waiting for me, I headed back to the hospital to see what was up...

Oli's Birth Story {part 1}

I never intended to wait so long for this post. Lily's birth story took a couple months too, but Oli is nearing 1 year! I guess that's a glimpse into life with two children over one :)
But as Oli begins to stand and crawl and babble his heart out, I think it's more than time to post how he came into the world.
On a beautiful day, 11 months ago.

My pregnancy with Olivier was much harder than mine with Lily. Many of you read about it here, so I'll spare you the minute details. When I was 7.5 months pregnant I was put on "light" bed rest and missed my best friend's out-of-province wedding where I was to serve as Maid of Honour, so perhaps more than the average pregnant mama, I wanted him OUT.

If I'm honest, I was beginning to resent the little guy. He had taken some moments from me that I'll never get back. I was dying to self him every day. I was missing out on time with my daughter because this pregnancy knocked me off my feet, literally.
But isn't that parenting, friends?
Before he was born he'd already taught me so much.

With Oli I wasn't expecting an on-time delivery or a late one. Lily was 8 days early, and she was my 1st. And everyone and their brother told me first babies never come early.
Well she did, so I expected her brother to as well. Hopefully even earlier (while still in the realm of healthy, of course!). With thoughts of an early birth coming, at 37.5 weeks we happily drove to the hospital after 12 straight hours of contractions. They weren't painful, but they were by-the-book consistent. 5 minutes apart, lasting for a minute each. FOR THE WHOLE DAY.

Since I wasn't in pain and we didn't have childcare lined up for Lily, we wisely waited them out at home until signs of more imminent labour came (my water breaking, painful contractions, etc). I had a warm bath and did all kinds of relaxing things. I tried to go to sleep, but by 11pm they were still ever-persistent. Eventually we called Erika, our dear friend who loves to go to bed early. She dutifully and lovingly came over, though she was surely in bed already when we called.

And we were off!

We called Brad's brothers on the way to the hospital and asked them what they thought about Olivier's middle name. See, we wanted to name him after one of his uncles, but which one!? We flipped a coin since we love both Mike and Rob equally. Rob won, but graciously (and so typically of Rob), insisted we go with Mike since Mike was older (Brad is the oldest).

We pulled into St. Mary's and I was hooked up to the fetal heart monitor and contraction-counter (does anyone know the real name for that!?)
I was texting with my long-distance girlfriend who conveniently lives in a timezone three hours behind us. At my midnight and her 9pm we chatted away excitedly. Then the two of us realized it was October 17th (Eastern Time). The birthday of her twins! How cool would it be if her children and my son shared a birthday? This was all too perfect.

And then my contractions stopped altogether.

False alarm. Sent home. Discouraged and defeated.

...and it was another week before we were back.

post-birth update

Just as my pregnancy, labour, and delivery of Oli was quite different than with Lily, I'm finding the same goes for after the fact. Here's some deets!

Pain following birth was substantially less this time around. Could also be by comparison to the pain during birth (that's right, my epidural didn't take and I.felt.everything. but more on that later...)

Pain peeing, passing gass, and going number 2 (you know you were wondering!) was substantially less this time too, if at all.

Post-birth contractions (brought on by nursing) were far worse this time around. And are lasting far longer (as in still goin' strong. ouch.)

Engorgement with breast milk was severe this time. Much more painful, inhibited ability to latch and nurse for days (thankful for a hospital grade pump allowing me to still offer breast milk), and lasted longer

Breast milk production so far has been higher (praise God!), especially now that I'm nursing and/or pumping every 3 hours and engorgement has subsided.

Fatigue is still a huge challenge but also easier this time. Probably because of perspective. Lily needs me and daily naps aren't promised to me, so you adapt.

Emotions are more stable too. Everything was slightly less emotional (in a good way) from labour to birth to adapting to the first week at home. We knew what to expect, we were more prepared, we'd been there before. All huge assets in parenting and in change.

Baby bump is vanishing, far quicker than last time. Not the newly added stretch marks that didn't make an appearance with Lily. I think they're here to stay. Joy. 

But my baby bump is nearly gone. Maybe since the uterine contractions are so much stronger? I've heard those contractions are why breastfeeding mothers find their bumps disappear a bit faster.

There you have it! All in all, I'm doing well. Many have asked and I appreciate that so much. We're all working together to make this transition possible but it's definitely hard. I blogged about that over at {our nest in the city} today, check it out if you like.

I'll keep this blog partly because of our desire to adopt (and thus, chart that journey just as we've done so our pregnancies), and partly because though we're 99% sure we're done having biological kids, you never know what God has in store. Thank for following along with me the second time around!

xoxo

Lily & Oli's Mama

praying for an October baby

Ironically, I've always wanted the big events in my life to fall in October.

Not thinking at all about my kid's lives, because you can't plan such things, but most other things.

It's my birthday, it's Fall (my favourite season), it's often when we celebrate Thanksgiving, and Brad and I were married on October 18th.

Mostly out of my own extreme discomfort, I find myself praying for an October baby. Simply because that would have LG nearly a week (or more) early, and my body is ready to have him OUT. I didn't think I cared about having an October baby (the month has enough goodness anyhow!), but I thought about it today - what a pleasant perk that would be! Icing on the cake of my favourite month... to have a son born during those blessed weeks.

So not because I like October but because I don't like pain, I want this baby to come out in October, instead of his due date, 6 days into November... But an October baby would be sweet!

Though any baby will be sweet, even if he's a Mr. November :)

(don't mind the language... it's otherwise a great song and a great band!)

soon and very soon...

• i'll be in a new home
• i'll be lounging on THE UNICORN
• i'll be decorating for Fall
• i'll be getting ready for Christmas
• i'll be mummer to another little one
• i'll be drinking a margarita (or a glass of wine or a 1/2 pint of beer...)
• i'll be up all night and practically all day
• i'll be a Plateau-dwelling lady
• i'll be giving birth (can.not.wait.)
• i'll be recovering from giving birth (can.definitely.wait)
• i'll be attempting breast-feeding & giving it my best shot (again)
• i'll be living farther from my friends
• i'll be amidst far more French
• i'll be watching hockey
• i'll be wearing non-maternity clothes

lots (good & bad) to look forward to in joy and anticipation and just a smidgen of fear.

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, 

for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. 

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble

- Jesus (Matthew 6:34) 

Braxton Hicks... already!?

I know Braxton Hicks "faux contractions" can appear as early as midway through a pregnancy... but that just wasn't my experience last time. Imagine my confusion/concern when last night I was woken from sleep by some beastly contractions (Braxton Hicks, to be sure, not the real deal!).

When I was pregnant with Lily I didn't get Braxton Hicks until 1 week before she was BORN. And even then, they were minor until 24 hours before she came 'round. 

Having them last night was not fun. And scary. And nerve-wracking. 

So is the immense pressure on my lower abdomen/hips/lady parts.

LG, you've got at least 7 weeks to go, buddy. Don't be in any kind of a rush mk?


Parents.com says:

An experienced uterus also has far more "false," or practice, contractions, called Braxton Hicks. Moreover, because a second baby is carried lower and farther away from the spine, he isn't centered over the bowl of the mother's pelvis, so he can't drop into the lower pelvis as easily. This may be why these early practice contractions don't bring on labor as readily as the first time. To tell the difference between Braxton Hicks contractions and real ones, change your position (stand up, say, if you've been sitting), or walk around. Braxton Hicks contractions will often stop, while active contractions will continue throughout these actions.

So again, I'm not panicking, but I don't love seeing labour signs I did with Lily 1 week before her birth, a full 10 weeks before LG's due date...

Same/Different

People always ask how this pregnancy is similar and different than my first pregnancy, with Lily.

SAME AS THE FIRST:

• still tired as heck
• still experienced the 1st trimester of nausea/vomiting
• still experienced super painful boobs the first few weeks
• still love feeling those kicks, at first
• still find the kicks painful around 20+ weeks
• still tired of maternity clothes after wearing the same few outfits over and over
• still excited as ever to meet the babe inside
• still having a blast planning for his arrival
• still love thinking about DIY projects for him (his room, clothes, blankets, etc)
• still loose my breath like it's nothin'
• still uncomfortably hot (probably because I'm still pregnant in the summer!)
• still experiencing the 3rd trimester leg cramps
• still bought all baby's clothes secondhand

DIFFERENT THAN THE FIRST

• less nervous about his health/my health
• less paranoid about birth pain/epidural pain
• less worried about breastfeeding
• basically, less worried, period.
• much much more lower back pain :(
• my belly ballooned so quickly this time
• no *new* stretch marks 
• exercising much more this time (thank you, Fit Mama dvds!)
• fewer dizzy spells

OMG

oh my gosh... where do I EVEN start?

Last night was our first prenatal class - yes we're extremely behind on that and had a good time seeing everyone's reactions when we were the "37.5 week's along couple" to the other "24, 25, 30 week parents".

But the good times were really only in making light of what a disaster the class was. I had a glimpse last night into what going to high school with my husband would have been like, and the truth is, I would have failed every class! We were doing everything in our power to not buckle over in roaring laughter in front of our less-than-prepared/aware/educated-teacher.

it.was.a.GONGSHOW.

Let me begin with out teacher. Whose credentials are that she WAS a nurse 15 years ago and did give birth twice, in the late 60's. Have times changed medically since then? naaaa, let's go with it. Groan. We had our hunches that she wasn't the most up to date on the current birthing process when she made comments like
"but honestly, people don't really get epidurals or they shouldn't ",
to a room of terrified, birthing-plan-ready, moms who had already made up their minds, or
"if they're kicking hard it's because they're a boy, boys are stronger than girls",
can you say Old School methodology?

But what really sold us on her inexpertise was the personal narrative of every labour stage. Instead of telling us medically and technically what is happening during this stage she just told us how SHE felt, 40 years ago.
Sentences like "you will be nervous but excited at this point, because I was" or "you probably will become introspective when you're 4cm dilated and not want to talk much to people around you, as I didn't" should never make their way into a professional, government-run hand-out to first-time parents to be, but oh there they were.

Aside from her lack of current medical knowledge, she was just plain rude, and it was HILARIOUS. She's one of those people that you find yourself saying often after she speaks "Oh No You Didn't..."
Yet it was so outrageous I don't think anyone was offended, just astonished.

Like when Brad and I walked in 1 minute EARLY but the class had already begun. There were no seats and she said "The class has begun, you may not find a seat". Um what does that mean? We signed up for this class and we're still early!?

Or the couple that came in AFTER us (God-forbid) that she didn't even greet or give hand outs to (they may have been 2 minutes late and were dressed in business clothing, clearly just coming right from work).

But my favourite was this poor single mom-to-be from LaSalle who our teacher decidedly hated from the get-go. When there would be a long pause and she would ask a question, our teacher would abruptly start talking over her and not let her ask until she rose her hand. Or when our teacher blatantly said "Because you're from LaSalle and not Verdun, you shouldn't be here. I wish you weren't because there are a lot of people in this class, but what can I do?"
She tried to explain that she lives on the boarder and it would take her 3 bus transfers to get to the LaSalle CLSC and only one straight bus to get to the Verdun CLSC which was met with more talking-over and a "yes but really you shouldn't be here" from our teacher.

Is she for real!?

Then she had us go around and say to the group that we've just met what all of our preferences for birth are (i.e. our birthing plan i.e. kind of personal). It was a hilarious time, where people were publically shamed for choosing the epidural or others made to seem cold-hearted for not having their moms in the room at the time of delivery. The good part being, everyone was in the same boat - hating it but getting a kick out of her audacity.

Lastly the video. OHHHHHH the video!
Aptly titled "Together in Love" and filmed no sooner than 1973, the film captured a couple whose marriage was clearly on the rocks having their first baby. It seemed more like a commercial for prenatal classes where we watched people doing what we should have been doing (i.e. learning breathing exercises), only decades prior. My favourite part was when the mom-to-be said "for the first time it felt like Paul and I were a team" to which someone in the class yelled "haven't they been married for 4 years? Paul's a dead beat!"

And so the class went on. A teacher who had no expertise and almost no English, with random materials in SPANISH of all languages, including a small Mexican statue of a woman birthing in the squatting position, her wielding her out-dated Quebecois cultural experience of birth on our unsuspecting class, and a video that was both terrifying (up close shots with little warning = scary!) and most certainly the same video our own parents watched in the 80's and laughed at for it's age and inappropriateness.

Great post from Alpha Mom on "The Office"

I read this today and it made me laugh, intrigued, and want to watch The Office and then compare it to Father of The Bride part II, Nine Months, and all the other baby-delivery-type-movies.

I have written a couple times about how much I hate -- nay, truly and forcefully LOATHE -- the way pregnancy and birth are depicted on TV and in movies. It usually looks something like this:

Female character's water breaks at a hilariously inopportune time, without warning or any contractions, usually all over a male character's shoes. Everyone rushes to the hospital, and by the time they get there the female character is (of course) in active labor and screaming hilariously for drugs. (Bonus hilarity points if the female character ever mentioned a plan to have a natural birth.) The father of the baby is either trapped in an elevator or across town thanks to a wacky series of hilarious circumstances, or whining about the female character squeezing his hand too hard and cursing at him. Non-related male characters accidentally barge into the room and faint and/or vomit at the horrors they witness. A few minutes later, the doctor presents a six-month-old covered in Vaseline and food coloring to the entire cast. The baby's name is probably the one you picked out for your own baby, which means you have to start over because people will think you copied. The female character gets the world's largest hospital room, capable of handling unlimited visitors, and she drops all the baby weight in a matter of hours and spends exactly one scene dealing with the indignity of slightly frizzy hair to indicate what she just went through.

Then they all go home and the baby spends the rest of the series asleep in its crib off camera.

FIN!

So...I was really genuinely surprised that of all TV shows, The Office got childbirth and its aftermath almost completely right.

If you haven't seen it, the two-part episode is available right now at Hulu. Part one is here, and here's part two. The first part, the one with the actual birth, is worth watching, for a few reasons:

1. The labor details are more or less accurate. Pam has contractions that slowly build in frequency and intensity. Her water breaks after she's already in active labor. (It can certainly happen the other way around, but it's much more common for the water to break after contractions have started.) And the breakage simply requires a wardrobe change, not a mop and a haz-mat crew.

2. Pam's reactions to labor are sweetly believable. She stays at the office past the 5-7 minute point because she doesn't want to check into the hospital until midnight so she can maximize her HMO's stingy hospital stay coverage. And once it seems like she's getting a little ridiculous in this sticking point, she reveals that actually, she's mostly just really scared.

3. The delivery is off-camera. Sure, Michael does the cliched burst-into-the-delivery-room gag and there's plenty of screaming, but it's by far the least eye-rolly of television birth scenes I've seen.

But the reason I'm really writing about a stupid TV show is because of the second part. The baby (an actual newborn!) is born, but the camera stays with Jim and Pam throughout their hospital stay, and oh, it was eerily accurate. Hospital birth in America? The Office is onto you. Pam wants to breastfeed, but has trouble getting her baby to latch and receives less than enthusiastic support from the hospital staff. Her nurse keeps pushing formula while Pam's frustration mounts and her heart breaks. The nurse rolls her eyes when Pam worries about nipple confusion and generally does little to support her desire to nurse. Pam gets a roommate (for whom everything is going just SWIMMINGLY) and she and Jim crowd together on her hospital bed, terrified of the ticking countdown to their coming discharge time.

There's of course, typical sitcom stuff (a male lactation consultant; Jim grabs their roommate's baby in a sleep-deprived haze and Pam nurses it by accident), but even that was kind of daring -- both for the taboo of nursing another woman's child and the heavens not crashing down, but also the act makes Pam realize that her baby doesn't latch like that baby. (What have I said, over and over and over again? Babies know how to suck, not latch, and it's not YOUR FAULT if everything doesn't work like clockwork at first.)

Jim and Pam's fear of a short two-night hospital stay was a framing device across both parts, and they fight it until the very last minute. But it isn't until they leave the hospital (or, more accurately, Pam is unceremoniously dumped on a bench outside because the wheelchair and nurse are needed elsewhere), that things actually improve. The baby cries and Pam reaches into her bag -- and my heart clenched because I was sure she was reaching for a bottle, having been convinced to give up -- and grabs her nursing cover. The baby latches and nurses in earnest just as Jim returns with the car and he beams with pride, and waves of relief wash over them both. They can do it. They can do this.

I'm getting chills just thinking about it. It! A SITCOM. And not a particularly sentimental sitcom at that. And yet when it came to BREASTFEEDING, I'm not sure I've seen a better take on the first days postpartum. So...thanks, Office writers and actors, for getting it mostly right, and for not being afraid to show that breastfeeding can be both really really hard and really really worth it.

(That's what she said!)

**taken from Alpha Mom's Blog