31 Weeks

Week 31

Tight belly this week. I feel like I don’t have enough room for baby boy. My skin feels stretched like crazy. It’s hard to imagine getting bigger over the final two months.

This week we decided we’re getting a doula.

At first I thought I wouldn’t need one because I’ll be using a midwife to deliver. I had the idea that it would be redundant to have a doula too. 

We have been attending childbirth education classes taught by a doula. We did a little reaseach, talked to one of our midwives about it and came to the conclusion that a doula is precisely the person we want in the delivery room. Yes, the doula and midwife have the same mentality about birth, but the doula will be there for us the entire time even when I labor at home. She will be someone who has experience that can guide Marco and I through labor and allow me to labor at home as long as possible. Once we are at the birthing center, she will be with us the entire time. Should the midwife need to attend a simultaneous labor, we won’t be left alone. We know the midwives like working with doulas and we are looking forward to having two birth experts there to help us relax and know what is a normal and natural labor experience. 

Next up on the list: find a pediatrician. 

Marco & Tiff: Hanging Out Together for Ten Years

Ten years ago today my husband and I went on our first date. After a week of IMing, he officially asked to take me out to dinner. I was a freshman at Allegheny College and he was a sophomore. He had a friend let him into my dorm so he could pick me up at my door. He brought me a rose. We decided to get Italian food, at the Olive Garden, 45 minutes away. It was seriously the best place to go out in the boonies of Northwester PA. So our first date started with a long drive together in the car.

When we got to the restaurant, we both ordered the same meal, pesto ravioli. When the bill came, he payed like a gentleman and I made a little paper heart out of the after-dinner mint wrapper. Marco still has that little paper heart today.

On the drive home he played The Meat Puppets and sang along to “Eyeball”. We went back to his dorm and watched Office Space. As the credits were rolling I turned around to look at him and we had our first kiss. 

Ten years later, I haven’t stopped kissing him.

Instagram

I made this and gave it to Marco on our first date 10 years ago today. (Taken with instagram)

30 Weeks

Week 30

The bump is starting to get out of control! It took so long to start showing and now, bam! here it is. Strangers have started noticing and saying some interesting things. People love sharing their past pregnancy horror stories to currently pregnant people. I can’t believe some of the things people say. It’s like talking about a plane crash to someone about to take a flight. Strangers also love to boost a pregnant mother’s confidence by announcing “You’re about to give birth!” or “You’re huge!”. Yup. Thanks. So for those of you out there with an occupied lady in your life, tell her lies. It will give her confidence and make her happy. Which is important in these final months.

This week I was told that baby boy has to start getting into position. Right now he uses me like a hammock. Which has been great! No kicks to the lungs or extra bladder pressure. But now it’s time to make him make me uncomfortable. I’ve been given a few crazy upside down poses to get into to encourage him to turn. No need to panic just yet. This is just starting early so by 34 weeks he can get where he needs to be. 

19 and 29 Weeks

I’m still surprised how quickly this is all happening. I remember how huge I felt at 19 weeks. That looks like nothing now. Only about 10 more weeks to go.

29 Weeks

Week 29

We checked some major things off of our to-do list this week. We went to visit the birth center and started our six-week baby class. 

The birth center visit made me a little nervous. It is part of a hospital, but caters more toward natural births and the presence of midwives. OB/GYNs and C-sections are thought of as last resorts instead of the default. Everything is very much geared toward mother and baby, all of which I really love. (This is also the only place my midwives deliver.) The part that made me a little nervous was how much it still looked like a hospital with a rocking chair stuck in the delivery room. I was hoping everything would be a little less clinical. I don’t have an irrational fear of hospitals, I’m just very much in the mindset that having a baby is not a medical affair. And maybe I have a slight “white coat” syndrome that makes me clamp up around doctors. Marco felt the opposite and was very pleased how it didn’t feel super hospital-like to him. I just know I want to spend as little time there as possible. I would love to go as late in my labor as I can and possibly leave a day early. Of course this is all contingent on everything going normally and everyone getting though healthy and safe. If it were up to me alone, I think I would have been pretty interested in giving birth at home. 

The group baby/birth prep classes certainly made us less nervous. So far we’ve only been to one (out of six), but it was extremely comforting. We arrived with no questions and realized there is tons we didn’t know, had those new questions answered, and left feeling confident and informed. Even though the ladies leading the class had an open mind about all types of births and birth plans, they very much stressed that having confidence in your body is most important. We also learned that the majority of the information you can gather while in labor (contraction timing, dilation, effacement) means very little if you are doing things naturally. The baby will come when it is time and your body will tell you when to push. That really made me relax to know if things are going smoothly, I don’t need anyone poking around telling me about numbers that mean nothing and stressing me out to move things along. 

So if you haven’t guessed, I’m planning on doing this thing all myself. No drugs, no probing, everything as natural as possible. I’m pretty confident about this knowing my mom did it with both of her kids. She also gave me some invaluable advice. She said, “Every contraction has an end. Regardless of how much pain you are in, it only lasts a day. When the baby is born, it’s over. It can’t last forever.” I think to myself now, for the sake of this little person we’re making, I’m deciding that being in pain for one day is no big deal and I’m ready for it.

"Man & Puppy in Repose"

Happy Valentines Day to the love of my life.

Happy Valentines Day to the love of my life. I’m in love every day when I’m with you.

Last year we were in New Zealand and this year we are home with renovations, a dog, and baby on the way. Life is pretty great. 

28 Weeks

Week 28

Not much different this week in terms of baby. Still lots of kicking from my active little boy. I scored an awesomely low 77 on my diabetes test, yay! And everything else is looking healthy too. 

As a quick note, I feel huge. Also I miss Marco’s coffee. 

I’m going to knock on a lot of wood before saying this, but so far I haven’t lost any sleep to being pregnant. All the “this is what is happening this week” baby notifications have been harping on about not getting any sleep. But so far I’ve had a solid night of rest almost every night. So I’ve been a happy lady. 

This week Marco actually gave me a great back massage that lasted more than thirty seconds! I wanted to mention that here for posterity. So in the future, when I look back on my blog, I can remember this important event and know that he was there for me when I needed it most. (Normally he hates giving massages and before this week, I don’t think I’ve had one from him that was any good. So this is a huge deal.)

Another minor adjustment this week has been my perspective on activity mats. Before I didn’t want any of that gaudy overly busy baby stuff (and mostly I still don’t). I see so many kids get tired of all that stuff as they would with any toy or object. So I didn’t see the point spending money and space on all that cheaply made plastic noisemaking crap. But after talking with some friends who previously thought the same way I did, they expressed how nice it was to lay baby on these colorful stimulating mats to play with some dangling toys and how much the baby seemed to like it. So I broke down and put a tasteful one on our baby registry. I’m still mostly in favor of simple baby items, so hopefully the plastic crap can be kept under control.

27 Weeks

Week 27

Fetal hiccups are just so cute. At first, Marco and I thought baby boy had amazing rhythm and was destined to be a musical genius. But after about a second of internet research, it turns out he is getting hiccups. For me that made it really feel like a little person is hanging out in there. 

I think I felt my first little “practice contraction”, aka Braxton Hicks. It felt like a tight cramp near the lower left side of my growing belly. It lasted only a few seconds. It might have just been growing pains. I’ll be asking the midwives about it next week. 

I started walking with Marco and Hops in the afternoons to get a little more exercise. It’s been nice taking a family walk. Usually I take Hops out to the park in the morning before breakfast and Marco takes him out in the afternoon for a big neighborhood walk up and down the hills. 

In the evenings I’ve been relaxing and watching The Sopranos again. But I’ve felt guilty about baby hearing all the angry yelling so I started wearing headphones. 

(week 14)

26 Weeks

Week 26

Whoa belly where did you come from?! I feel like I really popped this week. I’m starting to lose the ability to sit with my legs crossed. Tying my sneakers has become a speedy fingers race since I can’t breathe when bending over while sitting. Time for a yoga class or two to keep me a little more flexible in this new body. 

These past two weeks (sorry for no week 25 photo) have been inundated with baby preparations. Registering for all that stuff you need to take care of a new tiny person takes a lot of time and thought. A lot like my husband Marco, I like to know everything about something before investing in it. So registering has turned into spending endless hours reading reviews and blogs about various products. I know it sounds a little obsessive, but we do this for almost everything we buy, so it’s not just the baby-crazy. If you don’t believe me, read one of Marco’s product reviews. 

I had my diabetes test this week. Still no results. I’m a little nervous because I love dessert. My midwife wants to start seeing us every two weeks now. Completely normal. It’s just that time in the pregnancy that everyone gets checked on more often. But I couldn’t believe I was at that point already. I even asked her if she was sure because it didn’t seem real that I was actually that close to the end. So Marco and I quickly signed up for birth classes starting in a few weeks. I’m a little freaked out but I’m also increasingly anxious to meet the little kicking bundle I’ve been building. 

Instagram

Yesterday was my birthday. I’m now 29.

In the past year we bought a house, got a puppy, traveled to a few countries, ate a lot of good food, flew in a helicopter, grew my photography business, began some home improvements, and started building a new person. Yup, 28 was a damn good year.

24 Weeks

Week 24

Each week I have two poses for the belly photo, one laying down and one standing. While taking the laying down photo, baby boy started kicking the blocks resting on my belly and made them jiggle. He’s getting stronger every day. 

I’ve been avoiding buying a maternity coat. It has been nice that the winter was mild so far and I’ve been able to get away without one. But as the temperature drops and I can only button one button at the top of my coats, I’m starting to feel a serious draft. I don’t think I can make it through February without one. Any recommendations where to find cute maternity coats that don’t just look like you’re dressed in a huge sleeping bag?

Speaking of avoiding things, I must confess I’ve also been avoiding the third trimester section of my baby book. I didn’t want to get freaked out too early. But I think it might be time to start looking ahead. With only one more month left in this trimester, I should start getting prepared for the final three months. I’m also going to look into local baby classes as well as take a trip to the birthing center. It’s starting to become more apparent that this little fella is on his way.

Marco & Hops

Marco is going to be a really great Dad. 

Hops

Illustration Gift

I love this! Especially since we just bought our son a Portal onesie. 

via 5by5illustrated: Build and Analyze #58: The Cake is Blue

23 Weeks

Week 23

This has been the first week we were free to say baby boy to everyone! (Except Uncle Johnny, who doesn’t want to know until the baby is born.) No name decisions yet. Every few weeks we test out our latest favorite. If baby were to be a girl, we were ready. But for some reason boy names are so hard. We want it to be easy to spell, masculine, different enough that there won’t be 12 other kids in his class with the same name, but not so different that people can’t pronounce it. I got Marco a baby name book for Christmas and he has already rejected a third of the book. But whatever name we choose, we will be keeping it a secret until our little boy is in our arms.

Onsie

Just ordered this for the new boy in my life. I couldn’t resist. 

(amytangerine on Etsy)

Gender Reveal Party

It’s a boy! 

Since Marco and I decided we wanted to know the sex of our baby before the birth, my mom wanted there to be a bit more of a surprise reveal than just a phone call. So she threw us a little cake party. The inside of a cake is dyed blue or pink and when it is cut, the gender is revealed. 

So we had a small gathering of family, cut the cake, and announced to everyone we are having a boy. Marco is so proud to be having a son and is looking forward to dressing him in tiny jeans and black t-shirts to look just like his daddy. 

Now we just have to agree on a name…

Happy Birthday Hops!

Today is Hops’ First Birthday!

He doesn’t get it.