Two Thursdays ago I was lucky enough to snag a couple hours of time away from a very busy lady: Jennifer Taylor Childress. She is a midwife with her own homebirth practice on the Oregon coast, whom I met when I was a doula at the birth of my friend Kathleen's son, Jackson. Jennifer was one of the student midwives in attendance at the birth, and I was so struck by her calm energy and nurturing manner that I knew if I ever got lucky enough to get pregnant, she would be my first choice as caregiver.
We met for at Pizzicato's in Beaverton and chatted over pizza and panini. I tried to give a fairly brief synopsis of the events of this pregnancy and explained that we are still deciding where to give birth to our little boy. It looks more and more like it will be a hospital birth, and in that case, I really want to have a doula . . . correction, I really want to have Jennifer as my doula. :) I think it will be a lot easier for me to be in a setting that is not my first choice, if I have someone there with me during labor whom I know, trust and have chosen to be with me. What will be great is that potentially I will have two midwives with me--the CNM from the hospital and Jennifer, although Jennifer will be acting as my doula. Still--I'll have two women attending me who believe in birth as a safe, natural event and I know that will help me tremendously.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Eileen's Baby Party
I got to go to Eileen's shower on December 10th. :) The countdown to baby is fast approaching and I think celebrating with friends & family (and especially receiving all those sweet baby gifts) really brought the reality of the coming baby home for her. I'm sure it will be that way for me too at my shower.
The party was held at her sister's very cute house (which I totally loved) on the east side of Portland. Eileen's mom and aunt had flown in from back east to be there, and she had a great group of friends there too. The atmosphere was light and relaxed with all of us sitting or standing around in groups chatting, sipping on "signature drinks" (mine was sparkling pink lemonade in a champagne flute with two raspberries on the bottom of the glass) and sampling some of the many goodies whipped up by family and friends.
There was a very yummy salad of mixed greens with pomegranate seeds and satsuma wedges. I am totally stealing the recipe because I thought the flavors were so good together. And the red seeds added a holiday vibe to the salad. There was baked brie, pear and apple slices, finger sandwiches, cute little cupcakes made by Eileen's sister, and really cute "Santa" treats brought by a friend. They consisted of a small square of brownie, a layer of whip cream, then a strawberry, topped off with more whip cream. SO cute!
After everyone had snacked a bit, Eileen opened her gifts. She and her husband (and their little one), got a lot of nice things which I was so happy about because they really deserve to be pampered. The big things they got were a BOB stroller (looks so cool--like the cadillac of strollers!) and an infant carseat, which was the one thing that I think made everything very real for Eileen. I'm sure she looked at it and in her mind's eye saw her little one nestled inside. :)
No games were played (which I was totally okay with) but something that we were all asked to bring if we wanted and which I thought was a great idea, were cute baby socks and a favorite book. The socks were strung on a ribbon like a garland, and were clipped on with tiny clothespins. Adorable. Everyone brought a book and I don't think Eileen got any duplicates, even though she has been working on building the baby's library for awhile now. I took "The Snowy Day," by Ezra Jack Keats, which was one of my favorites when I was little. I had a red snowsuit with a hood--just like the little boy in the book. :)
I know it was a very special day for Eileen, celebrating with her family and friends. And in only a very short time now, we will all be welcoming her baby into the world.
<3
The party was held at her sister's very cute house (which I totally loved) on the east side of Portland. Eileen's mom and aunt had flown in from back east to be there, and she had a great group of friends there too. The atmosphere was light and relaxed with all of us sitting or standing around in groups chatting, sipping on "signature drinks" (mine was sparkling pink lemonade in a champagne flute with two raspberries on the bottom of the glass) and sampling some of the many goodies whipped up by family and friends.
There was a very yummy salad of mixed greens with pomegranate seeds and satsuma wedges. I am totally stealing the recipe because I thought the flavors were so good together. And the red seeds added a holiday vibe to the salad. There was baked brie, pear and apple slices, finger sandwiches, cute little cupcakes made by Eileen's sister, and really cute "Santa" treats brought by a friend. They consisted of a small square of brownie, a layer of whip cream, then a strawberry, topped off with more whip cream. SO cute!
After everyone had snacked a bit, Eileen opened her gifts. She and her husband (and their little one), got a lot of nice things which I was so happy about because they really deserve to be pampered. The big things they got were a BOB stroller (looks so cool--like the cadillac of strollers!) and an infant carseat, which was the one thing that I think made everything very real for Eileen. I'm sure she looked at it and in her mind's eye saw her little one nestled inside. :)
No games were played (which I was totally okay with) but something that we were all asked to bring if we wanted and which I thought was a great idea, were cute baby socks and a favorite book. The socks were strung on a ribbon like a garland, and were clipped on with tiny clothespins. Adorable. Everyone brought a book and I don't think Eileen got any duplicates, even though she has been working on building the baby's library for awhile now. I took "The Snowy Day," by Ezra Jack Keats, which was one of my favorites when I was little. I had a red snowsuit with a hood--just like the little boy in the book. :)
I know it was a very special day for Eileen, celebrating with her family and friends. And in only a very short time now, we will all be welcoming her baby into the world.
<3
21 Weeks! (Almost 2 Weeks Ago Now . . . )
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| Okay, so not the best posture in the world, but look at that belly!! :) |
20 Week Appointment & Ultrasound
On Monday it will already be three weeks since we hit the 20 week mark. I guess I have let myself get a little behind with posting updates. :) But to make up for it, I have some ultrasound pictures to go with this post, as I'm sure you are all anxious to see more previews of our little man.
Michael and I ended up waiting about an hour for our appointment to start, which is definitely the longest I have had to wait so far at Dr. Stempel's office. I think they must have been running behind. The plan was for me to see the doctor before the ultrasound, but it turned out that I had the ultrasound first. And since I was instructed to finish drinking 24 oz of fluid a half hour before my scheduled appointment time, you can be sure I was practically bursting at the seams by the time we were taken back.
The ultrasound was quite thorough as it was the 20 week anatomy scan, where they check all of the baby's organs to make sure everything has developped properly and looks to be functioning. The technician first looked at the other twin, who is still there, still enveloped in an intact sac. It has moved down very close to my cervix, and is now between the living baby and the way out. There is also a sac of fluid visible that the doctor guesses is blood and possibly where the spotting has been coming from. He guesses that I will most likely have spotting off and on throughout the rest of the pregnancy. He said I could still "pass" the other twin, and if that happens, it shouldn't affect the living baby at all.
The technician also measured the endometrioma cysts on my ovaries and no one mentioned that they are necessarily bigger than before, so I guess we are doing okay in that department. I'm glad because I have been eating dairy and some red meat while being pregnant, and I've been hoping that it wasn't having a negative effect on the endometriosis.
Our next appointment is at the end of the first week in January. So we are going a whole month without going in . . . progress! :) At the next visit, I will ask the doctor about a referral to a midwife at Emanual, so I can get on board with hopefully having a waterbirth in April.
And now . . . the pictures:
Michael and I ended up waiting about an hour for our appointment to start, which is definitely the longest I have had to wait so far at Dr. Stempel's office. I think they must have been running behind. The plan was for me to see the doctor before the ultrasound, but it turned out that I had the ultrasound first. And since I was instructed to finish drinking 24 oz of fluid a half hour before my scheduled appointment time, you can be sure I was practically bursting at the seams by the time we were taken back.
The ultrasound was quite thorough as it was the 20 week anatomy scan, where they check all of the baby's organs to make sure everything has developped properly and looks to be functioning. The technician first looked at the other twin, who is still there, still enveloped in an intact sac. It has moved down very close to my cervix, and is now between the living baby and the way out. There is also a sac of fluid visible that the doctor guesses is blood and possibly where the spotting has been coming from. He guesses that I will most likely have spotting off and on throughout the rest of the pregnancy. He said I could still "pass" the other twin, and if that happens, it shouldn't affect the living baby at all.
The technician also measured the endometrioma cysts on my ovaries and no one mentioned that they are necessarily bigger than before, so I guess we are doing okay in that department. I'm glad because I have been eating dairy and some red meat while being pregnant, and I've been hoping that it wasn't having a negative effect on the endometriosis.
Our next appointment is at the end of the first week in January. So we are going a whole month without going in . . . progress! :) At the next visit, I will ask the doctor about a referral to a midwife at Emanual, so I can get on board with hopefully having a waterbirth in April.
And now . . . the pictures:
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| Our little man. |
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| My favorite of his hand and face. |
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| Baby boy parts! :) |
Sunday, December 4, 2011
The First Definite Kicks!
I have been feeling the baby "wiggle" now since about week 15, although it's definitely been sporadic. A week or so ago I thought I felt movement under my palm, but thought it could also have just been gas or something.
Yesterday, Michael and I were watching t.v. when I began to feel movement going on. I put my hand over my belly and felt a definite thump against my skin. It was the oddest thing to feel it from the inside and also to feel it on the outside. I grabbed Michael's hand and put it where mine had been and sure enough, we were rewarded with another kick.
Very cool. :) I'm looking forward to feeling the baby move and kick more and more as he gets bigger. I think the trippiest thing will be seeing him move around underneath my skin!
Yesterday, Michael and I were watching t.v. when I began to feel movement going on. I put my hand over my belly and felt a definite thump against my skin. It was the oddest thing to feel it from the inside and also to feel it on the outside. I grabbed Michael's hand and put it where mine had been and sure enough, we were rewarded with another kick.
Very cool. :) I'm looking forward to feeling the baby move and kick more and more as he gets bigger. I think the trippiest thing will be seeing him move around underneath my skin!
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