Life With Babe

It's hard to believe my little one is almost 4 months now! It seems like only yesterday that I was a week overdue and wondering when the chocolate bun was going to finally come out. Sometime I just look at him and I am amazed that I carried him in my belly for 41 weeks! He's getting so big! He must be like 14 pounds now. And somehow it's getting easier and easier for me to tote him around town in my Moby Wrap. This kid is definitely an urban baby. Last night he slept pretty well; lately he's been fussing and wiggling a lot at night. My parents came to visit him on saturday and that was fun. My mom was so enthused to see him that she scared him! LOL! He kept crying with her but was totally chill with my laid back dad. She was annoyed! She can't wait to start keeping him overnight. We both agreed when he starts eating solids (at 6 months, end of April) that she can take him for the weekend. She will probably do every other weekend. We'll see. That's great news for me and B because we obviously never have time for ourselves. I can't wait to go out to eat, just the two of us. Go out and have a glass of wine and hang out in a lounge. We are still young but since the baby was born, we act like two old people, going to bed really early and staying in the house a lot. The weather is going to be nice this weekend so I definitely want to go to the park or something with the young babe.
We miss cuddling in the bed since our little guy sleeps in between us. We try to put him in his bassinet to no avail. He just feels comfortable sleeping with his parents. I totally understand but it would be nice maybe once a week if he stayed in the bassinet. Sometimes we can get him to start out the night there but when he starts crying in the middle of the night, he ends up back in the bed with us where he quickly falls back asleep.
Tonight me and B are going out to eat with baby in tow. I don't know why B is so weirded out about bringing a baby to a restaurant. Parents need to eat too! I have already taken the little one out to eat twice, the first time he was only 2 months old and he was fine. Second time was a little over a month ago and again, no incident. Plus we are going at the 6 o'clock hour so it won't be crowded at all. It will definitely be interesting when the little one gets old enough to actually eat when we go out! A little less than two months until he starts solids. I plan on making my own baby food and using organic jar food as a backup. My mom already told me "I'm not making any food." Um okay...I figured I would just send him with some already made food and some jars for backup. Anyway, that's all for now! Thank you to the 3 people who actually follow this blog. I appreciate your readership! :)

The Papa's role

My little guy just went down for a nap after a harrowing morning of crying and screaming. B tries to soothe him while I sleep BUT after like an hour of crying and screaming, I had to give him an A for effort and take over. For whatever reason, he hasn't quite mastered his role as a soother. It's natural for a mother to soothe her baby but for some men it can be a challenge. I was reminded of a poster on a forum I frequent saying that she delayed having a baby for awhile because she couldn't get over the inequality of responsibility between mother and father. I mean purely by biology, the baby depends on the mother more from day 1. Breastfeeding as a prime example. I am realizing this more and more. My own mother makes little remarks sometimes about my father's minimal role in our childhood and how he now has "finally joined the family". She even commented that he probably only changed me and my brother's diapers twice. B claims the baby just feels more comfortable with me as his maman. That I am softer and he is just is more attached to me naturally. I think I am going to develop a 30 minute rule: If B can't successfully soothe the baby in 30 minutes, I will take over. Because an hour of screaming, fussing and crying is horrible. I mean, the stress that put on the baby's nervous system and the stress on me and B... B is getting some well deserved sleep right now. Oh parenthood... Last night we rushed to finish dinner before the baby woke up from his nap. Sometimes we take turns eating while one of us holds the baby. He looks like such a little angel when he sleeps...no one would guess he would be capable of raising such a ruckus! Anyway he is up now so I better hurry up and eat breakfast!

Interview Process with Homebirth Midwives

I am currently well into the process of interviewing homebirth midwives. So far B and I have interviewed 2 and we have one more interview on Monday. Between you and me, the one we interviewed yesterday is our pick, hands down. She is the midwife my doula used and my doula just raves about her. In fact the midwife and the doula rave about each other! We just sensed more of a spiritual and emotional vibe from the 2nd midwife, which we like. B has been really stepping up to the plate in regards to the whole homebirth thing. He made a long list of questions to ask the midwives. I was like "Okay you can run the show! I have pregnancy brain!" LOL! I can't believe we are planning a homebirth; it seems so surreal. I actually really want a waterbirth but we will see how that works out. My doula is the only person I know who has had a homebirth so this is pretty new to both me and B. I know B's family and my family are going to be like "Say what?" when we tell them about our plans. It should be interesting. I think yesterday I was dehydrated or something because this morning I drank like 32 ounces of water in a matter of 20 minutes. It was pretty humid outside yesterday and I did go to the gym but I had a bottle of gatorade with me. I can't workout with weights without some sort of sports drink these days or I feel weak. I am SO excited to be going on vacation! August is really going to be a vacation month for me since it looks like I will be on vacation more days than I will actually work. I need it though! I am almost 7 and a half months and this back pain is no joke! And rush hour subway rides get on my last nerves, especially the evening commute. But people have actually been giving up their seats happily as of late. My bump is undeniable at this point and apparently some people would prefer not to see a pregnant lady suffer through the evils of mass transit. :) The other day when B and I had just finished interviewing with a midwife, we had planned to walk home but my bladder had other plans. We had to end up catching a bus for an embarrassingly short walk home. But I just couldn't take it! I had to get home and FAST! Me and my Snoogle slept pretty well last night although I have to switch positions several times a night. Hopefully I will be able to post some recent pics of my bumpalicious tummy soon!

Sleepy Times

Lately I can't get enough sleep. Last night I went to bed at probably 9:30 or so and I woke up at 7:30 this morning. 10 hours of sleep! It's such a challenge finding a comfortable position these days, even with the Snoogle pillow. And I also get too hot and then too cold during the night. Morning workouts are like a joke these days. I have been going to the gym more and more in the evening. It feels better because I throw on my clothes right when I get home from work and head to the gym. The exercise in the evening gives me energy and makes me feel good after being at work all day sitting at my desk. I will probably have to continue with evening workouts on most days since mornings have become ROUGH in this last trimester. I am so looking forward to my two week vacation coming up. A friend from Martinique is coming so it will be an active NYC vacation. I already made a list of some things that we could do while she is here. As long as I have a few snacks and a bottle of water in my bag, we should be good. I am going to pretend to be a tourist. Other than the annoyance of the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, everything else should be fun. On the days it's really hot, I will suggest indoor stuff like museums, movies, or maybe a trip to the beach. Apparently we are in for another heatwave starting this weekend, fun times for the pregnant lady! And it's the worst being on the subway when it's extra hot. All those people, all that funk (NYCers please your get your hygiene in check!) and a barely air conditioned subway car make for a horrible evening commute for little ole me.
Still don't have a name for this little baby...

Pregnancy Overload

Right now I am sort of feeling overwhelmed by this whole pregnancy thing. Just because I feel like every waking moment something to do with being pregnant has to enter my mind. Hiring and interviewing a midwife, childcare, maternity leave, etc... These are the things that wake me up in the middle of the night. I am banning myself from buying or borrowing anymore pregnancy books, I want to read something that has nothing to do with childbirth and babies. I am in the mood for a good sci-fi novel actually. Only thing that gives me relief lately is the weather; it's nice and cool outside which I love. During the heat wave, I was having trouble sleeping because I was so hot. I even shunned my Snoogle for awhile because I just felt too hot to touch anything. Meanwhile, it seems like I can't get enough sleep. I have been averaging like 10 hours of sleep lately. Tonight I have to go to the gym because I just couldn't get up this morning. As long as I go tonight and tomorrow morning, I will have met my goal for gym attendance for the week. I may even put in extra credit on Saturday morning, for some reason going to the gym on Saturday morning puts me in a great mood. I spoke to my doula for a long time yesterday; she's awesome and I love the fact that she is a young mother; she had her son last October. She really helps me and reassures me. She is having a doctor come and speak at her store about alignment in pregnancy on Saturday afternoon. It's free so I'm game. My back is all messed up, especially the right side. Yesterday, I had a little pregnancy weight gain freak out. I mean it's been so hot lately, I know I was probably retaining some water but I still freaked out. This morning my weight was back to "normal", reflecting a 11.5 weight gain since December/January. I have tried to come to terms with the fact that I may end up gaining as much as 25 pounds, which to me sounds like SO much. According to my BMI before getting pregnant, a 15-25 pounds weight gain would be appropriate for me. I was about 7 pounds overweight before. I was wishing so hard to only gain 15 pounds, but considering I am at the 11.5 mark now with 3 months to go, I can't imagine not getting to at least 20 pounds. It seems like a lot of women end up gaining a lot more than 25 pounds these days due to poor diet, sedentary lifestyle and "cravings", so I guess I should consider myself lucky that I am still in control although I will admit I ate a cookie last night. One cookie and it was really good. One thing I really indulge in on a daily basis is fortified Eden Soymilk. I love it because it is a great source for calcium, folate, B12 and protein. I know protein is something I struggle with so I definitely drink the soymilk pretty liberally; one serving has 11 grams of protein. I also like the carob flavor they sell too. I know some pregnant women eat like a pint of ice cream everyday. I would feel gross if I ate a pint of soy ice cream every night. The baby is squishing my stomach so I feel like stuffing myself with anything would be asking for trouble. I like to feel energized after I eat, not sluggish and bloated. Even drinking too much can cause that not so great feeling. Anyway, it's Thursday, almost the weekend and only one more week after that until I get to take a nice vacation. It's not the wonderful vacation abroad that I had planned but I do intend on making the most of it and doing stuff in the city and its environs and attending summer events that I would normally be too tired to go to. I wonder what's on the menu for lunch today?
Pickles and ice cream is definitely NOT on the menu! Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! LOL! Later people!

Glucose Tolerance Test and Snoogle Salvation

I haven't updated in about a week, because I guess I really had nothing to talk about. Today I had to go in to do the glucose tolerance test, GTT, to see if I have gestational diabetes. I REALLY don't think I have it, considering how little weight I have gained(at the 8 pound mark at 6 and a half months) and my exercise habits. But we will soon know definitively next Thursday at my appointment. So many women dread this test but to me it's more annoying than dreadful. I just hated having to sit there for an hour. Basically you drink this orange liquid glucose which basically tastes like flat orange soda, not bad at all. And then after an hour they draw your blood to see how much your glucose level has gone up based on the drink. I have done this test a few different times, actually I believe I did a 5 hour glucose tolerance test when I was 10 that involved hourly blood AND urine samples so this was a piece of cake. I just sat in the waiting room and read "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" by the country's leading midwife, Ina May Gaskin. I am really looking forward to using the birthing center at St. Luke's Roosevelt so hopefully my blood sugar is all good. What also sucked about the test was that I couldn't have any juice or fruit before it. So now I am totally getting down with some organic grapes as I type.

I am totally feeling good these days. A couple of weeks ago I was having trouble sleeping because I am a stomach sleeper for real and for obvious reasons I have to temporarily abandon that practice. So I was in insomnia hell, unable to find a comfortable position on either of my sides. And then came...the Snoogle! Ladies and Gentlemen, the Snoogle has saved my life. Well not really but it is really comfy and allows me to have a good night's sleep! Before, the side sleeping made my back hurt and I was just an insomniac by night and a zombie by day. Now with the Snoogle, not only do I feel comfortable but I fall asleep easily. Last night I was looking forward to watching the Family Guy at 7:30 and the Hell's Kitchen finale at 9 but I didn't even make it to 7:15! I was out like a light and didn't really get up until 4 am. I felt fresh to go the gym and get to work. Thanks Snoogle! I even made a theme song about the Snoogle to the tune of the Flipper television theme song: "They call you Snoogle, Snoogle...." Okay so I have to work on the lyrics but suffice to say that the Snoogle is a knocked up girl's best friend!