Maternity Photos

Our photographer, Erin, emailed me this morning to let me know that she had our CD of maternity photos ready.  Of course I jumped at the opportunity to meet her as soon as possible.  Luckily she was going to be out running errands near my office today so I met her and her youngest daughter at lunch.

First I must say that her daughter is absolutely adorable!  She is two and has the prettiest blonde ringlets that were pulled into pigtails on top of her head.  She kept asking me if she could see the baby, something I have come to find is a common request among younger children.  I assured her she would see the baby in just over a month when Dunebuggy has her newborn photos done by her mom at their house.

As soon as I got back to the office I put the CD in my computer since I was so anxious to see all the photos.  After seeing the sneak peek on her blog I was so excited to see what other photos she had captured.  However, I was not at all expecting to see what I saw on the CD.  When I had first contacted Erin she told me the CD with the package we purchased would have about 40 edited photos.  The CD she gave me today had over 100 edited images!

There are too many to post them all, but here are some of my favorites.

You can view more pictures on Erin's blog at http://erinnoeldesigns.blogspot.com/2011/03/tracy-maternity-photoshoot.html

Or you can view all of the photos on our Mobile Me site at

http://gallery.me.com/brandonstepp6

I can't wait for her to do Dunebuggy's pictures!

34 Weeks

Today is 34 weeks.  Wow, only 6 weeks left!  I am getting very excited about the arrival of Dunebuggy!  I can't wait to hold her and see the little baby that has been moving around inside my belly for so long now.

I keep thinking about what she will look like.  I wonder if she will have my big head or Brandon's strong jaw.  Or maybe she'll have both!

My feet started swelling today for the first time.  I wore some sandals to work today and kept kicking them off while I was sitting at my desk.  By the end of the day I could barely put them on.  I have heard that swelling can be a problem during the last months of pregnancy, I guess I am starting to experience that.  I think I might have to switch to flip flops from here on out if my work approves.

We got some excellent news in the mail yesterday.  The nurse practitioner we have been seeing at Kaiser sent a letter letting us know that my low lying placenta has resolved itself.  I am relieved that is one thing that we won't have to worry about now.

Brandon surprised me with a purchase he made one night while surfing the internet for Baby Stepp.  He got her some official Dunebuggy gear!  She now has a pink onesie and a bib that both sport pictures of dune buggies.  They are so awesome and I can't wait for her to wear them.

Brandon says he prefers the dune buggy on the onesie over the one on the bib.  I have to agree the one on the onesie looks more like a typical dune buggy, but I like them both!

Baby Shower

This past Saturday Shelby hosted a baby shower for me and Dunebuggy.  She was such a great host and everything was amazing!!  We began the shower at a nail spa near her house where we got pedicures. 

Me relaxing while my toenails dry.

 

Stacey and Tricia take a quick break from their pedicure for a photo.

I haven't had a pedicure since January and I don't know why I waited so long...it was heavenly!  With the exception of the occasional tickle it was so nice to be pampered.  My toes are a pretty pink now and I am determined to keep them looking good up until the arrival of Baby Stepp.

Happy feet!

After the pedicure we went to Shelby's house.  It was decorated beautifully!  Everything was decorated in pink and green and in the center of the tables she had beautiful bright pink and green flowers.  

On the walls she had hung quilt squares which I later learned my mom and sisters had sent for her to use in a quilt that she is going to sew for Dunebuggy.

Love the quilt idea!  I can't wait to see the final product.

We got crafty and decorated quilt squares to add to the collection on the wall.  Dunebuggy is going to love her quilt!

In the doorway, hung an adorable fabric banner that Shelby made for Baby Stepp.  It is now hanging up in her nursery and looks fabulous!

During the shower we stuffed our face with delicious treats that Shelby and her mom made.  There were sandwiches, bruschetta, shrimp crostinis, strawberries with strawberry marshmallow fluff, and mini cupcakes.  We washed it all down with sparkling raspberry lemonade...delicious!

 We ended the shower with gifts for Dunebuggy.  The first gift was from Tricia and was so amazing.  She had sewn pretty pink burp clothes which will most definitely come in handy.  In addition to the burp clothes she had sewn a Dunebuggy size Alabama Crimson Tide blanket along with a matching tutu!  She is going to be one stylish baby come football season.

The next gift was from Stacey.  Stacey actually attended the work shower and she had been told to not bring a gift but of course did so anyway.  She gave Dunebuggy the sweetest and softest blanket.  It is a white blanket with pink hearts and is trimmed with pink satin.  Dunebuggy is going to get a lesson on how to share early on in life because I am loving the blanket for myself.

The last gift was from Shelby and was a basket full of goodies!  There were bottles of various baby washes, lotions, oils, and powders.  She also included two swaddling blankets that we both had been eyeing for some time.  Being the crafty lady that she is, she made a wipe holder and several cloths out of fabulous fabrics.  I love that they are unique and nobody will have one that is the same.  The last item in the basket was a pair of nursing pajamas that we had seen while shopping for maternity clothes together.  We both fell in love with them because they were so soft and comfy looking.  I can't wait to wear them, I am going to break them in now so they will be even softer once I am nursing.

Tricia, Me, and Stacey.

Stacey, Tricia, Me, and Shelby.

Me and Shelby.

Overall the afternoon was unbelievable and I am so grateful to have such wonderful friends.  Those that couldn't make it missed out on an amazing shower!  Thank you Shelby for hosting the shower and making me feel so special and thank you Stacey and Tricia for celebrating such a joyous time with me.  Dunebuggy is one lucky little girl and I can't wait to meet her and introduce her to you all!

Getting organized...

I have slowly been trying to get all the baby clothes and accessories that we have accumulated these past few months into a more organized manner.  It was starting to get a little out of control and everything was just piling up in the closet!  I am nowhere near close to completing the organization project but I am off to a good start.  Once I go on maternity leave I will have a lot more time on my hands and can spend more time putting things in their place before she arrives.

This past week I began washing all of the newborn and 0-3 months clothing.  I figured those are going to be the ones we will use first so the others can wait for now.  Then I went to Target where I found small shoebox size rubbermaid containers to put in the dresser drawers.  I got the idea from a baby board I follow, when I saw a girl post pictures of her nursery.  I hadn't even considered how I was going to separate everything in the drawers but it makes perfect sense to use containers and three fit perfect in one drawer.  When you are dealing with tiny baby sized clothing organization is key!

Here are the first two drawers that I organized....

This drawer is the pajama and onesie drawer.  The far left container has Dunebuggy's pajamas.  The middle container has her newborn size onesies and the far right container has her 3 month onesies.

This drawer is the diaper and accessories drawer.  The far left container has her Thirsties diaper covers.  The middle container has all of her itty bitty socks.  The far right has other accessories such as hats and tutus.

As I complete the other drawers I will share more pictures.  I think in the long run all this organization will pay off.  Brandon asked me the other day why I hadn't done this with out drawers...ha!  Maybe if I get carried away I will move on to organizing our drawers next.

My good friend Shelby threw me the most amazing shower today!  She really went out of her way and made me feel so special.  I won't share all the details, as I am going to wait until she gets me the pictures she took to create a blog for it, but we had a much needed pedicure followed by delicious treats and girl talk at her house.  There were even some surprises at her house from my mom and sisters.  

Shelby made the most amazing fabric banner for Dunebuggy's room and as soon as I got home I had Brandon hang it over the armoire.  It looks amazing!!  Thank you Shelby for everything!

33 Weeks

Today is 33 weeks!  Dunebuggy is approximately 19 inches and 4.5 lbs, although the ultrasound last week had her weighing in at 4 lb 13 oz.  We'll just have to wait and see when she is born if she truly is a big baby or not!  According to my iPhone app, right now she is equivalent to a pineapple.  

I have been starting to have little discomforts (if not pains) here and there.  It's definitely a sign that Dunebuggy is getting bigger and putting more pressure on my body.  Getting out of bed is not as easy as it used to be.  I used to sit up to get out of bed, now it's become more of a roll out of bed which I am getting pretty good at considering I am up at least 3 times a night going to the bathroom.

I looked back at my earlier belly pictures the other day and was amazed at the changes my body has made.  When I took my 18 week photo I thought I had a respectable baby bump at the time.  Looking at it now I don't even look pregnant!

Brandon and I have always laughed at the TV shows and movies when they show a pregnant woman's belly.  We always thought it looked so fake, like they just strapped this huge belly on to the woman.  Now that we have seen what my belly looks like we both agree the TV and movies are doing a pretty good job of portraying bellies, because it certainly looks fake in real life.

We had our maternity pictures scheduled for Saturday evening, but have had to reschedule due to the massive amount of rain we have been getting this week.  The chance of rain during our pictures quickly jumped from a 30% chance to 100% so the photographer and I agreed it would be best to go ahead and change the time.  Now we will be taking our photos this upcoming Monday after work.  I am a little relieved as I am still unsure of what we will be wearing.  Now, I'll have a little more time to prepare.  I'm looking forward to getting them done and sharing them with you!

Creating a Birth Plan

Something I hadn't really considered until recently was creating a birth plan, which is basically a list of preferences for how we wish for our delivery to be carried out under normal circumstances.  Obviously, some of the preferences go out the window if something unusual should happen, but most of the articles that I've read say that having a birth plan going in is a good idea.

I have my own ideas of what my labor will be like, but before now, the thought of writing out a birth plan had never crossed my mind.  Luckily, Kaiser hands out generic birth plans to patients during their 3rd trimester.  It is broken down into different categories and you check off your preferences within each category.  After completing the birth plan, you take a copy to your monthly appointment and your caregiver puts the plan in your chart.  The idea is that when you're admitted, all the nurses and staff will review your chart and be aware of your wishes during labor.

I've become keenly aware that when it comes to the topic of birth and babies, people can be very opinionated.  I've encountered people (normally perfectly rational) that state their point of view in an overtly matter-of-fact way, as if to say "well isn't that cute...but it's wrong!".  We're certainly not qualified to write a book on birth and babies, but we're rational human beings who have consumed enough literature and consulted enough actual parents to where we have an idea of what our preferences are.  Our ideas may be 180 degrees from where they will be a couple of months from now, but we'll simply have to go down that road to find out.

Birth plans can be as simple or as complex as the parents want, but we just went with the pre-fabricated one published by Kaiser.  The five categories on this particular one are: Environment, Labor, Pain Management, Delivery, and Postpartum.  Brandon and I went through each preference and have completed my birth plan as follows:

Environment

- I would like the lights in the room to be lowered:  It just seems like any pain would be intensified with 4000 Watt ultra-white light shining on every moment.  Besides, who wants to be able to see that untimely zit, ashy elbows, or a stray gray hair on the happiest day of one's life?

Labor

- I would like to be out of bed as much as possible during labor (such as walking, rocking):  I dread the idea of being bound to the bed for 24+ hours.

- I prefer to have intermittent fetal monitoring:  Same as above; as long as Dunebuggy appears to be doing fine, there is no need to monitor every single contraction.  I think all of the bleeps & bloops might be quite annoying after a while.

- If I need to have an IV, I would prefer to have a saline lock (a plug for your IV needle): This would also allow mobility should I choose to move around.

- I would prefer that the amniotic membranes ("bag of waters") rupture naturally:  Brandon and I get mad at a show on the Discovery channel that shows a maternity ward where it seems like the fist thing they want to do is break the bag of waters.  The problem is that you basically have 24 hours from that moment. If contractions don't start soon, they'll administer pitocin to intensify contractions.  Ultimately, if you haven't delivered within 24 hours, they'll push a C-Section because of the risk of infection.  I hope this is not the case at Kaiser, but we'll have to see when we get there.

- I would like to meet the pediatric provider on duty if possible: Just in case there is a reason that she'll need some attention from the pediatrician after birth.  

Pain Management

- I am considering having an epidural or using pain medication, but will decide when I am actually in labor:  This topic tends to rate the strongest opinions from folks.  I have no idea how intense the pain will be, nor how well I'll handle it.  I would hope to be able to go all the way unmedicated, but I'm sure everyone would if it were easy.  That's why I want to keep an open mind and make the decision when the time comes.

Delivery

- I would like the option to be in a position other than lying on my back when I give birth if possible (such as semi-sitting, squatting, lying on my side, or on my hands and knees):  Trust me, I'm really not even remotely considering giving birth on my hands and knees, but should the mood strike, I guess I want to keep my options open.

- I would prefer that the baby be "lightly" dried off before being brought to me:  We discussed this one a lot, but ultimately decided that having her toweled off for 15 seconds wouldn't ruin the mother-child bond that is supposed to be formed quickly with skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth.  I'm sure I wouldn't mind the slimy bundle of joy thrust upon my chest, but why not have a slightly less slimy bundle instead.

- I would like to have Brandon Stepp cut the cord, if possible: If he is still conscious and in a vertical position.  

Postpartum

- I want all procedures that are done and all medications that are given to my baby explained to me before they are carried out by the medical staff:  I don't want to be a bother to the medical staff, but it seems like it would be nice to know these things.

- I would like to have the baby evaluated and bathed in my presence:  Sure, why not.

- If the baby must be taken from me to receive medical treatment, I would like Brandon Stepp to accompany the baby: Reference above statement regarding his state of lucidity and directional disposition.  

- I plan to exclusively breastfeed my baby while in the hospital:  I suppose that will tide her over until the mommy milk machine gins up.

- I would like additional information and support to help me learn to breastfeed effectively:  This is a no brainer.  I have no clue what I'm doing in this department, so I'll take all the advice I can get.

- I would like to be consulted before my baby is given water, formula, sugar water, or a pacifier:  I don't guess any of these things will hurt her, but I'd like to stick to the breast only plan if possible.

I will give our midwife a copy of the birth plan at our next appointment on April 15th.  I am really glad Kaiser offers the plan to their patients and hope other hospitals do the same.  It's not an all inclusive plan but it is a good start to get patients thinking about how they'd like their birthing experience to play out.

Preparing for Childbirth

Today Brandon and I attended the Preparing for Childbirth class through Kaiser.  The class covered the basics of what we need to know about childbirth and techniques to help relax during labor.  We began the class by performing introductions which included names, due dates, baby's gender, pain management preference, and our thoughts on what "birth" means to us.  There were 17 couples in the class.  Among them, 9 were having boys and 8 girls.  There were three categories for the medication preferences: Those who definitely planned to have an epidural (5), those who didn't want medication (6) and those who were undecided (6).  We were surprised there were fewer women planning to have an epidural than those who planned to go unmedicated.  I was in the undecided category which consisted of women who plan to see how they handle childbirth before deciding on whether to request an epidural.

After introductions we watched a video on the stages of labor.  It discussed what to expect  during each stage and how to tell that your labor is progressing.  There was so much information to take in.  I am glad that we were given handouts of the slides and other resource materials to help us remember everything once the time comes.  The one thing I do remember is that we should call the hospital to let them know we are on our way when contractions are one-minute long, three to five-minutes apart, for 1-2 hours or if my water breaks, whichever comes first.

The discussion of labor lead into the coaches/spouses role during the labor process.  Because we are going through this on our own with our families being so far away, Brandon and I are really going to have to work together.  It's exciting for us but scary at the same time.  We keep joking that Baylee will be my doula (birthing coach), however I don't think she will actually be of much assistance being that she's a dog and all.  She'll have to sit this one out and wait on the sidelines at home.  I know Brandon is a little nervous about helping me get through labor but I know he will do an excellent job and there is nobody else that I would want by my side more than him.

The most entertaining part of the morning was when Brandon got into a debate with the instructor about why they always say that the cervix is fully dilated at 10 centimeters, no matter the size of the woman.  The instructor said that it was one of those things like everyone having two feet and two eyes, it is just 10 centimeters for everyone.  He told her that her argument was illogical and said that while everyone has two feet, they're certainly not all the same size.  She then went on to say that the measurement was not an exact science, but more of a feel from the healthcare provider who was examining the cervix.  He stopped debating, but wasn't at all satisfied with the explanation.

The second half of the day covered epidurals and analgesics, cesarean sections, and relaxation techniques.  The majority of the information for epidurals and analgesics I had already learned in the Pain Management class I took last month.  There are pros and cons to getting an epidural.  One of the biggest cons for me is being restricted to the bed.  I would like to have the option to get up and move while I am in labor and once the epidural is administered you are not allowed to do so.  Another con, although not medically proven, is the chance that the epidural can slow the progression of labor thus extending the time I will be in labor.  I am keeping my stance of going in with an open mind and making a decision about medication at an appropriate time should I deem it necessary.

We ended with an instructional session on breathing techniques and positions to help cope with labor pain.  It was an interactive lesson as we passed around cards with pictures and performed the different positions as if we were actually in labor and having contractions.  I can imagine how some of the positions might be helpful, however some of the positions seemed downright awkward or uncomfortable.  My favorite positions were the ones that involved Brandon massaging my hands, back, or feet.  That may change of course once I find myself in actual labor.

We may not have learned everything we need to know about childbirth in a one day class but I am glad we went.  The class got us thinking about how we will handle certain situations and what we can do to better prepare ourselves.  Now my main focus for these next few weeks is to determine what relaxation method will work best for me so I can begin to practice and prepare myself for the big day!