I too got to do a dry run at Labor & Delivery last night. I got rear-ended by a really old lady driving way too fast way to late at night. I was actually on my way to dinner with Emily when it happened. Luckily everything was fine, and they didn't even make me stay the requisite 4 hours, so I was able to get home pretty fast. I think that makes 2 out of 5 for us that have been in fender-benders though--not really good odds.

Tom made fun of me when I bought my SUV because I insisted on getting the tow package, even though we don't actually own anything we can tow. It's just one of those things my parents always had on their cars, so I decided I needed it on mine. But it turns out the trailer hitch soaked up the impact, so my bumper wasn't even damaged. I just love when I'm right! :)

We also got to scope out a few of the items we would need to take with us that we wouldn't normally think about. For example, I still had on my high heels from work and had no socks. The thought of having to walk on the hospital floor barefoot just grossed me out--so I will be carrying socks everywhere I go for the next 7 weeks.

The baby really did not like those monitors though. She kept kicking right in the areas where they had the monitors on me. I am just so excited that I get to meet her soon--I have a feeling the next 7 weeks are going to drag by!

--Amanda

Fun with Pumpkins!

My family really gets into carving pumpkins, and my sister-in-law Dyane even organized a carving contest for us this year. Here's my entry, plus a picture of an adorable shirt I got this year. I'll only have so many chances to wear it, but it was worth it. ~Andrea

Round Ligament Pain

I don't know if you've all experienced it or not, but if you have, I'm sure you will agree that it SUCKS! I had a few pains in the beginning of my second trimester but it was infrequent enough that it didn't bother me too much. And then, as I got further into my second trimester it started happening every day, sometimes a few times a day! I tell you what, ouch!!!! Now that I'm into my third trimester it has subsided some, but definitely not completely. At my last doctor's appointment, I asked her if labor/contractions were anything like round ligament pain. She assured me that it was not, which for some reason gave me such relief. But she made sure that I new that that didn't mean labor was going to be pain-free, just a different kind of pain.

Hopefully the pain will continue back to infrequency. If you haven't experienced it yet, I would say hopefully you won't, but it does serve a purpose to ready our bodies for labor and delivery so I guess it's a good thing.

-Emily

swine flu

Somebody mentioned this in a comment and I was curious, who is getting the H1N1 shot and/or the flu shot? I am in my third trimester, with a month left to go and work at a university. I am in all the "must get one" categories, and have decided not to get one right now. Every time I see a doctor they are pushing one or both shots (even though we do not have the H1N1 vaccine yet) and the whole thing makes me nervous. It isn't so much that I think it is going to do permanent damage to me and my baby...but just all the unknowns out there and I am so close to actually having the baby. I have never gotten the flu shot before, and my mom, I just found out, is allergic to it. Then there is the whole other factor that just because I get the shot, doesn't necessarily mean that my baby gets the benefits. And then my mom (who works at an OB) said that if you get the regular flu shot, you should wait 4 weeks to get the H1N1 shot...there is just too much information and nothing seems to sound legitimate, and it all just seems like they are trying to scare you into getting the shot. So basically I am rambling, but this is all the stuff that is floating around in my head. So for right now, I am washing my hands ALL THE TIME, which isn't that difficult since I am pregnant and am always in the bathroom :) and using Purell constantly. If it gets really bad and there is an "outbreak" at work, then I will reconsider...what about everybody else?

Mel

expecting the unexpected

Last week I went in for my (now weekly) o/b appointment to have a routine screening for the Strep B virus. The appointment itself was nothing super exciting or nerve-wracking; just a simple swab of my nether-regions and a flu shot and I was sent on my way until the next week (tomorrow, actually, when I will get "checked" for the first time!). A few days later, I got a call from the doctor's office and was informed that my results came back positive for the virus. Now, I feel that I have stayed pretty well informed about my pregnancy as it's been happening, but I can honestly say I had no idea what it meant that I had this "vagina virus", as Emily and I decided it should be called. The woman who called assured me that my doctor would talk to me more about it at my next appointment, but that really all that needed to happen is that I would be on IV antibiotics throughout my labor, especially after any rupture of membranes.

Of course I was unsatisfied with such a small amount of information so decided to risk the scare-factor and do some online research. Turns out that about a third of women are carriers of the virus, which is only occasionally active and can lay dormant for long periods of time. With antibiotics during labor, there is only a 1 in 4000 chance that the baby will contract the virus, and even then only about 5% of those rare cases have any serious consequences. Even without antibiotics the chances are relatively small (I think it was about 1 in 300). While I had heard of the virus screening and knew I would have it done in the late third trimester, I had no idea that it was such a common occurrence. I wonder how many of us will turn out to be Strep B positive?

I was a bit disappointed at first to have to be hooked up to an IV, and of course worried about even the tiniest chance that I could get my little one sick, but my mom reminded me to look at this as a lesson. There will be plenty of things during labor, delivery, taking care of a newborn, and of course raising a child that will be unexpected or anxiety-inducing. Our job as new parents are to make the decisions that are best for our child and roll with the punches as they come. We might not always be prepared or have read the latest book or online article telling us exactly what will happen next, but we can start to trust our instincts and know that we are empowered to make choices that will shape the lives of a new human being! And while sometimes I'm sure that will be terrifying, it is also, for lack of a more articulate way of expressing it, really cool.

-Greer

Oh the joys of the 3rd trimester...

Well, I woke up Thursday morning with the worst leg cramp I have ever had in my life. It lasted at least a minute or two (which doesn't seem like long now but at the time seemed like an eternity). Not a great way to start off the day. After being doubled over in pain for several minutes, and then barely able to walk for a few days because my leg was so sore, Tom reminded me that this is just a leg cramp and I'm about to go through childbirth. I guess I'll be needing that epidural after all!!!

Also, I cannot seem to focus on ANYTHING these days. I'm normally a list person, but now I have to have like three different lists just to keep everything straight. I'm constantly starting something and then not finishing it because I get distracted by something else and totally forget what I was originally working on. I actually went to the grocery store recently with a list, carried the list all the way through the store, and then still forgot something that was on the list the whole time! I really hope this does not continue post-pregnancy.

--Amanda

Overwhelmed

Adam and I figured that now that we know we are having a little boy, it was time to register! I kept going over in my head what a fun day it would be. I was trigger happy 6 years ago for our wedding, and now I get to scan my little heart away with cute baby things. What could possibly go wrong!?! It wasn't that anything went wrong. It was just all so overwhelming! How many washcloths do we actually need? Will we go through that many sets of crib sheets? Do we go with the stroller system or a normal car seat? And baby proofing! I didn't even want to think about how many outlet covers we would need for this house. I ended up completely overwhelmed with sore feet and a feeling of inadequacy that poor Adam had to deal with the rest of the night (and into this morning.) I'm sure it will all work out, and luckily I have you all to bounce ideas off of. Let me know if there's anything you regret registering for, or that you wish you could go back and put on a few more items.

On a very happy note, our baby boy has a name! Isaac Bishop Coleman. He is a very active little man. Like clockwork he starts practicing his golf swing at 9:15 every morning. His favorite spot is with his feet right up at the top of my tummy. I'm sure that when he's bigger he'll be kicking my ribs to no end. It really is the coolest feeling though. I can't wait until Adam can feel it also. I'm sure any week now he'll get to feel his little gymnast in action.

~Andrea