So much has happened in the past 3 weeks! JJ and I attended our first and second Child Birthing classes out at Winter Park Hospital. On Saturday, November 13th we went to an all day seminar learning all about the child birth process (natural, medicated and c-sections), some breathing and relaxation techniques and other general baby knowledge. On the 22nd of November we attended the Child Care class offered by the hospital. This was a much shorter class consisting of bathing, diapering and comforting techniques. I know it sounds so simple and a lot of people wonder why we decided to take these classes, but they are fun and JJ and I really have learned some helpful things so far. Since we are so new to all of this, we want to know everything going into it. We have two more classes in December, and we are really looking forward to those.
Working on preparing for babies arrival we went to Babies R Us with Anthony’s Mom-Mom (my Mom) and picked out his nursery furniture. We chose the crib and changing table from the Palisades collection in a Cherry Wood color. We will be using a dresser that his Mom-Mom had when she was growing up, and was then passed down to me in bedroom as a little girl too. We will have fun in the next few weeks painting and decorating it to match his fire nursery theme.
We cannot wait to set up his room, which we spent two whole days cleaning and organizing! For the time being he will share his nursery with our home office, but we really condensed it. There’s only the desk with the computer in there, leaving plenty of room for all of Anthony’s furniture. Shortly after he arrives we will be searching for a bigger house to live in. But we figure he’ll be such a little guy for a while, he won’t know the difference anyways.
I had my 31 week appointment on Tuesday, November 23rd. Although it wasn’t my best experience at the office, we were happy to hear Anthony’s heartbeat, as always. We were really rushed through the appointment from start to finish and left kind of upset and with our questions unanswered. The medical assistant who took my weight didn’t even bother to adjust the scale, making me heavier than I actually was at the appointment. However, according to her assessment, I have gained 2lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight. (Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t be unhappy if that was the case, it’s just the principal.)
We also briefly discussed my working options. It appears as though December 15th will be my last day on the job before going out for Maternity Leave. It’s getting far too difficult to be on 24 hour shifts, running all sorts of crazy calls at all hours of the day and night, and I feel bad having to rely so heavily on my partner and the fire department for assistant. The lifting requirements for my job are 150lbs at any given time. Just the stretcher with our equipment makes up that weight, so throw a patient into the mix and the number sky rockets. Luckily, I’ve had a great partner for the second half of this pregnancy and other colleagues who have really helped me out, but I feel like they shouldn’t have to do extra work because I’m just not able to do it anymore. Also, my limbs are swelling so bad after a shift that I’m stuck resting the whole next day. Not to mention, the lack of sleep is really starting to get to my brain. Overall, the stress and physical requirements just aren’t worth the risk to Anthony or me. He could come really early if I continue any longer than that, and we want him to bake as long as possible. It puts me out at 35 weeks, which is around the norm for my field.
The other night JJ (and Jenny) put the stroller together and we tested the car seat in both our vehicles. We were a little concerned the seat wouldn’t fit in my Ion being that it was a larger model carrier, but to our surprise it fits just fine. I test drove it around for a few days. :)
We celebrated Thanksgiving surrounded by lots of family. JJ worked until 2:30pm, so I went and watched the Macy’s parade with Mom and Pierson, and then went to my Dad’s house for lunch, and then back to Mom’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. JJ’s family joined us this year, which was a nice treat. The food was amazing, and Anthony really seemed to enjoy the desserts, especially his Mom-Mom’s White Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake.
How Mom is doing: Anthony is still a really active little guy! He moves around constantly and kicks/punches all day and night. I’m surprised he still has room to flip around in there, but he manages just fine. I’m convinced I have a few bruised ribs already. The heartburn has really been well managed with the Zantac, thank goodness. I can really tell when I miss a dose. Still no odd ball cravings. Sleep is still a major ordeal, and I suspect it won’t be getting any better anytime soon. I’m pretty uncomfortable these days, lots of back and hip pains. And it’s awfully hard to get up from a sitting or laying down position. I’ve also been having a ton of Braxton Hick’s contractions each day. Luckily they aren’t painful, just a little uncomfortable squeezing of my abdominal muscles.
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