Alex Lawley: Pregnancy UpdatesAlex Lawley: Pregnancy Updates
Well, now that we know for sure that we're expecting a new little Lawley in September (right around Mom's birthday, in fact!), it's time for me to start the pregnancy update process again.This time, not only will the updates fill family mailboxes, they'll also be turned into monthly columns for a new online magazine that my company is launching--the Alabama Online Journal!
There's not much to report yet other than that I've decided to return to the Birmingham CNM practice (the OB/GYNs here in town get worse all the time...), and that I'm starting to feel the first signs of "morning" sickness again. (I *wish* it was confined to the morning! :-)
My first appointment with the midwives isn't scheduled until February 23rd, but in the meantime I'm trying to eat healthy, reduce stress, and get enough sleep. Gerald's been wonderful about cooking me good meals, and sending me to bed early--I don't know what I'd do without him!
Lane, precocious child that he is, now knows that we're going to have a "nudder baby," that the baby is coming in September, and that he's going to get a race car bed as a result. He has no idea what any of those things mean, of course, but it's great fun hearing him recite them.
Business has been hectic, which makes it hard for me to reduce stress and get enough rest
, but I'm trying to charge more and do less, which seems the secret to success. We'll see if it works. love to all,
Liz(p.s. suggestions for gender-neutral names are welcome. Currently on the short list are Alex and Jamie.)
Well, I've had my first visit with the midwives, and all went well. They've added a new midwife (the one who delivered Lane is gone now; her husband got a grant elsewhere), and she seems quite nice.While we're still not 100% sure of due date, my guess of 8-10 weeks along was pretty close, based on their exam. That means the baby would come somewhere around the 24th of September, or maybe a bit earlier. They'll do an ultrasound for dating purposes in about 6 weeks, so we'll have a better idea then. We did hear the heartbeat Friday, which was the high point of the visit; that's where it really starts to feel "real" for me. (it was 163, for those who want to track such things)
I've been feeling pretty worn out, and a little queasy, though not as sick as I was with Lane. And I'm done travelling for a while, which should help too.
Next visit isn't until late March, but I'll keep you all posted if there are any other exciting developments.
love,
Liz
Yes, it's time for another Lawley pregnancy update!We had our second appointment with the midwives on Friday the 22nd, and everything went really well.
There was a brief moment of concern when neither Donna nor Truus (the two midwives in the clinic Friday) could find the baby's heartbeat with the doptone device they use, so to reassure us all we did a quick sonogram (no technicians were available, so Donna did it herself). Turns out the placenta was across the whole front of my uterus and was making it difficult to hear the baby. However, s/he was *very* active, and we were able to see the four chamber heart beating, the developing spine, and (Donna thinks) a little penis as well! Of course, it's still too early to really be sure. I got one picture to take home, and it will go up onto the web page later today.
They were surprised to see how big my uterus and the baby were. Looks like I may be further along than the first estimates. They think maybe more like 15-16 weeks, rather than the 13-14 we'd been thinking based on the first exam. Since Donna was unfamiliar with the particular ultrasound equipment we were using, she wasn't able to get any measurements to verify dates. But I'll still have my "official" sonogram in three weeks (Friday, April 12), and I'll get more pictures then and some date estimates then. (And maybe more definite confirmation of the gender.)
I'm pretty sure I started feeling the baby move on the Ides of March (the 15th), so the later estimate sounds a little more accurate. That would put my due date closer to the 10th of September rather than the 24th. But who knows; maybe s/he'll split the difference and arrive on Linda's birthday (the 18th)! We'll keep you posted...
Lane's been coming to all the midwife appointments, and isn't quite sure what to make of them. When they were looking for the heartbeat Friday I think he picked up on the tension (and remembered his own fears about being prone on a doctor's table), and got pretty upset. All Friday night he kept wanting to "kiss Mommy's tummy," but I think we've reassured him that everything was fine. I really want him to come to the visits because his last doctor's visit was really scary for him, and I want him to see that not *everybody* cries when they go to the doctor!
Gerald and I have about settled on a name, too. As with last time, we wanted to pick one name that could be used for a girl or for a boy. And we're continuing the no middle name tradition. So, this baby's name will be Alex Lawley. And since we have both a name and picture, it seemed as though it was time to put up a web page! You can see the sonogram picture, read through past updates, and look at some of my favorite online pregnancy-related links at this address:
http://www.itcs.com/elawley/baby/The page will go up later on today, after I've finished adding all the links.
Love to all...stay in touch!
Liz
Yes, it's time once again for a Lawley pregnancy update. This one is actually being composed several thousand feet above the ground, as I wing my way to Miami for a short (24 hour) business trip. (No, I haven't plugged my modem into the in-flight telephone; I use my Eudora e-mail software to read and respond to messages while I'm off the 'net, and then send all the outgoing mail when I actually do connect from my hotel room.)On Friday, I had my dating ultrasound as well as an appointment with the midwives. Since Gerald had already seen the first ultrasound, and since Lane wouldn't have dealt well with 3+ hours in the Clinic (US at 11, midwife at 1), I was accompanied by my 19-year-old stepdaughter, Erin, who's also asked to attend the birth. (I told her she ought to have a long talk with her dad, first, to be sure she knows what she's getting into from the observer/vented-upon perspective!)
The US went wonderfully. Although we were only in there for 10 minutes (we got it all on videotape, which is how I'm sure about the amount of time), the tech was thorough and very helpful, pointing out all the major organs and body parts. I think it was short because Alex was very helpful, turning somersaults and showing us good views of everything we wanted to see.
We were able to see all four chambers of the heart, in good shape and beating strongly, as well as the spine, stomach, bladder, brain, and....yes, another penis. Pretty unmistakable; he gave us a bottoms-up, legs-apart view that left little doubt. So I'm going to be outnumbered in our household--something that both my Dad and Mark can probably relate to!
It was a great relief to see that everything's going well, and that the baby seems quite healthy. It was also nice to finally get at least an approximate due date, since I had no idea when in September I'd actually conceived. Yes, this one was planned--kind of. We weren't trying *not* to conceive, but we weren't timing cycles, etc. And December was a bit hectic, so I really wasn't keeping close track at all. At any rate, the estimated due date is September 20th...looks as though Mom should get an extra-special present around her birthday this year. (Especially if Alex, like Lane, arrives two days before his date.)
The appointment with the midwife was far less enjoyable. I saw the one of the three that I was least fond of last time. And though I tried to keep an open mind this time, I was still really put off. She's *very* negative in her demeanor and her interactions, doesn't like to make eye contact, and generally wasn't the kind of person I'd want to have around during labor. The only time she opened up at all was to tell me how rotten all four of her birth experiences had been (scopolamine slipped to her without her permission on #1, no medication despite--in her words--"excruciating pain" with #2-4). Even Erin got a bad impression. Last time I asked the head of the practice (who's since left, and been replaced by a really nice woman) to make sure that this one didn't deliver Lane, and even though she was on duty, the head of the practice stepped in in her place. I'll probably do the same thing this time.
Next visit will be in about four weeks; sometime between now and then I should get back the results of the AFP screening. (A higher-than-normal result could mean neural tube defects, like spina bifida, although the US results made that look very unlikely; a lower-than-normal result can be an indicator of Down's, and they might then want to do additional testing.) Now that I know that everything looks good, I'm less worried about this test, but I'll let everyone know when I hear.
Greetings, all. There's not much to report this time, which is probably for the best. I'm healthy, and the baby appears to be healthy as well. My AFP screen came back normal, my blood pressure is staying low, and my weight gain (so far) is on the low side (which is good, since I started out a little overweight).I'm officially past the halfway point, and I'm definitely starting to look pregnant. (In fact, at 5 months I already as big as I was at 6+ months last time; it's a good thing I already had a stash of maternity clothes!)
We're starting to think more about how to prepare Lane for the big event. Of course, it helps that Mom will be here, and we'll be living next door to my in-laws--there'll be plenty of people around to give him attention. But we want to be careful to make him feel a part of all this without overwhelming him.
Dad sent us a neat book called "From one child to two," which has some useful ideas in it. And my lawyer, a woman who has 4 children under the age of 8, has also been passing along some great tips. But just as there was no way to really know what effect Lane would have on our lives until he was born, there's no way for us to know how Alex is going to affect Lane's life.
The weather down here is already starting to get a bit hot and muggy; it's going to be a loooong hot summer. I told Gerald that my only condition for us moving out to the farm in Lawley was that we get a pool, even if it's an inexpensive one. I think I'm going to want to do a lot of wallowing this year!
Hope everybody's doing well. We'll let you know if and when there's any news.
All's well on that front, despite the fact that I had a *big* weight gain during the fifth month. (The same thing happened with Lane; I had one month with a big jump, then I evened out again.) Overall, my weight gain is only 13 pounds, but *8* of those were this month! I think the moving contributed to that...too many pizzas and fast food meals. Now that we have to cook most of our meals ourselves, I'll be able to get back on track.I had my glucose tolerance test Tuesday to check for any signs of gestational diabetes, and since I haven't heard back, I'm assuming I checked out fine. That's the last of the screening tests, I think, although they may have added a test for Group B strep towards the end of the pregnancy, per recent CDC recommendations.
I'm definitely showing a *lot* more at this point than I did at the same point with Lane. Stomach muscles? What stomach muscles??? ;-) But the only real complaint I've got at present is recurrent sciatic pain. Truus (my favorite of the midwives) says that the baby is transverse right now (lying sideways), so perhaps when gravity forces him out of that position the sciatica will ease up. Then again, maybe not. :-(
I'm writing this while airborne between Minneapolis and Cincinnati, on my way to the ALA (American Library Assn) conference in NYC. I saw most of you yesterday and this morning at Josh's Bar Mitzvah, so there won't be a lot of "news" in this update. However, in the interest of preserving an electronic record of this pregnancy, and for the few of you who haven't seen me lately, I'm sending this out when I get to the hotel!All of my screening tests have come back fine. Turns out my midwives don't currently screen for Group B strep, unless their new supervising doctor changes procedures (which they're hoping she'll do) so I'm pretty much done with all my testing at this point.
Now that I've passed the 28-week mark, it's time to step up my visits to every two weeks. Hard to believe I'm already into my third trimester, and that "D-Day" is barely over 2 months away! I'll be sending out brief updates after my visits during these next few months; hopefully the pregnancy will continue to be uneventful, and there won't be much to report!
This trip to NY is my second-last of the pregnancy--I get back on Wednesday, spend a week at home, and then go to Fort Smith, AK, for three days of training public librarians. I get home the night of the 20th--exactly two months before my due date--and then I'm grounded until after the baby comes. (And probably longer than that for business, since I plan on nursing until at least the end of the year.)
Hard to believe we're this close to the D-Day already. Actually, not that hard for me to believe, considering how big and uncomfortable I am, and how *very* active Alex has become despite his cramped quarters. I think nature must plan it this way, so as to make pregnant women as aware as possible that they need to start getting their houses in order for the arrival of the new baby.I'm already starting to feel some of the "nesting" instinct kicking in; I keep finding myself with the urge to clean every tile in the bathroom, or vacuum behind the washer and dryer. :-) Luckily, this time around there's a lot less baby-specific preparation to do, since we already have all the baby gear sitting in storage ready to go. Sometime this month we'll go retrieve the bassinet and some 0-3 month-sized clothes, so that we're ready to hit the ground running. I keep having the feeling that this baby's going to arrive early, though Gerald claims that's just wishful thinking on my part. (Given the heat and humidity we've got here at the moment, it would be hard to blame anyone for wanting to think optimistically about the timeline.)
What's taking most of our time and energy, however, is getting Lane ready for the baby. Specifically, we've been working on a sleep retraining program. Lane had gotten very used to sleeping with his Daddy--for naps and at night. Not only did this result in restless nights for both of them, along with lots of juice bottles and diaper changes during the night, it also resulted in me moving to another bed because I didn't want to spend the night being kicked by an active toddler.
So, last week we got serious about getting Lane to sleep in his own bed. If you'd asked me over the weekend how it was going, I wouldn't have sounded very optimistic. However, by Monday things had drastically improved, and not only is he now going to sleep without the 1/2 to 1 hour of heartbreaking tears, he's actually sleeping all the way through the night!! It's pretty amazing. I used a modified version of the methods suggested in Ferber's book "Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems," and it seems to be quite effective. Instead of advocating "crying it out," Ferber suggests letting the child cry for a set period of time (starting with 5 minutes and increasing the intervals) before going in to briefly comfort him, and then leaving. The key seems to be striking the right balance between reassuring him that you're not abandoning him, but also letting him learn to fall asleep by himself, in his own room.
So, now that we're all getting full nights of sleep (well...mine is interrupted pretty regularly by the diminishing space for my bladder), and I've moved back into my bed, we're all feeling pretty good about life. :-)
On the health front:
* My midwives have told me that although they're not yet routinely testing for Group B strep, they'll be doing a test for me--mainly to try to make sure that we don't have to go through another NICU stay if we can avoid it this time! I was glad to hear that...it's one less thing for me to worry about.
* My iron has been a little on the low side, but the midwives think I can up it with dietary changes rather than supplements (other than my prenatal vitamins, which I'm now being religious about taking).
* We're looking into some refresher classes for breathing techniques, etc. There's an instructor in Birmingham who does classes in her home, so we're going to check into that. If that doesn't pan out, we'll probably have to settle for videotapes.
We'll keep you posted on developments...but I'll probably only post one more update before the big event.
It's August in Alabama...not a great time and place to be pregnant! But I'm surviving.I've been having some trouble with dizziness, which nobody seems to be able to target the source of. It doesn't seem to be iron levels (tested fine), blood sugar (I'm eating every two hours, lots of protein and complex carbos), or dehydration (I'm drinking *gallons* of water). My best guess at this point is low blood pressure (I tend to run 100/60 most of the time, but it may be dropping a bit when I've been on my feet for a while) combined with the local heat. It's most problematic because I no longer feel safe driving to Tuscaloosa and back myself, which causes some real scheduling problems. [Nancy, if you have any ideas as to what might be causing/contributing to this, I'd love to hear them!]
After I nearly passed out last week in WalMart (and took myself to the hospital to be checked out), my midwives did an internal exam and found that I'm not dilated or effaced, but that my cervix is very "ripe." Their guess is that I won't last the full five weeks 'til my "official" due date; I sure hope they're right!
Nesting instincts are setting in; I've been alphabetizing CDs, washing tiny little baby clothes (retrieved from storage this week), and generally acting like someone soon to give birth. Maybe just wishful thinking. On the other hand, I'm also feeling terribly unprepared--I"m not sure why!
We've scheduled a session with a Birmingham-area childbirth educator for 8/30; she's supposed to be quite good. She doesn't subscribe to any particular method (and says that much of her reason for that is that all the popular ones were designed by men, and she doesn't put much stock in their knowledge of birthing!). She recommended that we read the book "A Good Birth, A Safe Birth" before the class, and I got and read it this week. Great book. And it really helped me understand why things may have gone the way they did during Lane's birth. This time around I *really* want to avoid having my water broken artificially (amniotomy), and having an epidural. Gerald's not thrilled about the idea of me being in pain (can't say I'm thrilled, either), but my clearest memories from Lane's birth are being completely terrified when his heart rate started dropping way down, and I think that both the amniotomy and the epidural played contributing roles in that. I'd much rather deal with some short-term pain than that kind of fear about Alex's well-being during labor.
Well, that's about it for now. I'll keep you all posted if anything interesting occurs!
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