Thursday, April 30, 2009

49 Days, Really?






I can't believe I only have 49 days left. This is now flying by.

I just got home from class number 4 out of 5 of our Labor and Delivery instruction. Tonight we learned different coping mechanisms with ice cubes. Let me explain. The moms held ice cubes in our hands for the length of a contraction and practiced the diffent ways to cope with this. Now I've never had the desire to hold a freezing cold ice cube in my hand, but it is annoying. What I learned is that my best coping mechanism is to visualize. I can put myself into another location and day dream. The easiest spots for me to visualize are Maui and Puerto Rico. These are two locations that I love and dream about being on a regular basis. Jason was able to hold a simple dixie cup up and I visualized a beach, me running, snorkeling, having a mai tai, relaxing and even myself tumbling down the waterslide at our favorite hotel in Maui. It was during this coping technique that I barely felt the ice cube freezing a hole into my hand. Now my least favorite was the mechanism that entailed nothing. This was me just sitting there with no one to hold my hand, talk to, or even soothe me. So I know what I want....a dixie cup!

Lyla is growing rapidly and moving even quicker. She's a shaker, and a dancer! She loves it when I sing, talk or just babble (which I tend to do). She's a little over 4 pounds now and I can sure feel it. Her weight makes it a bit harder to stand for prolonged periods. I've learned to sit in between seeing my patients if I can at work, and to drink lots of water and her favorite, juice. So, we are both growing and happy. Even our tulips outside are growing, God is amazing!

Last weekend was my first BABY SHOWER. It was so much fun and was so fast. It reminds me of a wedding, all that planning that people go through, the time, effort and excitment.... and then it's over in a matter of hours. I tried to savor every moment of it. This shower was thrown by my Office Manager and dear friend, Michele. She was so gracious to open up her house to nearly 15 girls from our office (almsot everyone at work!) including my sister Diana and cousin Rosanna. The most touching part of the shower was that each person wrote me a piece of advice for motherhood which included their picture. All of the words of wisdom will be bound into a book for me to cherish forever. It's the simple things I love, and this is one of them. Not to mention Lyla got some stylish gifts and even a hand held color video monitor so we can keep close tabs on her. I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful workplace and co-workers.

What's next? Life's whizzing by.... I have my friend/family Baby shower on Saturday! My sis Diana and Mother in law have been planning for months, no joke. They have thoguht of every detail and immersed themselves in making this a special day. We can't wait for it! I know Lyla's jumping for joy!!

Life is Good.
Ta Ta for now!
XO

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Watermelon





The other day I recieved the best compliement, "you look like a watermelon in that shirt!". It made me smile, and still makes me smile. Little Lyla is bulging out like a watermelon and the green striped shirt I was wearing really showed her off. Her movements are so distinct now that I can see her hands, feet and elbows moving against my stomach. It's an amazing sight! I love being pregnant with her. She's just a lovely little Angel.

Updates, Updates.... It's been hard to find time to write with being so busy so I'll do my best to update you on our life and Little Lyla's life as well. She officially has a pale pink room with beautiful chair rail and cherry wood furniture. Jason and I successfully put together the crib with my direction and his labor. Now we just need a mattress and some bedding to go in there!

We have completed one class of Labor and Delivery as well as a breastfeeding and day about baby class. A few of my highlights are:

"Pump and Dump": If I want to have wine I must pump it out of my system and dump it as well as wait about 10 hours to breastfeed, therefore I'll have to stock up on milk for those special events!

"Turn the Pump on Low at first": Moms, you'll understand this one...

The labor video the first night of class with a visual example of labor (i.e. a ribbed turtleneck, some of you know this story): This left everyone in class sitting with their mouths wide open!

Jason's wonderfully funny and wise questions: "Will I need to buy pads?" "Can my wife eat cake at night or will it go through her breastmilk and keep the baby up?" "Can she have wine?" Gotta love that guy! He truly cares about me, those questions rock! I love cake and wine!

To end this blog for now I have my good news that all my labwork was normal. My Iron and Diabetes tests were normal. My Doctor says I rock (those are my words) and after comparing my pregnancy with others in my class.... it's been a BREEZE! I'm so lucky that Lyla is so good to me and I feel so great. I love being pregnant!!! When can I do it again?
XO
Ang