I'm a Genius, Apparently

So, my dumb childbirth class is done. The last class of the series really highlighted just how dumb some people are. Or at least completely unprepared for this whole childbirth thing. I give a pass to you nonpreggos and nonmamas reading this, but just take my word for it when I say that if you have reached your second trimester not knowing the answer to these questions, something is wrong. Especially if you've sat through the other classes we've had!

**What is cord blood banking? (she wasn't asking for clarification- she had never heard of it)

**Are there reasons not to circumcise your baby? (again, not asking what these reasons were, she was genuinely surprised anyone wouldn't)

**What does a birthing ball feel like? I've never sat on one. (It's an exercise ball, people...)

** I didn't realize we had to deliver the placenta after the baby... (My personal favorite, even thought it's not really a question)

We start our second childbirth class tomorrow, because we're overachievers like that. Even though apparently we are not the ones that need these classes. Oh well. I really wanted to take a Bradley series, but the day of the week wasn't good for us, so it's the Birthing From Within series instead. Let's hope this goes better!!

Updates

I have little to report, besides the fact that I can make my belly button "pop" simply by inhaling deeply. Talk about a fun party trick.

Things at work have been busy, and it's harder and harder to keep up my energy with the kids at work... Said kids are growing increasingly impatient the baby is not here yet....I'm finding some friends like to talk to me less and less, which is awesome.... I got a really cool rocking chair off craigslist which I'm super pumped about!.... And our nursery is allllmost complete; it's a very happy yet calm, quiet space. I like to hang out there and just think about boo boo and everything that awaits us!

I have two basic hospital choices available through my insurance. One is here in SF, and the other is about 20 miles away (all highway). I had been leaning toward the latter, as they employ nurse-midwives and seemed to reflect less of the stern, strict, hospital-feel. I had my tour of the SF hospital last night, and was pleasantly surprised by it. They handed out a birth plan 'cheat sheet,' that listed many options that we could check off that I had assumed I would have to fight for in a hospital setting. I was assured that I wouldn't be hooked up at an IV 'just in case' since I am planning for a natural birth, would be not only be allowed but encouraged to shower and walk about the hospital as I saw fit, and that I could even have ammenities like a squatting bar brought in if I liked. I can have all newborn procedures delayed for the first hour, and any such bathing or procedure be done in my room. Basically all the things I feared would be a struggle were handed out on a silver platter. My appointment to see the other hospital is in July.

I think that's about all... And I know I'm behind on my 31wk pics. I'm terribly sorry.

Busting Out

So, boo boo has gotten bored with the usual kicks and punches. His movements now are more like a full body slam and prolonged push into me. I can only assume he is trying to break out of my belly, much as one would try to break down a door. I'm trying to convince him this isn't the best idea ever.

CONTEST

So, I'm starting a contest for who can guess boo boo's birthday. Entrants will win a super prize! Which I am also taking suggestions for.

Contest Rules: 1. You must enter your guess as a comment to this post. No other guesses or remarks count.

2. No duplicate entries. The first person to comment with a given date calls it.

3. My guess is August 10. So his bday can be 8-10-9, which I think is cool.

Go!

Big Business

Soooo, big news for this cloudy Monday is that Gerard and I just had our first paying customer yesterday for our new business, G&C Partners! And because we don't have any overhead, we are now officially profitable! Yay- go us! I haven't discussed it much yet because we've still been working out the kinks, and seeing clients for free as practice, but we're ready to go big league now. Check us out at gncpartners.com-- we do personalized consulting for students trying to get into graduate programs. And we're pretty awesome at it.

Other news, I'm comparing pregnancy photos of other preggos at 30 weeks, and after reviewing my sister's pics, I officially feel huge. And I'm starting to feel some aches and pains. As of yesterday, I'm getting these weird sensations in my belly that I would classify as a little more than uncomfortable, but not quite painful, if only because they are so fleeting. They are longer than a kick, but not sure if they are supposed to be a Braxton-Hicks contraction, or what. Anyway, the other annoyance I have is the inch of skin I have below my chest before my belly really starts. It behaves well enough when I'm standing, but when I'm sitting, especially in the car for some reason, it can become next to unbearable. Poor posture probably has something to do with it, but it just feels like it's getting smooshed and crammed between my bra and my belly and has no where to go so it attacks me. And it's not very nice.

My childbirth class is still kinda a waste. But oh well. I was hoping to also meet some cool couples who would be new parents, too- but from the looks of it so far I'm not in the process of making any longtime friends.

Getting Slow

So, my jogging with intermittent walking has now become walking with intermittent jogging. I've been having difficulties with running recently, aside from the back problems I was having a month or so ago. Now I feel this stretch/tightening/something on the underside of my belly whenever I start to run. It starts almost immediately when I begin, and although it's not particularly painful, I'm being pretty conservative since I haven't mastered what's normal belly behavior or not.

Although I am hesitant to admit I'm now considering walking as exercise, I can get my heart rate up pretty easily by increasing my pace up the hills. And I'm at no loss to find hills. So, I'm mixing in this "hillwork" with other nonpainful exercises like the elliptical, and of course my yoga. For my armwork, I carry around my carseat with a 10lb dumbbell tucked inside. That's plenty for my puny little arms.

I've had two and a half days off work and it feels soooo good. I've been super productive with errands and things around the apartment, but still managed to feel rested and relaxed. It's been wonderful, and I'm super ecstatic I still have Saturday and Sunday left before going back to work!!

This baby's getting old...

So my belly button is still hanging on for dear life. It's a losing battle, but he's not giving up yet. I'm not sure why I've decided to give my belly button a masculine pronoun; it just seemed natural. Anyway, what's interesting, is when I lean back in my chair pretty far I can actually make him protrude. It's pretty crazy. I'm kinda tempted to take a little video of this evolution of innie-to flush with my belly- to outtie. But I'm pretty sure that the 'craziness' title will slide from my belly button over to the rest of me. So I'm refraining.

In other news, I'm enjoying the last days as a 20-weeker. That's right guys, I'm a few rotations of the earth short of being 30-weeks. That's the big time. A girl in my prenatal yoga class told me she made her husband buy her a present at 30 weeks. Simply because she was 30 weeks. Obviously he didn't understand, but I thought it was pretty genius. I told this story to G, but I don't think he caught the hint.

Our study is looking less and less like a study every day! And more like a giant mess! But, the good news is, at the advice of my brilliant uncle, we have drastically decreased the temperature in the "nursery" by not only opening the bottom windows in our living room, but the very top ones as well. We live in a loft, so the very top windows are a pain in the ass to open, and require a 15-foot pole that is a bit too unwieldy for me. But apparently by opening both the top and the bottom windows (and not necessarily the middle), we're creating a convection, and great things happen. Our little egg-thermostat thing now lights up a nice peaceful yellow, instead of permanently flashing red and screaming YOU'RE KILLING YOUR BABY! YOU'RE KILLING YOUR BABY!

We like the yellow. And it was a completely free solution to our dilemma, which makes it all the better.

Suited Up

Is it just me, or is there something oddly sexy about a man in suit driving a scooter? I like to think they all have accents, also. European.

On the opposite spectrum of sexiness: I saw a man walking on the sidewalk today in a suit wearing...  running shoes. Blaringly white, thick-soled, Asics. For real. It's bad enough when women do this- although I have more leniency for some flip flops or comfy flats while walking a commute instead of pumps, which are a bit more discreet. But I just really don't see the need for bright white running shoes. How far are you really walking that a pair of loafers won't suffice?? And men just don't have the same excuse of high heels, nor do they have the convenient purse factor. Suck it up dude. No one feels sorry for you or your feet. 

29 wks

I'm fairly certain my belly doubled in size this week.

I Can't believe it's June

Sorry for the lengthy delay. I've been super busy this past week, so will try to condense. The biggest happening, I suppose, was our first childbirth class! When we first arrived, I took a scan of the other mamas and wondered if I had jumped the gun on starting a course, as everyone in there looked well ahead of me in belly size. During our introductions, though, it was all I could do to not sit there with my mouth gaped open, because these girls were due in September- one even in October! There are exactly two girls who are due before me- one by only 5 days- and she is huge. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I at least am starting to understand why everyone feels the need to remark on how relatively small I am, because these girls in this class are absolutely massive. What's odd, though, is I feel pretty proportionate relative to the two dozen or so girls in my prenatal yoga class. One of whom commented that I had the cutest, roundest little belly she'd ever seen. This compliment is at least doubly meaningful coming from another preggo. I think, at least. Updates pics of the super cute belly coming later today or tomorrow.

Anyway, so the class so far is okay. So far it's mostly the anatomy and basic stages of labor, which Gerard and I kinda get already. Our main interest in the class was its supposed influence of natural childbirth methods and techniques for a medication-free birth. Which we didn't really address on the first class, but I suppose we'll get to. The teacher hasn't impressed me yet. She seems kinda flaky, and doesn't address people's questions directly. For example, one poor guy in the class asked at least 5 times, in pretty direct ways, what constituted the definition of 'labor' when she quoted that first labors take an average of 15 hours, since most women feel some sort of contractions for days leading up to the actual birth- so when did she consider the "starting point" for this 15 hour time frame? When the contractions have a consistent schedule, when a woman starts dilating or effacing, what? Anyway, the woman's answers basically just continued to say that every woman was different, this was an average, blah blah. Things any jackass knows, and not at all what he was asking. She also spoke at length about how we chose this hospital to give birth at (and repeated this wording several times) when the guy next to me and I both chirped that insurance had a hell of a lot more to do with it than preference. Which she also didn't seem to quite follow. Anyway, I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt and go to the next class with an open mind about her abilities and qualifications...

Otherwise in our lives, we're in the process of converting our study into a nursery/storage area. With possible emphasis on the storage. Right now it's a quarter nursery, quarter storage, quarter study and quarter mess. But I have high hopes. A simultaneous project is trying to decrease the temperature in the room, as it's too hot for boo boo. But with no AC, no windows in the room, and no heating vents (to exhaust a portable AC), our options are somewhat limited. Fun stuff, guys. Fun stuff.