Knowledge is Power

We have one more childbirth education class this week and then we are done with our 8 week series of classes on having a baby. Signing up for these classes has been one of the best things I have done for myself during this pregnancy. I am so thankful we decided to go with the 8 week series from a private teacher, than the three classes offered on post in an overcrowded classroom. There were 5 other couples in our class and it created a nice intimate setting to be able to learn and ask lots of questions. We also had a great teacher, who I would highly recommend to anyone in the Springs looking to take a childbirth education class. Before attending these classes, all I knew about having a baby I learned on TV and in the movies. Turns out, it is a much different experience, and there does not have to be intense screaming :). Now, I feel so knowledgeable about what will be happening to my body and Baby Kyle as I go into labor.

Often times for me, fear of the unknown is the greatest kind of fear. While I don’t know exactly how our labor will play out in the end, I have a good idea of all the different scenarios that could happen, and that is calming to my very active imagination. And while thinking about the labor and delivery of our baby does keep me up at night sometimes, I am comforted in knowing that my body was made to do this work, and no matter what the baby WILL come out, whether I am able to do it naturally or with hospital interventions, he can’t stay in there forever.

The classes have also been really effective in creating dialogue between Matt and me about the pregnancy and birth experience. I am so thankful that he was able to attend the classes with me. Having him aware of the good, bad, and ugly parts of labor makes me feel calmer and I know he is going to be a great coach! Lastly, I am thankful for all this knowledge, so I can make informed decisions about the care of myself and Baby Kyle during the labor and delivery.

This week also marks three more months of pregnancy for me! YAY! As I enter into the third trimester, I am definitely starting to feel pregnant. I am not too uncomfortable yet, but definitely feel like I am growing another human. I agree with those that say the second trimester is the best. You no longer feel tired and yucky, and for the most part feel like your normal self. Overall, I would say I had a pretty awesome second trimester. We found out the sex of our little babe and I got to feel him move for the first time, two very exciting milestones. I am hoping these next three months go by fast and are not too uncomfortable, but either way it will all be worth it in the end. I can handle the discomfort for the prize that is waiting for me at the finish line!!!

Counting Sheep

Sorry I missed posting last week, somehow the week and weekend got away from me. Although, I should have been blogging in the middle of the night instead of laying wide awake in bed. Recently, pregnancy insomnia has started to kick in. I find myself waking up between 2:00-3:00 in the morning wide awake and unable to fall back asleep. Often times, I just lay there thinking about what Baby Kyle will look like, what will it be like to be a mom, and how the heck am I going to push a baby human out of my body :). Kyle is usually awake with me, and I silently lie there feeling his little movements trying to imagine what he is doing in my belly. After a couple of hours of tossing and turning I am able to fall back asleep, just in time for Matt to wake up to head to PT and Eros to stat nosing around for some breakfast. I guess it is just preparing me for the middle of the night wake-ups with Kyle, and I think it is slowly starting to work. Anyone that knows me well knows how much I enjoy my sleep. I have never had a problem sleeping in until 9:00 in the morning, even after graduating from college. I always wondered when I would become and “adult” and wake up naturally between 6:00 and 7:00 in the morning like my parents. I guess it just took getting pregnant to break me out of my deep sleep routine. I can’t remember the last time I slept past 7:00.

Not too much other exciting news to report this week. Matt has been out in the field training for the past week so it has just been me, Eros, and baby Kyle kicking around in my belly. At least I don’t feel so alone when Matt leaves. In fact, I never really feel alone anymore, Kyle likes to give me a little kick or punch in my stomach from time to time to let me know he is with me. My sister and Lindsey (a good friend from HS and College) also came down on Saturday and we enjoyed some quality girl talk while our three furbabies played for hours in the backyard. I had so much fun having them over and it was nice to have the extra company while Matt was away. We head to Baggs, WY for Easter weekend on Friday, and I am looking forward to spending time with family up there. I will try to remember to get Matt to take a belly photo this week; I just realized it has been a while since I have posted an update. Have a good week everyone!

Well Practiced

I forgot to post this link in my blog yesterday. While I was at the doctor I saw an article on the wall about the Ft. Carson baby boom this summer. It is approaching nine months since 3,500 soldiers from Matt's current unit got back from Afghanistan and as a result business is booming at the hospital. They have been delivering about 10 babies a day and plan to keep that pace through July! While, baby Kyle is not a "deployment baby" he will be born during the rush. At least the team of doctors and midwives will have plenty of experience come my delivery. Luckily, I have heard really good things about the Evans Labor and Delivery ward from many of my Army wife friends who have had babies there. They have newly renovated rooms and a wonderful doctor/midwife/nursing staff. We will take a tour of the hospital in the months to come and I will write more about it then.

Here is the link to the article if you want to read more about Evans Army Community Hospital where we will be having our baby. http://www.gazette.com/articles/carson-114831-bundles-month.html

24 Weeks

I can’t believe I have been pregnant for 6 months! Before I was pregnant, I never understood why people counted their pregnancy in weeks and not months. When someone said they were 24 weeks, I thought, now I have to do the conversion in my head to figure out how far along they are. However, once I got pregnant, and every baby book and doctors visit is measured in weeks, I soon realized why pregnant women count by the week and not the month. Counting by weeks can get a bit discouraging. The other day I felt like I had so far to go still before meeting Baby Kyle, but then I converted to months and realized I am a lot closer than I think! With all we have planned these next four months, I am sure time will fly by.

We had our 24 week doctor’s appointment yesterday and everything checked out great. Baby Kyle’s ultrasound results were normal and we are both growing along on schedule. His heart was beating strong at 158bpm; I could hear it really well on the Doppler yesterday. He is also moving around a lot these days. My belly is huge so he better be enjoying the space! Matt can feel him now too which is cool. We both like trying to provoke him to kick around, sometimes we are successful, and other times he prefers to just keep sleeping. I am also still feeling good! There are times when my back start to ache a little after a long day of being on my feet, but for the most part I can’t complain. We go back to the doctor in 4 weeks for our 28 week appointment which includes the gestational diabetes test. I will keep you all posted on the results.

The nursery is starting to progress. Matt did an awesome job of building all the furniture and it looks great! I still need to get the mattress, bedding, and accent decorations, but I love seeing the start of a baby’s room in our house. Hopefully I can get our registry started this weekend or next, and I will let you all know once it is up and running.

Well that is pretty much the latest. Thanks for reading and hope you all have a great week!