Free at last!

I never thought I'd make it...I've been on a self-imposed bed rest for the last 4 1/2 days (to give the Hulk more time to grow and to wait for my doula to come back from vacation). These have been the LONGEST 4 1/2 days ever - doing nothing is not all it's cracked up to be. My hat really goes off to those that have to be on bed rest for months on end. Finally it is over - starting tomorrow I will be resuming my walks, gym visits, and all activity in general.....I may never read another book or watch TV again! :)

The early bird gets the worm

Today was the 36-week appointment. I told the midwife about the low back pain I had Sunday night and she said she'd go ahead and 'check' me to see what was going on. It turns out the walking has been working because I am 70% effaced, 3cm dilated, and the Hulk is at a -1 station (translation: he's moved down into eject position). Then she measured my stomach and it was measuring small (31-weeks), so she sent me in for an ultrasound, just to be safe. The ultrasound showed everything was fine (I measured 36w1d - Hulk heartbeat was at 131), including the amniotic fluid levels (her concern), so the small measurement was just the result of the Hulk moving so far down. This is great news to me because all along I've felt that he would be here before 8/24. However, both my doula and her back-up are out of town at the moment. So until Monday, I am putting myself on modified bed rest (no more walking or gym visits). I am anxious for this guy to get here, but I'd rather wait until my support staff is available.

The Homestretch

I had my 35-week appointment with the midwife today, but there is nothing new to report. From here until the end I will be getting weekly check-ups, but no more ultrasounds.

Tonight Lehr and I took a baby sign language class. For as long as I can remember I've wanted to use sign language with my kids, and for the last 8 months, I've been learning via books and the Internet ASL Browser. The class was pretty informative and dispelled any misconceptions regarding sign language delaying speech, etc. (not that we had any). (The name of the organization teaching the class is Little Signers).

You hired a what?

Tonight we met with our doula and her back-up (in case she cannot be at the birth). The meeting went very well, and we feel very confident either of the two women will be a strong support throughout the labor. However, this was the last 'major' meeting/class/appointment we had before the birth. From here on out, it's just routine midwife appointments and one sign language class (obviously not a necessity for the main event). It's all becoming very real!

BTW - for those of you who, like my dad, are asking "What the hell is a doula", our doula has a web page.

System Overload

This afternoon we met with the pediatrician, and then went right on to the hospital tour. Talk about overload! I was fine until we passed a labor/delivery room that had not yet been cleaned from it's last occupant. It really took my breath away that I'm going to be in one of those soon. Add that to the fact that the beds are high off the ground - how am I supposed to get in and out of bed?! I guess I need to pack a step-stool in my overnight bag.

Happy 4th of July

I had my 33-week appointment with the midwife today. Yet another ultrasound, but this time I went solo. The Hulk wasn't nearly as active as he usually is for the ultrasounds, so although he is shy with his movements, he obviously likes having an audience. He is (as am I) measuring right on target for 33 weeks, which means the 8/24 due date is sticking. Today his weight was estimated at 4lb 7oz. The midwife said everything else looks good also: blood pressure still low (110/70), baby is head down, placenta is healthy and where it needs to be, umbilical cord is sending enough of what it needs to be sending to our little guy...

Yesterday Lehr and I walked the Atlanta Peachtree Road Race (10K). I couldn't bear to give up the tradition, so I took all necessary precautions and went for it. I still finished with a respectable time of 1hr 30min (4 miles/hour 15 min. miles). We were lucky it was overcast for most of the day, so I had to battle the humidity, but not the sun. The toughest part was the walk (after the race) back to MARTA. Lehr offered to carry me, or get a cab, but because I'm so stubborn, I refused. My feet were a little sore, but not enough to keep me from taking the Hulk to his first Cubs game last night. Unfortunately the Braves won, but we were there to support, nonetheless.

Baby Shower

Today we were fortunate enough to have another baby shower thrown for us. Dave, Carolyn, Tom & Megan threw a GREAT Hawaiian themed shower (to match the nursery) at Dave & Carolyn's house. All of our friends were there, and we received a lot of wonderful gifts. I think the highlight was watching everyone try to identify the candy bar in the 'messy diaper' game. This little guy is lucky to be born into such a wonderful 'family' of friends!

Update on the Hulk

We had our third ultrasound this last Friday. The Hulk is growing right on schedule – he’s up to a whopping 2lb 7oz now. I assure you that he’s stretching everyday – the kicks and punches are now accompanied by a double stretch he likes – I feel pressure on both sides (up and down or left and right) simultaneously. He’s also been moving slower across my belly and started using knees and elbows, just to keep me on my toes – it’s quite the circus act to watch each night. Everything else looks great – lungs, heart, blood flow to him, fluid in there, etc…. the ultrasound tech and midwife had nothing but good to say about how everything is progressing with The Hulk and I, which is GREAT news for us. Mom is in town visiting for a few weeks, so she got to accompany us to the ultrasound, though she hasn’t been able to see much of the ‘circus’ at night – this little guy gets very shy around new people apparently.

Mom and Jen were nice enough to throw us a family baby shower this last weekend. It was complete with frogs and ducks aplenty. We had a great time and received a pile of wonderful gifts. Unfortunately our camera batteries went out almost as soon as we got there, but Lehr's mom was nice enough to take (and forward) a few pictures for us.

"Birthin" classes

We took our childbirth prep class last week...I've never seen so many pregnant women try to share one bathroom before! Some friends signed up for the same class, so we had company for our day-long education. We didn't learn anything new; nothing we hadn't read in books or seen on the Discovery Health Channel. Lehr was one of only 2 'dads' with a wife crazy enough to attempt natural childbirth, however...

Speaking of which, we did hire the class teacher for her doula services. I'd researched doulas when I found out we were expecting, and I'd spoken with a few (just for info), but I'd never considered using one. My original plan was to rely on Lehr for all of my needs in labor & delivery. However, I think I was putting too much pressure on him, so after meeting the childbirth prep teacher, we decided to reserve her for our big day.

Still keeping everyone in the loop..

At our first ultrasound (20 weeks), the tech suspected bilateral clubfeet on our little boy. Although I was born with a left clubfoot, we did not expect this diagnosis. However, after reading up about current treatments/outcomes, we are very optimistic.

Yesterday we had our follow-up appointment with the maternal-fetal specialist. The intent was to determine if the club feet were diagnosed correctly, and to look for any other issues. It was a great appointment; we got about 1½ hours of ultrasound time with our little one (referred to as “The Hulk” from here on out)…he was quite active with the ultrasound tech, and very uncooperative when she was trying to get measurements (imagine that!!). We got to see everything: spine, legs, arms, head, feet, hands, even his face! After about 45 minutes the doctor/specialist came in and looked over the tech’s work and then performed her own ultrasound for another 30-40 minutes. By this time my stomach was quite tired of the constant probing, but at least The Hulk had settled down so the doc could get all follow up measurements she needed. The clubfeet are still there (honestly now… where would they have gone?), but everything else looked fine. The spine was very straight of a normal length and the legs and arms are measuring fine, so there is no evidence at this time that any genetic disorder is causing the club feet. Lehr and I will be seeing a pediatric orthopedist (hopefully) in the next month, to start discussing treatment once The Hulk makes his appearance. Another positive note, the specialist wants to have an ultrasound every 4-weeks to make sure growth is on-track, so we will be able to spend a lot more time with our little one before the rest of the world meets him. This is great news for me because I keep telling Lehr how anxious I get after the ultrasounds – I just want this kid to get here already!

We got an updated ultrasound photo of The Hulk; it’s another profile shot, but this time he has his hands in front of his face, and his knee is close to touching his nose (he’s already practicing yoga!).

Also, below are a few links to a few web sites Lehr and I have found useful – they explain the doctor’s method we hope to follow (Dr. Ponseti), and the condition itself. (Some of you have had some specific questions for us – thought this might help.)
Ponseti Treatment

Heads Up

Just to keep everyone in the loop, Lehr and I have been pretty busy researching this last week – the initial ultrasound showed that our little guy has bilateral (2) club feet. That is something I obviously plagued him with because I was born with one (I believe Lehr calls it my ‘freak’ leg?). We're not too concerned with long-term effects – if something has to be ‘wrong’, we're thankful it’s this because I turned out just fine. It will mean a lot of leg casting and braces on his feet the first few years though, so I’m glad we know now and can research our options. We go to a prenatal specialist in 10 days to do a more in-depth ultrasound and determine if there is anything they’re missing or misdiagnosing. We will have to wait until he gets out to start any treatments/correction; he’ll mostly likely be casted that first week. It’s not genetic, but it can be hereditary (kinda contradictory, I think). But we didn’t’ know it could be hereditary till after we found out about our little man…no one else in my family has it, and when I was born they said it was just because of the way my mom carried me inside of her (a little too cramped) that caused it – not biology. Anyway, we’ve been doing a lot of research, and the outlook is really good for long term. They use the same kind of treatment (basically) that they did when I was born, and it is really effective in correcting the problem within a year or so. He should still walk at a ‘normal’ age, and he probably won’t remember a thing. So not only are we glad we know now so that we can research and prepare, but also it saves us from buying clothes/socks/shoes he won’t be able to use. (Pants will have to be bigger (to fit over the full-leg casts) and shoes are not an option since he’ll wear a brace (with shoes attached) once he’s out of the casts.) Every little bit of preparing helps!! Be prepared for the red and blue casts when he comes home (it’ll be close to post-season Cubs baseball at that time).

Now You're All In BIG Trouble!

That’s right…we have another Lehr on the way….look out world!!!

All joking aside, we went for our first ultrasound today (20weeks) and the first shot the tech got was the money-shot; she said there was no doubt that it was a boy. As you all know, we would have been happy with either a boy or a girl (human, that is…Lehr really thought it might have been a horse for some reason), but I was secretly holding out for a little man (not sure how I’d deal with the whole ‘pink’ thing). All of the measurements were on track for me to keep the mid-August due date, so from here it’s just a countdown!

Confirmation

Today we went for our first pre-natal appointment. My doctor confirmed our positive test and gave us WAY more information about the months to come than either of us was ready for. We took the rest of the day off and made calls to family and friends. I think my mom had finally backed off (and maybe given up?) on the grandchild issue with us, so she was hesitant to guess our news, but once we told her, she and my dad were ecstatic. Lehr's mom was also very excited and congratulated us both. David and Carolyn were surprised, but thrilled. (David didn't believe us at first; he thought we were totally pulling his leg.) The biggest surprise was when we told another couple we're close with. They reciprocated with 'expectant' news of their own. It turns out they are only a few weeks behind us in the pregnancy calendar! That was great news for us because it meant we wouldn't be going into this next 'life stage' alone (we currently do not have any friends or family living near us with young kids).

News

It has been confirmed...Lehr and I are going to be parents. I took a pregnancy test last night, just for fun, and it came back positive. I couldn't believe it! We've been trying for 3 months, and I thought I was pregnant each month EXCEPT for this month. I guess that's why I took the test: to get a negative result out of the way. Since I didn't plan on a positive result, I didn't plan any special way to tell Lehr (plus I was completely stunned and in a state of shock). I thought about waiting until the morning to tell him, so I could have some time to think of a clever way to break the news, but OF COURSE I could not keep it a secret that long. He was at least as excited as I was, and I don't think either of us slept last night (despite the fact that I took the test at midnight, just as we were getting into bed).