19 Weeks & Stuff!

Well, we went to the doc on Tuesday and unfortunately, Rik couldn't make it to this appointment.  It was the anatomy ultrasound so I decided to take my Mom with me.  She was so incredibly excited!  We saw the doctor first and did the ultrasound second.  Dr. N said I looked great, there wasn't any concern about the weight gain (or lack thereof) and then we got down to talking about some of the labor and delivery questions I had.  

She said we'd pow-wow about this a lot and in greater detail in the coming months but she still answered a lot of my questions and made me feel completely normal about it all.  

Epidurals: We talked about epidurals and she said she would put in my chart that this was not to be offered, but given upon request only.  

Episiotomy: I know what this is and enough about it, but I asked about episiotomies b/c honestly, my husband showed me a picture of one from one of his books and now I can't stop thinking about it.  I just wanted to her to explain when/why they are used.  Yikes!  She said she only does them when absolutely necessary and explained those necessary situations.  She explained it's a lot easier to suture up a straight cut than a very jagged tear. *shudder*  

Silver Nitrate/Antibiotic ointment for baby's eyes: She said it's the law so she has to do it regardless of if I test negative or positive for the strep B virus.  I may read up a bit more on this.

Skin to skin contact immediately after birth: She's 100% for it and supports that as long as there isn't an emergency w/ the baby (obviously).  She explained she had her daughter on her immediately, but her son was not breathing and they had to whisk him away to be worked on.  

Delayed cord clamping:  She said she used to always do it b/c studies showed it was better for the baby.  Now, she is a little more hesitant due to back flow of the blood while the placenta is still inside the mother.  There are reports of infant deaths from this as well as other complications.  She feels it's benefits and risks have to be weighed by the doctor and mother basically.  She said she is comfortable with a shorter delay in clamping but not a full delay till it stops pulsing.

We are going to take a birthing class at the hospital and I am going to take a breast-feeding course as well.  I'm trying to talk Rik into Daddy Boot Camp, but so far, he seems hesitant.  It's mostly a class on how to change a diaper, how to swaddle, how to feed, etc.  He probably does know most of this already from all our nieces and nephews, but I thought he might make some friends or just enjoy the experience.  I forget how different boys and girls are sometimes.  :)  

I have hit a stumbling block with the nursery.  We have picked out a crib and dresser from a dark brown furniture collection.  ALL the bedding I like for boys is shown in a WHITE crib.  I'm picky, I'm not going to fib to ya.  I don't want animals or trains or tractors or tools or any other type of theme really.  I want something with a design but not something w/ bright colors.  I don't want it to be too dark b/c I want the room to feel light, especially now that the furniture is darkish.  The problem is, everything I like really only looks good w/ a white crib and ours is dark brown.  I'm having a rough time matching something to our crib without actually seeing it in it.  It's a mess!  I found a really cute heirloom voile quilt that I ordered a swatch on from Restoration Hardware.  We'll see what it looks/feels like when it gets here.  I may just go the plain route and just mix n match the other pieces of the bedding to jazz it up a bit.  

We found a few gliders we love, but of course we both like different ones.  Go figure.  We are going to convert our front room/library into a play room or nursery for the first floor so maybe we'll put his in there and mine in the baby's actual room? haha.   I'm just excited to finally have this opportunity.  So far, it's been really fun shopping for his little room.

I will leave you now with some adorable pictures of my little scrip scrap!  Hope you think he's as sweet as I do!

Cutest profile in the business!!!

Doing his "Thriller" dance moves!!

(I told Rik he'd be a dancer!)

I don't know if he's yawning, smiling, or yelling at us to quit smooshing him....

Waving hello to his Daddy!