I had my routine OB appointment on Wednesday. I hadn't gained any weight
since two weeks ago, but my fundal height was up slightly to 27cm so the baby is still growing in there.
My blood
pressure was 110/70 so nice and low, and baby presented him/herself in
all the possible positions (head down, breech, and transverse) while the
doc was trying to chase with the doppler to get a heart rate. He
figures it was 136 bpm, but because the baby never stayed put long
enough to get a great reading, he's not really sure.
I told him about
the dog bite and he checked that over to make sure it didn't look
infected, and it was fine.
My hemoglobin is only a little low, so there's no
change in iron supplements, but I have to be conscious about getting a
little more iron in my diet.
Back again in 2 weeks. I must be a really boring maternity patient. Although boring = uncomplicated, and I celebrate that. Hoping it stays that way right through.
Other happenings:
We picked up the crib and mattress this week. It's still in the box for
now until we get rid of our double bed. I've been doing little
preparations on the nursery or collecting baby stuff on my weekends
because evenings are a write off energy wise.
I've got 7 more weeks to
go at work and I'm really noticing the physical demands on my body now
-hopefully I can bumble through. My mat leave replacement has been hired
but is not available to start until January, so there will be no
coverage for December. C'est La Vie.
... and last but not least -yesterday's spectacular finds at our local library:
1.
I borrowed a DVD called "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Harvey Karp
-It's all about calming techniques for fussy babies. He demonstrates a
few of these simple techniques -many of which most of us do instinctively with babies (swaddling, side positioning, swinging or
jiggling, saying "shhhhh"). I figure it's worth watching now before being in the
thick of parenting a newborn.
2. I took out a cookbook of meals
you can cook ahead and freeze. It's time to get on that so we have some
easy nutritious meals to keep us going when the baby comes.
3. I also found some great little board books in the discard bin for $0.25 each.
I read Happiest Baby on the Block before he was born as well (on the advice of LisainSK's blog) and I found it really helped prepare us for that stage, and gave us some techniques to deal with it. Mine hasn't been bad at all, though I have used the swaddle and swing a few times to get him to sleep, so even if you don't have a really sensitive baby like they talk about in the book (pray for that!), it can still be very useful, as well as just generally understanding the stage they're going through.
ReplyDeleteOHHHH...you are sooooooo smart to order the HBOTB DVD...I ordered it once LN10 was 6 weeks old and WISHED I watched it sooner. For sure the hairdryer trick worked for LN10!! And yes...get those casseroles made in advance. Another thing I wish I could have done but wasnt able to since my BPs were always borderline high. Thank goodness yours is nice and normal! Not much longer!!
ReplyDeleteI loved Happiest Baby on the Block. I rewatched it before baby #2 was born. It was likely the most helpful thing we did. I'm positive there is something in there that will work for every baby!
ReplyDeleteAnother thing you might like is 'The Baby Book' by Dr. Sears. It's full of great health info for babies up to 2 years. I've found very helpful answers from that book without having to make a panicked call to the doctor. Essential reference!
Anyhow, I just thought I'd catch up on your blog a bit. I'm enjoying your writing as always. Glad to hear that everything is 'boring' with your pregnancy!!
Thanks! I did watch the HBOTB video and thought there were lots of good tips there. Many of the strategies are things we intuitively do with babies but I particularly liked that he explained the reasons why they are comforting to very young babies. I like to be prepared ahead of time, but DH likes to learn things at the time, so I watched it, and he made a copy so he can look at it in a couple of months when the baby comes -that is if he's not too exhausted ;)
ReplyDeleteI will look for the Dr. Sears book at my next library visit, and if I like it, I'll buy a copy.
Also on my reading list right now are various breastfeeding books because I know this is something so many new moms struggle with.